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Early Electronic Music Instruments: Time Line 1899-1950Author(s): Curtis RoadsSource: Computer Music Journal, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Autumn, 1996), pp. 20-23Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3680817

Accessed: 19/11/2008 14:31

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Curtis

oads

Les Ateliers

UPIC

18

rue Marcelin Berthelot

94140, Alfortville,

France

and

Departement Musique

Universite Paris8

Saint-Denis,

France

100407.574@compuserve.com

The

study

of

electronic music

history helps

us

ap-

preciate

the

fascinating

instruments created

by

vi-

sionary musical engineers. The size and pace of de-

velopment

of the

present

music

industry

makes

it

easy

to

forget

how

many

instruments were in-

vented

in

the

first half

of the 20th

century.

Some

accounts of this

period

leave the

impression

that

there was little

development

of

electronic music be-

fore the

cataclysm

of World

War

II.

This time line

shows that

development

was

incessant,

even

if it

was

often

relegated

to the

sidelines of official musi-

cal life. Most electronic

music inventors labored

against

the

grain

of a

conservative

musical estab-

lishment.

The business

climate

for

electronic

in-

struments was immature, and sometimes, as in the

case

of

Theremin,

for

example,

the

political

circum-

stances were

dangerous.

The first column in the

time

line

names

each

instrument. The dates in the

second column indi-

cate each instrument's

first

public

demonstration,

a r l y

lectronic M u s i c

Instruments:

T i m e i n e

1899 1950

rather

than the date of its

earliest

conception.

Every

attempt

has been made to

be

precise

and

comprehensive,but a few uncertainties remain. In

some

cases,

for

example,

the

precise

date is

not

clear from the

sources

consulted,

or

different

sources

conflict. Corrections or

additions

to this

list are

welcome.

The time line

terminates at

1950.

Prior

to

this

date

almost

all instruments

were

designed

for

live

performance.

The full

compositional implications

of

electronic sound were not

always

understood

by

most

musicians

(with

the notable

exceptions

of

Ed-

gard

Varese and

John

Cage).

After

1950

a

page

of

music

history

turned

with

the birth of

composi-

tion theories such as elektronischemusik, musique

concrete,

and

tape

music,

and the

merging

of

electronic

music

technology

with

studio tech-

niques

of

recording,editing,

mixing,

and

sound

transformation. To

this

epoch

belongs

another

time

line.

Computer

Music

Journal,

20:3,

pp.

20-23,

Fall

1996

? 1996 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Computer

Music

Journal

0

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Table 1. Electric

and electronic musical

instruments:

1899-1950

Instrument

Singing

Arc

Choralcello electric

organ

Telharmonium

Audio oscillator

and Audion

piano

Synthetic

Tone musical

instrument

Theremin

Electrophon

Staccatone

Sphaerophon

Electric

Harmonium

Pianorad

SuperPiano

Electric

guitar prototype

Electronic

violin

Spielman

electric

piano harp

Ondes Martenot

Dynaphon

Hellertion

Crea-tone

Givelet-Coupleaux organ

Trautonium

Magnetoelectric

organ

Westinghouse organ

Ondium

Pechadre

Hardy-Goldwaitheorgan

Radiopiano

Trillion-tone

organ

Radiotone

Rangertoneorgan

Emicon

Gnome

Date

of

Demonstration

1899

1903

1906

1915

1918

1920

1921

1923

1926

1926

1926

1927

1927

1927

1928

1928

1928

1929

1930

1930

1930

1930

1930

1930

1930

1931

1931

1931

1931

1932

1932

Inventor/Notes

W.

Duddell/early

electric

keyboard

nstrument

Farrington,

C.

Donahue,

and A.

Hoffman/electromagnetic

instrument

T.

Cahill/rotating

tone

generators,

massive

synthesizer

L.

De

Forest/first

vacuum-tube

instrument

S.

Cabot/rotating

tone

wheels to

generate

current,

which

drove metallic

resonating

bars

L.

Theremin/antenna

instrument

played

with hands in

air;

based

on

heterodyne

tone

generator

J.

Mager/heterodyne

one

generator

with filter

H.

Gernsback/sharp

attack,

inductance-controlled

keyboard

instrument

J.

Mager/improvedElectrophon

with

keyboard

L.

