History of Electronic Music

Telharmonium Invented

Jan 13, 1887

Developed by Thaddeus Cahill. Transmitted over wires; it was heard on the receiving end of horn speakers.

Theremin Invention

Dec 15, 1920

Leon Theremin was the inventor. The instrument was played by moving your hand near a pitch antenna

Ondes Martenot Invention

Dec 24, 1928

Inventor was Frenchman Maurice Martenot, the instrument sounded very similar to the Theremin.

Hammod Organ

Dec 24, 1929

Not much larger than an upright piano. It was built to mimic the sound of the pipe organ

Electric Guitar

Dec 24, 1941

Les Paul invented the solid body electric guitar. Greatly impacted rock and roll music.

Leslie speaker

Dec 24, 1941

Combined amplifier and two-way loudspeaker that projects the signal from an electric or electronic instrument

The Hammond B3 model

Dec 24, 1950

Used drawbars to vary the timbre and contained a rotating speaker,

Computer first performed music

Dec 24, 1951

A computer in the 1950s was not like the portable laptops we have today. They were big computers that sometimes took up an entire room.

Synthesize music on a computer

Dec 24, 1957

Max Mathews was the first to synthesize music on a computer.

RCA Mark II

Dec 24, 1958

Designed by Herbert Belar and Harry Olson. Weighing about 3 tons and 20 feet wide.

Moog Synthesizer

Dec 24, 1964

Robert Moog introduced the first commercially available modern synthesizer.

Electro-Theremin

Dec 24, 1966

Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys made history with the use of the Electro-Theremin in their song, Good Vibrations.

Hip-hop turntablism was beginning

Dec 24, 1979

MIDI

Jan 24, 1983

Musical Instrument Digital Interface. MIDI is a system or “language” that allows electronic musical instruments and computers to send information, or “talk” to each other.

Laptop Orchestra

Mar 23, 2005

Princeton University, founded by Dan Trueman and Perry Cook.