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Electronic music pre 1945 (Theremin 1920 (Dude who invented it (Theremin)…
Electronic music pre 1945
Early experimentation
Telephone and electrical transmission, Reis phone 1861- using beer barrel
Gray telegraph 1874- press two keys to make noise, polyphonic, vibrating reed
Ernst Lorenze then takes this on
Thaddeus Cahill
Telharmonium
Spet 26 1906 concert in NYC
General feeling of electronic music being a shortcut to musicianship
Still an ongoing issues
30 railroad cars to get it to New York
The more keys you press, quieter the sound of each
Two keyboards + listening room
Used local phone lines to distribute the sound- however too much crosstalk and shutdown 1908
Demonstrated 1900-01
Could replicate orchestral instruments, played Schumann, Bach etc
Series of notched metal tone wheels
Hammond organ is its biggest legacy
Plan to build huge instrument 1895-6
No amplifiers so has to be massive
Children of the inventions
Busoni
Wanted music to be free from tradition
'Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music' 1907 paper
Felt electronic music could free his ideas, microtonal music
Russolo
Futurist too- felt classical was out of step with sociey, industrial revolution etc
Made hand cranked machines to create noise instruments
1914 first concert, but WWI brings futurist movement to an end
Ambient sounds greatest legacy
Age of electronics
Vacuum tube invented which allowed a move forward for electronic music
Lee De Forest 1907
Heterodyning
Two ultrasonic frequency signals of nearly equal frequency mixed to create beating sound
Theremin 1920
Gesture controlled, 5 octaves
500 sold by RCA
Not used to its full extent- playing trad music instead of interesting music for the instrument
Had to learn to pluck notes out of the air with great accuracy
Tremolo and vibrato easy to produce
Dude who invented it (Theremin) Russian spy!
Disappeared 1938, 1984 type situation
Used in 'Spellbound' 1945