Timeline of music technology

The timeline of music technology provides the major dates in the history of electric music technologies inventions from the 1800s to the early 1900s and electronic and digital music technologies from 1917 (the date of the Theremin's development) and electric music technologies to the 2010s.

Dates

• 1874 : Elisha Gray's Musical Telegrap
• 1876 : Alexander Graham Bell completed his designs for the telephone. This device contributed to electric technologies that would subsequently be used in music technology)
• 1877 : Thomas Edison and Emile Berliner simultaneously invented the first prototypes of the phonograph
• 1888 : Thomas Edison introduces the electric motor-driven phonograph
• 1896 : Edwin S. Votey completes the first Pianola
• 1898 : Valdemar Poulsen patents the Telegraphone
• 1906 : Thaddeus Cahill introduces the Telharmonium to the public
• 1906 : Lee De Forest invented the Triode, the first vacuum tube
• 1910 : Vladimir Baranoff-Rossine constructed the Piano Optophonique
• 1912 : Major Edwin F. Armstrong is issued a patent for a regenerative circuit, making radio reception practical
• 1915 : Lee de Forest created the Audion Piano
• 1917 : Leon Theremin invented the prototype of the Theremin, an instrument which is played without touchimg it, as it detects the proximity of the hands
• 1921 : First commercial AM radio Broadcast made by KDKA, Pittsburgh, PA
• 1926 : Jorge Mager presented his electronic instruments, in the Spharaphon line
• 1927 : Pierre Toulon and Krugg Bass invent the Cellulophone
• 1928 : René Bertrand invents the Dynaphone
• 1928 : Fritz Pfleumer patents a system for recording on paper coated with a magnetizable, powdered steel layer, precursor to tape
• 1929 : Laurens Hammond created the first Hammond Organ
• 1929 : Nikolay Obukhov commissioned Michel Billaudot and Pierre Duvalie to design the Sonorous Cross
• 1929 : Peter Lertes and Bruno Helberger developed the Hellertion
• 1930 : Robert Hitcock completes the Westinghouse Organ
• 1930 : Freidrich Trautwein invents the Trautonium
• 1931 : Alan Blumlein, working for EMI in London, in effect, patents stereo
• 1932 : Nicholas Langer built the Emicon
• 1932 : Yevgeny Alexandrovith Sholpo constructed the Variophone
• 1932 : Harry F. Olson patents the first cardioid ribbon microphone
• 1933 : Ivan Eremeef invents the Gnome
• 1934 : NEC engineer Akira Nakishima's switching circuit theory lays foundations for digital circuit design[1]
• 1934 : Milton Taubman constructed the Electronde
• 1935 : Yamaha releases Magna Organ, an early electrostatic reed organ[2][3]
• 1935 : BASF prepares first plastic-based magnetic tapes
• 1936 : Harald Bode designed the Warbo Formenn Organ
• 1936 : Oskar Vierling and Winston Kock designed the Grosstonorgel
• 1937 : Orson Welles, first director to use studio electronics, during his broadcast of War of the Worlds
• 1938 : Georges Jenny develops the Ondioline
• 1938 : Benjamin B. Baur of Shure Bros. engineers a single microphone element to produce a cardioid pickup pattern (it picks up less sounds from the sides of the microphone, reducing unwanted sound pickup)
• 1939 : Homer W. Dudley invented the Parallel Bandpass Vocoder
• 1940 : Karl Wagner early development of Voice Synthesizers, precursors of the vocoder
• 1940 : Homer W. Dudley introduced the Voder Speech Synthesizer
• 1940 : The Hammond Organ Company releases the Solovox
• 1941 : Commercial FM broadcasting begins in the US
• 1944 : Halim El-Dabh produces The Expression of Zaar, the earliest piece of electroacoustic tape music[4][5]
• 1944 : Harold Rhodes built the first prototype of the Rhodes Piano
• 1945 : The Hammond Organ Company commissioned John Hanert to design the Hanert Synthesizer
• 1946 : Jennings Musical Instruments releases the Univox
• 1946 : Raymond Scott patented the Orchestra Machine
• 1947 : Constant Martin constructed the Clavioline
• 1948 : Bell Laboratories reveal the first transistor
• 1948 : The microgroove 33-1/3 rpm vinyl record (LP) is introduced by Columbia Records
• 1951 : Pultec introduces the first passive program equalizer, the EQP-1
• 1952 : Harry F. Olson and Herbert Belar invent the RCA Synthesizer
• 1952 : Osmand Kendal develops the Composer-Tron for the Canadian branch of the Marconi Wireless Company
