Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The MIT Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Computer Music
Journal.
http://www.jstor.org
CurtisRoads
Les Ateliers UPIC
18 rue Marcelin Berthelot
94140, Alfortville, France
and
Departement Musique
Universite Paris 8
Saint-Denis, France
100407.574@compuserve.com
The study of electronic music history helps us appreciate the fascinating instruments created by visionary musical engineers. The size and pace of development of the present music industry makes
it easy to forget how many instruments were invented in the first half of the 20th century. Some
accounts of this period leave the impression that
there was little development of electronic music before the cataclysm of WorldWarII. This time line
shows that development was incessant, even if it
was often relegated to the sidelines of official musical life. Most electronic music inventors labored
against the grain of a conservative musical establishment. The business climate for electronic instruments was immature, and sometimes, as in the
case of Theremin, for example, the political circumstances were dangerous.
The first column in the time line names each
instrument. The dates in the second column indicate each instrument's first public demonstration,
Electronic Music
Instruments:
Time
Line
1899-1950
Early
20
Date of
Demonstration
Singing Arc
Choralcello electric organ
1899
1903
Telharmonium
Audio oscillator and Audion piano
Synthetic Tone musical
instrument
Theremin
1906
1915
1918
Electrophon
Staccatone
1921
1923
Sphaerophon
Electric Harmonium
Pianorad
1926
1926
1926
SuperPiano
Electric guitar prototype
1927
1927
Electronic violin
1927
1928
Ondes Martenot
Dynaphon
Hellertion
1928
1928
1929
Crea-tone
Givelet-Coupleaux organ
1930
1930
Trautonium
1930
Magnetoelectric organ
Westinghouse organ
1930
1930
Ondium Pechadre
1930
Hardy-Goldwaitheorgan
Radiopiano
Trillion-tone organ
Radiotone
1930
1931
1931
1931
Rangertoneorgan
Emicon
1931
1932
Gnome
1932
1920
Inventor/Notes
W. Duddell/early electric keyboardinstrument
Farrington,C. Donahue, and A. Hoffman/electromagnetic
instrument
T. Cahill/rotating tone generators,massive synthesizer
L. De Forest/firstvacuum-tube instrument
S. Cabot/rotating tone wheels to generate current, which
drovemetallic resonating bars
L. Theremin/antenna instrument played with hands in air;
based on heterodyne tone generator
J. Mager/heterodynetone generatorwith filter
H. Gernsback/sharpattack, inductance-controlledkeyboard
instrument
J. Mager/improvedElectrophonwith keyboard
L. Theremin/1,200 divisions per octave
H. Gernsback/polyphonic,based on vacuum-tube
oscillators
E. Spielmann/"Light-chopper"
instrument
Les Paul/solid-bodyconstruction with electromagnetic
pickups
E. Zitzmann-Zirini/space control of pitch similar to the
Theremin, but switched control of volume
J. Bethenod/microphoneand speaker feedback to sustain
oscillations
M. Martenot/first of many versions
R. Bertrand/multivibratoroscllator
B. Helbergerand P. Lertes/vacuum-tubeoscillator 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-tubesawtooth tone generators;
resonance filters to emphasize formants
R. H. Ranger
R. Hitchcock/research instrument based on vacuum-tube
oscillators
? /Theremin-like instrument with a volume key instead of
antenna
A. Hardyand S. Brown/electro-opticaltone generators
L. Hiller/amplified piano
A. Lesti and E Sammis/electro-optical tone generators
Boreau/string-inducedradio-receivertone generatorwith
filter circuits
R. Ranger/rotatingtone wheels
N. Langerand Hahnagyi/gas-dischargetube oscillator,
controlled by keyboard
I. Eremeef/rotatingelectromagnetic tone wheels
Roads
21
Date of
Demonstration
1932
1932
Mellertion
Electronde
1933
1933
Cellulophone
Elektroakustische orgel
1933
1934
La Croix Sonore
Ethonium
KeyboardTheremin
1934
1934
1934
LoarVivatone
Polytone
Syntronic organ
1934
1934
1934
Everett Orgatron
Partiturphon
Kaleidaphon
Hammond electric organ
Photona
1934
1935
1939
1935
1935
Variophone
Electrone
1935
1935
