The Music Master

"The Music Master" by F. L. Wallace is a science fiction story from the 1950s that tells of Danny Tocar, a young boy in a futuristic world dominated by robot musicians, who dreams of making his own music. The book looks at being different, the power of creating things, and fighting against what society expects. Danny finds a real piano, which is rare in a world of robots, and this makes him want to play and write music. Even though people think robots should be the only ones making music, Danny practices in secret. He has problems along the way, like avoiding the psych squad that tries to stop people from being different. In the end, Danny puts on an amazing concert where he plays a special piano. This shows how talented he is and helps bring back human creativity. The story ends with Danny winning over the audience and a robot caretaker, which suggests that people might start to appreciate human-made music again.