• 1955 : Ampex develops “Sel-Sync” (Selective Synchronous Recording), making audio overdubbing practical
• 1956 : Les Paul makes the first 8-track recordings using the “sel-sync” method
• 1956 : Raymond Scott develops the Clavivox
• 1958 : First commercial stereo disk recordings produced by Audio Fidelity
• 1958 : Evgeny Murzin along with several colleagues create the ANS synthesizer
• 1958 : At Texas Instruments, Jack Kilby creates the first integrated circuit
• 1959 : Daphne Oram develops a programming technique known as Oramics
• 1959 : Wurlitzer manufactures The Sideman, the first commercial electro-mechanical drum machine
• 1963 : Keio Electronics (later Korg) produces the DA-20, an early drum machine
• 1963 : The Mellotron starts to be manufactured in London
• 1963 : Phillips introduces the Compact Cassette tape format
• 1963 : Paul Ketoff designs the SynKet
• 1964 : Ikutaro Kakehashi debuts Ace Tone R-1 Rhythm Ace, the first electronic drum[6][7][8]
• 1964 : The Moog synthesizer is released
• 1965 : Nippon Columbia patents an early electronic drum machine[9]
• 1966 : Korg releases Donca-Matic DE-20, an early electronic drum machine[10]
• 1967 : Ace Tone releases FR-1 Rhythm Ace, the first electronic drum machine to enter popular music[11]
• 1967 : First PCM recorder developed by NHK[12]
• 1968 : Sharp engineer Tadashi Sasaki conceives single-chip microprocessor[13]
• 1968 : Release of Shin-ei's Uni-Vibe, designed by Fumio Mieda, an effects pedal with phase shift and chorus effects[14]
• 1968 : King Tubby pioneers dub music, an early form of popular electronic music[15]
• 1969 : Matsushita engineer Shuichi Obata invents first direct-drive turntable, Technics SP-10[16]
• 1970 : ARP 2600 is manufactured
• 1971 : Busicom's Masatoshi Shima and Intel's Federico Faggin complete 4004, the first commercial microprocessor[17]
• 1972 : Sord Computer Corporation develop Sord SMP80/08, an early microcomputer[18]
• 1973 : Yamaha release Yamaha GX-1,[19] the first polyphonic synthesizer[20]
• 1974 : Yamaha build first digital synthesizer[21]
• 1976 : Boss, a Roland subsidiary, release Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, the first chorus pedal[22]
• 1977 : Roland release MC-8 Microcomposer, an early microprocessor-driven CV/Gate digital sequencer[6][23]
• 1977 : Apple founder Steve Jobs introduces Apple II, an early home computer
• 1977 : Sord Computer Corporation introduces Sord M200, an early home computer[24]
• 1977 : Panafacom releases the Lkit-16, an early 16-bit microcomputer[25]
• 1978 : Roland releases CR-78, the first microprocessor-driven drum machine[6]
• 1979 : Casio releases VL-1,[26] the first commercial digital synthesizer[27]
• 1980 : Fujio Masuoka invents flash memory at Toshiba[28][29]
• 1980 : Roland releases TR-808, the most widely used drum machine in popular music[30]
• 1980 : Roland introduces DCB protocol and DIN interface with TR-808
• 1980 : Yamaha releases GS-1, the first FM digital synthesizer
• 1980 : Kazuo Morioka creates Firstman SQ-01, the first bass synthesizer with a music sequencer[31][32][33]
• 1981 : Roland releases TB-303, a bass synthesizer that lays the foundations for acid house music[34]
• 1981 : Roland founder Ikutaro Kakehashi conceives MIDI[35]
• 1981 : Toshiba's LMD-649, the first PCM digital sampler, introduced with Yellow Magic Orchestra's Technodelic[36]
• 1981 : IBM introduces the IBM PC, a 16-bit personal computer
• 1982 : Sony and Philips introduce compact disc
• 1982 : First MIDI synthesizers released, Roland Jupiter-6 and Prophet 600[37]
• 1983 : Introduction of MIDI, unveiled by Roland's Ikutaro Kakehashi and Sequential Circuits' Dave Smith[38]
• 1983 : Roland releases MSQ-700, the first MIDI sequencer[39]
• 1983 : Roland releases TR-909, the first MIDI drum machine[37]
• 1983 : Roland releases MC-202, the first groovebox[40]
• 1983 : Yamaha releases DX7, the first commercially successful digital synthesizer[41]
• 1984 : Apple markets the Macintosh computer
• 1985 : Atari releases the Atari ST computer, designed by Shiraz Shivji[42]
• 1985 : Akai releases the Akai S612, a digital sampler
• 1986 : The first digital consoles appear
• 1987 : Digidesign markets Sound Tools
• 1988 : Akai introduces the Music Production Controller (MPC) series of digital samplers
• 1994 : Yamaha unveils the ProMix 01