FoersterElectrochord
Sonotheque
1936
1936
"Kraft-durch-Freude"
Grosstonorgel
Welte Light-Toneorgan
National Dobro VioLectricviolin
and Suproguitar
Electric Hawaiianguitar
1936
Singing keyboard
1936
WarboFormant organ
1937
Oscillion
KrakauerElectone
Melodium
RobbWaveorgan
Allen organ
Neo Bechstein piano
1937
1938
1938
c. 1938
1939
1939
22
1936
1936
1936
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,space 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 derivedby frequency division
N. Oboukhov/heterodyningoscillator
G. Blake/emulation of the Theremin heterodyne oscillator
L. Theremin/bank of tone generatorscontrolled by
traditionalorgan keyboard
L. Loar/amodified acoustic-electric guitar
A. Lesti and E Sammis/electro-optical tone generators
I. Eremeefand L. Stokowski/electro-optical tone generators;
one-hour of continuous variation
E Hoschke and B. Miessner/amplified vibratingbrass reeds
J.Mager/five-voiceSphaerophonwith three keyboards
J. Mager/"kaleidascopic"tone 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 OrganCompany/basedon design of L. Bourn;
electrostatic rotary generators
O. Vierling/electro-mechanicalpiano
L. Lavalee/codedperformanceinstrument using
photoelectric translation of engravedgrooves
O. Vierling and staff of Heinrich-Hertz-Institut,Berlin/
played at 1936 Olympic games
E. Welte/electro-optical tone generators
J. Dopyera/commercialinstruments with electromagnetic
pickups
L. Fender/commercialinstrument with electromagnetic
pickups
E Sammis/playedelectro-optical recordings,precursorof
samplers
H. Bode and C. Warnke/four-voicepolyphonic; envelope
shaping;key assignment; two filters
W. Swann and W. Danforth/gas-dischargetube oscillator
B. F Miessner/early electric piano
H. Bode/touch-sensitive solo keyboard
M. Robb/rotatingelectromagnetic tone generators
J. Markowitz/vacuum-tubeoscillators
O. Vierling and W. Nernst/electric piano
Date of
Demonstration
Amplified piano
1939
Novachord
1939
ParallelBandpassVocoder
Dynatone
Voderspeech synthesizer
Violena
Emiriton
Ekwodin
Solovox
1939
1939
1939
1940
1940
1940
1940
Univox
c. 1940
Multimonika
1940
Ondioline
1941
Melotone
Hanert Electrical Orchestra
c. 1941
1945
JoergensenClavioline
Rhodes Pre-Piano
Wurlitzerelectronic organ
Conn organ
Electronic sackbut
1947
1947
1947
1947
1948
1948
Mixturtrautonium
1949
Heliophophon
Mastersonic organ
Wurlitzerelectronic piano
Melochord
1949
1949
1949
1947-1949
Bel organ
c. 1947
Elektronium Pi
1950
Radareedorgan
Dereux organ
1950
c. 1950
Inventor/Notes
B. Miessner/variabletonal quality dependingon the
position of the pickups
Hammond Company/severaltube oscillators; divide-down
synthesis; formant filters
H. Dudley, Bell Laboratories/analysisand 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-tubeoscillators
A. Wolodin
L. Hammond/monophonic vacuum-tube oscillator with
divide-downcircuitry
Univox Company/vacuum-tubesawtooth generatorwith
diode waveform shaper circuit
Hohner GmbH/lower manual is wind-blown, upper manual
has sawtooth generator
G. Jenny/multistablevibratorand filters; keyboard
mounted on springs for vibrato
Compton OrganCompany/electrostatic rotarygenerators
J. Hanert/programmableperformancecontrolled by
punched paper cards
M. C. Martin/monophonic, three-octavekeyboard
H. Rhodes/metal tines amplified by electrostatic pickups
WurlitzerCompany/basedon the Orgatronreed design
Conn OrganCompany/individualoscillators for each key
H. LeCaine/voltage-controlledsynthesizer, pitch,
waveform,and formant controllers
B. Cross and P. Grainger/electronicoscillators and
continuous automated control
O. Sala/Trautoniumwith 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 installed at North West German Radio,
Cologne
Bendix Electronics/12 vacuum-tube oscillators, other
pitches obtained by divide-downcircuit
Hohner GmbH/monophonic vacuum-tube oscillator with
divide-downcircuitry
G. Gubbins/amplifiedreeds fitted with resonators
Societe Dereux/electrostatic rotarygenerators,waveforms
derivedfrom oscillogram photographs
Roads
23