A barrel piano is a special kind of piano that plays music differently than a regular piano. It's like a normal piano, but instead of a person pressing the keys, there is a barrel with pins sticking out of it that move a mechanism inside the piano to play the notes.
It's kind of like putting a key in a lock. The pins on the barrel are like the ridges on a key - they move different parts of the piano to make different sounds.
The barrel has different sets of pins for different songs, so you can change the barrel to play different tunes. And it doesn't need electricity or batteries to work - it's all powered by the person turning the crank on the side of the piano.
So instead of just sitting down and playing the piano, you have to put in a special barrel and turn the crank to make it play different songs. It's like magic!