See also

• Sound recording

References

1. Radomir S. Stanković, Jaakko Astola (2008), Reprints from the Early Days of Information Sciences: TICSP Series On the Contributions of Akira Nakashima to Switching Theory, TICSP Series #40, Tampere International Center for Signal Processing, Tampere University of Technology
2. 一時代を画する新楽器完成 浜松の青年技師山下氏 [An epoch new musical instrument was developed by a young engineer Mr.Yamashita in Hamamatsu]. Hochi Shimbun (in Japanese). 1935-06-08.
3. 新電氣樂器　マグナオルガンの御紹介 [New Electric Musical Instrument – Introduction of Magna Organ] (in Japanese). Hamamatsu: 日本樂器製造株式會社 (Yamaha). October 1935. 特許第一〇八六六四号, 同　第一一〇〇六八号, 同　第一一一二一六号
4. "The Wire, Volumes 275-280", The Wire, p. 24, 2007, retrieved 2011-06-05
5. Holmes, Thom (2008). "Early Synthesizers and Experimenters". Electronic and experimental music: technology, music, and culture (3rd ed.). Taylor & Francis. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-415-95781-6. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
6. Reid, Gordon (2004), "The History Of Roland Part 1: 1930–1978", Sound on Sound (November), retrieved 19 June 2011
7. Matt Dean (2011), The Drum: A History, page 390, Scarecrow Press
8. http://www.factmag.com/2016/09/22/the-14-drum-machines-that-shaped-modern-music/
9. "Automatic rhythm instrument".
10. "Donca-Matic (1963)". Korg Museum. Korg.
11. Russell Hartenberger (2016), The Cambridge Companion to Percussion, page 84, Cambridge University Press
12. Thomas Fine (2008). "The dawn of commercial digital recording" (PDF). ARSC Journal. 39 (1): 1–17.
13. Aspray, William (1994-05-25). "Oral-History: Tadashi Sasaki". Interview #211 for the Center for the History of Electrical Engineering. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
14. Molenda, Mike; Pau, Les (2007). The Guitar Player Book: 40 Years of Interviews, Gear, and Lessons from the World's Most Celebrated Guitar Magazine. Hal Leonard. p. 222. ISBN 9780879307820.
15. Michael Veal (2013), Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae, pages 26-44, "Electronic Music in Jamaica", Wesleyan University Press
16. Billboard, May 21, 1977, page 140
17. Federico Faggin, The Making of the First Microprocessor, IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine, Winter 2009, IEEE Xplore
18. 【Sord】 SMP80/x series, Information Processing Society of Japan
19. Peter Manning, Electronic and Computer Music, page 264, Oxford University Press
20. Yamaha GX-1, Vintage Synth Explorer
21. "[Chapter 2] FM Tone Generators and the Dawn of Home Music Production". Yamaha Synth 40th Anniversary - History. Yamaha Corporation. 2014.
22. Tribute: Ikutaro Kakehashi and Roland's Impact on Music, Reverb.com
23. Russ, Martin (2012). Sound Synthesis and Sampling. CRC Press. p. 192. ISBN 978-1136122149. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
24. 【Sord】 M200 Smart Home Computer Series, Information Processing Society of Japan
25. PANAFACOM Lkit-16, Information Processing Society of Japan
26. Mark Vail, The Synthesizer: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Programming, Playing, and Recording the Ultimate Electronic Music Instrument, page 277, Oxford University Press
27. Impact of MIDI on electroacoustic art music, Issue 102, page 26, Stanford University
28. Fulford, Benjamin (24 June 2002). "Unsung hero". Forbes. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
29. US 4531203 Fujio Masuoka
30. Wells, Peter (2004), A Beginner's Guide to Digital Video, AVA Books, p. 18, ISBN 2-88479-037-3, retrieved 2011-05-20
31. "Firstman International". SYNRISE (in German). Archived from the original on 2003-04-20. FIRSTMAN existiert seit 1972 und hat seinen Ursprung in Japan. Dort ist dieFirma unter dem Markennamen HILLWOOD bekannt. HILLWOOD baute dann auch 1973 den quasi ersten Synthesizer von FIRSTMAN. Die Firma MULTIVOX liess ihre Instrumente von 1976 bis 1980 bei HILLWOOD bauen.","SQ-10 / mon syn kmi ? (1980) / Monophoner Synthesizer mit wahrscheinlich eingebautem Sequenzer. Die Tastatur umfasst 37 Tasten. Die Klangerzeugung beruht auf zwei VCOs.
32. Mark Jenkins (2009), Analog Synthesizers, pages 107-108, CRC Press
33. A TALE OF TWO STRING SYNTHS, Sound on Sound, July 2002
34. Vine, Richard (15 June 2011). "Tadao Kikumoto invents the Roland TB-303". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
35. Chadabe, Joel (1 May 2000). "Part IV: The Seeds of the Future". Electronic Musician. Penton Media. XVI (5). Archived from the original on 28 September 2012.
36. Rockin'f, March 1982, pages 140-141
37. Martin Russ (2004). Sound synthesis and sampling. p. 66. ISBN 9780240516929.
38. "Technical GRAMMY Award: Ikutaro Kakehashi And Dave Smith". Retrieved 31 August 2016.
39. https://www.roland.com/ca/company/history/
40. Roland MC-202 MicroComposer, Electronic Musician, November 2001
41. Pinch, T. J.; Bijsterveld, Karin (July 2003). ""Should One Applaud?" Breaches and Boundaries in the Reception of New Technology in Music". Technology and Culture. 44 (3): 536–559. doi:10.1353/tech.2003.0126. By the time the first commercially successful digital instrument, the Yamaha DX7 (lifetime sales of two hundred thousand), appeared in 1983 ...
42. InfoWorld, October 16, 1989, page 44