In the contests, often one pianist began a tune; then others took turns "cutting in", introducing increasingly more complex ideas, changing the key and/or tempo, and otherwise trying to outplay and out-style the previous musician(s).
ɪnðə kˈɑːntɛsts, ˈɔfən wˈʌn pˈiənɪst bɪɡˈæn ɐ tˈuːn; ðˈɛn ˈʌðɚz tˈʊk tˈɜːnz "kˈʌɾɪŋ ˈɪn", ˌɪntɹədˈuːsɪŋ ɪŋkɹˈiːsɪŋli mˈoːɹ kˈɑːmplɛks aɪdˈiəz, tʃˈeɪndʒɪŋ ðə kˈiː ænd slˈæʃ ɔːɹ tˈɛmpoʊ, ænd ˈʌðɚwˌaɪz tɹˈaɪɪŋ tʊ aʊtplˈeɪ ænd ˈaʊtstˈaɪl ðə pɹˈiːviəs mjuːzˈɪʃən ˈɛs.