Theremin/1,200

divisions

per

octave

H.

Gernsback/polyphonic,

based on

vacuum-tube

oscillators

E.

Spielmann/ Light-chopper

nstrument

Les

Paul/solid-body

construction with

electromagnetic

pickups

E.

Zitzmann-Zirini/space

control of

pitch

similar to the

Theremin,but switched control of volume

J.

Bethenod/microphone

and

speaker

feedback to sustain

oscillations

M.

Martenot/first

of

many

versions

R.

Bertrand/multivibrator

scllator

B.

Helberger

and P.

Lertes/vacuum-tube

oscillator with

feedback;

continuous linear controllers

S.

Cooper/electric

piano

with feedback

circuits for sustain

J.

Givelet and E.

Coupleaux/automated

additive

synthesis;

oscillators controlled

by paper tape

E

Trautwein/neon-tube

sawtooth

tone

generators;

resonance filters to

emphasize

formants

R. H.

Ranger

R. Hitchcock/researchinstrument basedon vacuum-tube

oscillators

?

/Theremin-like

instrument with a

volume

key

instead of

antenna

A.

Hardy

and S.

Brown/electro-optical

one

generators

L.

Hiller/amplified piano

A. Lesti and E

Sammis/electro-optical

tone

generators

Boreau/string-induced

adio-receiver

one

generator

with

filter

circuits

R.

Ranger/rotating

one

wheels

N.

Langer

and

Hahnagyi/gas-discharge

ube

oscillator,

controlled

by keyboard

I.

Eremeef/rotating

electromagnetic

tone

wheels

Roads

I

21

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Table 1. Electric and electronic musical instruments: 1899-1950

(cont)

Instrument

Miessner electronic

piano

Rhythmicon

Mellertion

Electronde

Cellulophone

Elektroakustische

orgel

La Croix Sonore

Ethonium

Keyboard

Theremin

LoarVivatone

Polytone

Syntronic organ

Everett

Orgatron

Partiturphon

Kaleidaphon

Hammond electric

organ

Photona

Variophone

Electrone

FoersterElectrochord

Sonotheque

Kraft-durch-Freude

Grosstonorgel

Welte

Light-Toneorgan

National Dobro VioLectricviolin

and Supro guitar

Electric

Hawaiian

guitar

Singing

keyboard

WarboFormant

organ

Oscillion

KrakauerElectone

Melodium

Robb Wave

organ

Allen

organ

Neo

Bechstein

piano

Date

of

Demonstration

1932

1932

1933

1933

1933

1934

1934

1934

1934

1934

1934

1934

1934

1935

1939

1935

1935

1935

1935

1936

1936

1936

1936

1936

1936

1936

1937

1937

1938

1938

c.

1938

1939

1939

Inventor/Notes

B.

F.

Miessner/88

electrostatic

pickups

H.

Cowell,

L.

Theremin,

B.

Miessner/complex rhythm

machine

?

/10-division

octave

L.

or

M.

Taubman/battery-powered,

pace

control of

pitch

like

the

Theremin,

with volume

pedal

P.

Toulon/electro-optical

tone

generators

O.

Vierling

and

Kock/12

vacuum-tube

master

oscillators;

other

pitches

derived

by frequency

division

N.

Oboukhov/heterodyning

oscillator

G.

Blake/emulation

of

the Theremin

heterodyne

oscillator

L.

Theremin/bank

of tone

generators

controlled

by

traditional

organ keyboard

L.

Loar/a

modified

acoustic-electric

guitar

A. Lesti and

E

Sammis/electro-optical

tone

generators

I. Eremeef and L.

Stokowski/electro-optical

tone

generators;

one-hour of

continuous variation

E Hoschke and

B.

Miessner/amplified

vibrating

brass reeds

J.

Mager/five-voiceSphaerophon

with three

keyboards

J.

Mager/ kaleidascopic

one mixtures

L. Hammond and B.

Miessner/rotating

tone

generators

I.

Eremeef/12

electro-optical

tone

generators;

developed

at

WCAU

radio,

Philadelphia

Y.

Sholpo/photo-electric

instrument

Compton Organ Company/based

on

design

of

L.

Bourn;

electrostatic

rotarygenerators

O.

Vierling/electro-mechanical

piano

L.

