How is the Telharmonium related to Muzak?

The Telharmonium, its inventor Thaddeus Cahill
Thaddeus Cahill
Thaddeus Cahill (June 18, 1867 – April 12, 1934) was a prominent inventor of the early 20th century. He is widely credited with the invention of the first electromechanical musical instrument, which he dubbed the telharmonium. He studied the physics of music at Oberlin Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Thaddeus_Cahill
explained in 1907, wasn't canned music -- a derogatory phrase describing the mechanical muzak of the phonograph, which ran on cylinders plastered with the patent-approved face of Thomas Edison.
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Was the Telharmonium the first synthesizer?

He was awarded a patent in 1896, #580,035. "In his patent, Cahill used the term 'synthesizing. ' This proves, some say, that the Telharmonium was truly the world's first Synthesizer," Jay Williston writes at the Synth Museum Magazine. In 1901, the first model was ready.
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What kind of instrument was the Telharmonium?

telharmonium, also called Dynamophone, earliest musical instrument to generate sound electrically. It was invented in the United States by Thaddeus Cahill and introduced in 1906.
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How does the Telharmonium work?

Like the later Hammond organ, the Telharmonium used tonewheels to generate musical sounds as electrical signals by additive synthesis. It is considered to be the first electromechanical musical instrument.
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Who invented the first Telharmonium?

Cahill, a trained lawyer, eventually succeeded in having his patent accepted in 1897. The first design of the instrument set out the principles of the 'Telharmonium' or 'Dynamophone' that would be developed by Cahill over the next twenty years.
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The First Synth Was Bigger Than Your House - The Telharmonium



How much did the Telharmonium cost?

Price: 200,000 dollars.
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How many tone generators does the Telharmonium have?

The final design, patented in 1897, had twelve separate generators, which produced the twelve basic tones of the musical scale. Each of these generators (called dynamos in those days) consisted of a motor-driven shaft, packed with a series of “rheotomes” or notched discs.
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Why is the Telharmonium important?

Rdio, however, was not the first service to allow American subscribers to stream music from their phones. That honor goes to the telharmonium, the first patent for which was granted in 1897. It was, essentially, a Victorian Spotify.
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What did the ambitious inventor of the Telharmonium and his group of investors seek to create during the early 1900's?

Cahill had tremendous ambitions for his invention; he wanted telharmonium music to be broadcast into hotels, restaurants, theaters, and even houses via the telephone line.
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How does a theremin player control the pitch and volume the instrument produces?

The thereminist stands in front of the instrument and moves their hands in the proximity of two metal antennas. The distance from one antenna determines frequency (pitch), and the distance from the other controls amplitude (volume). Higher notes are played by moving the hand closer to the pitch antenna.
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How did the Telharmonium amplify its sound?

The resulting sound was audible via acoustic horns built from piano soundboards in the early models, later models were linked directly to the telephone network or to a series of telephone receivers fitted with special acoustic horns – this was the only way to amplify the sound in this preamplifier era (Cahill's ...
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What instrument is also known as the Aetherophone?

theremin, also called Thereminvox, or Etherophone, electronic musical instrument invented in 1920 in the Soviet Union by Leon Theremin (also called Lev Termen).
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Is synth an instrument?

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument that uses some form of digital or analog processing to produce audible sound.
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What was the first synth?

Modular synthesizer - 1965

In 1952, the RCA (Radio Corporation of America) developed the first synthesizer created by Harry Olson and Herbert Belar, capable of artificially creating sound.
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Who invented the world's first successful music synthesizer?

The authors of Analog Days define "the early years of the synthesizer" as between 1964 and the mid-1970s, beginning with the debut of the Moog synthesizer. Designed by American engineer Robert Moog, the synthesizer was composed of separate modules which created and shaped sounds, connected by patch cords.
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What does MIDI mean?

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a protocol designed for recording and playing back music on digital synthesizers that is supported by many makes of personal computer sound cards. Originally intended to control one keyboard from another, it was quickly adopted for the personal computer.
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When was the musical telegraph invented?

One of the first synthesizers that used electricity to generate and transmit sounds. Invented by Elisha Gray in 1876.
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What is an Electrophonic instrument?

(ɪˈlɛktrəˌfəʊn) n. (Instruments) music any instrument whose sound is produced by the oscillation of an electric current, such as an electronic organ, synthesizer, etc.
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What is a mellotron in music?

The Mellotron, an electronic keyboard device made from the 1960s to the 1980s, has been one of the most loved—and most hated—musical instruments of all time. Unlike a conventional “synthesizer,” or electronic organ, the Mellotron generates its sound from sounds recorded on 35 individual tapes.
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What does the word theremin mean?

Definition of theremin

: a purely melodic electronic musical instrument typically played by moving the hands in the electromagnetic fields surrounding two projecting antennae.
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What is a tone wheel organ?

A tonewheel or tone wheel is a simple electromechanical apparatus for generating electric musical notes in electromechanical organ instruments such as the Hammond Organ. It was developed by Thaddeus Cahill for the telharmonium c. 1896 and patented in 1897.
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What is the name of the first monophonic synthesizer invented in 1920?

The theremin is a movement-controlled monophonic analogue synthesizer electrophone invented around 1920 by the Russian physicist and musician Lev Sergeyevich Termen (1896-1993), hereafter rendered in its Anglicized form as Leon Theremin.
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What device was perfected after World War 2 that made musique concrete possible?

Magnetic tape

In 1950, when the machines finally functioned correctly, the techniques of musique concrète were expanded.
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