Lavalee/coded

performance

nstrument

using

photoelectric

translation of

engraved

grooves

O.

Vierling

and staff

of

Heinrich-Hertz-Institut,

Berlin/

played

at

1936

Olympic

games

E.

Welte/electro-optical

tone

generators

J.

Dopyera/commercial

nstruments with

electromagnetic

pickups

L.

Fender/commercial

nstrument with

electromagnetic

pickups

E

Sammis/played electro-optical

recordings,precursor

of

samplers

H. Bode

and C.

Warnke/four-voice

polyphonic;

envelope

shaping;key assignment;

two filters

W.

Swann and

W.

Danforth/gas-discharge

ube

oscillator

B. F

Miessner/early

electric

piano

H.

Bode/touch-sensitive

solo

keyboard

M.

Robb/rotating

electromagnetic

tone

generators

J.

Markowitz/vacuum-tube

oscillators

O.

Vierling

and

W.

Nernst/electric piano

Computer

Music

Journal

I

22

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Table

1.

Electric

and electronic

musical instruments:

1899-1950

(cont)

Date

of

Instrument

Demonstration

Inventor/Notes

Amplified piano

Novachord

1939

1939

Parallel

Bandpass

Vocoder

Dynatone

Voder

speech synthesizer

Violena

Emiriton

Ekwodin

Solovox

Univox

1939

1939

1939

1940

1940

1940

1940

c. 1940

Multimonika 1940

Ondioline 1941

Melotone

Hanert Electrical Orchestra

Joergensen

Clavioline

Rhodes

Pre-Piano

Wurlitzer electronic

organ

Conn

organ

Electronic sackbut

FreeMusic Machine

Mixturtrautonium

Heliophophon

Mastersonic

organ

Wurlitzerelectronic piano

Melochord

Bel

organ

Elektronium

Pi

Radareed

organ

Dereux

organ

c.

1941

1945

1947

1947

1947

1947

1948

1948

1949

1949

1949

1949

1947-1949

c.

1947

1950

1950

c.

1950

B.

Miessner/variable

onal

quality

depending

on the

position

of the

pickups

Hammond

Company/several

ube

oscillators;

divide-down

synthesis;

formant

filters

H.

Dudley,

Bell

Laboratories/analysis

nd

cross-synthesis

B.

Miessner

and A.

Amsley/electric piano

H.

Dudley/voice

model

played by

a human

operator

W.Gurov

A.

Ivanovand

A.

Rimsky-Korsakov/neon-tube

scillators

A. Wolodin

L.

Hammond/monophonic

vacuum-tube

oscillator with

divide-downcircuitry

Univox

Company/vacuum-tube

sawtooth

generator

with

diode

waveform

shaper

circuit

Hohner

GmbH/lower

manual is

wind-blown,

upper

manual

has sawtooth

generator

G.

Jenny/multistable

vibratorand

filters;

keyboard

mounted on

springs

for

vibrato

Compton

Organ Company/electrostatic rotary

generators

J.

Hanert/programmable erformance

controlled

by

punched papercards

M.

C.

Martin/monophonic,

three-octave

keyboard

H.

Rhodes/metal

tines

amplified by

electrostatic

pickups

Wurlitzer

Company/based

on

the

Orgatron

reed

design

Conn

Organ Company/individual

oscillators for each

key

H.

LeCaine/voltage-controlled

ynthesizer,

pitch,

waveform,

and formant

controllers

B.

Cross and

P.

Grainger/electronic

oscillators and

continuous

automated control

O.

Sala/Trautonium

with

noise

generator,

circuit-breaker

sequencer, frequency

dividers

B.

Helberger

J.

Goodell and E.

Swedien/rotatingpitch

wheels

WurlitzerCompany/basedon patents by B. Miessner

H.

Bode/later

nstalled at

North

West German

Radio,

Cologne

Bendix

Electronics/12

vacuum-tube

oscillators,

other

pitches

obtained

by

divide-down circuit

Hohner

GmbH/monophonic

vacuum-tube oscillator

with

divide-downcircuitry

G.

Gubbins/amplified

reeds fitted

with

resonators

Societe

Dereux/electrostatic

rotary generators,

waveforms

derived

from

oscillogram

photographs

Roads

23