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The U.S. Enters World War I
President Wilson the United States Congress declares war on Germany and enters World War I. -
The Theremin
The Theremin was born. Invented by Leon Theremin. It was an instrument that required the player to perform on it without even touching it. The performer moves their hands around the metal loop for volume and the antennae for pitch. The output was a monophonic continuous tone modulated by the performer. The timbre of the instrument resembled the sound of a violin string. -
“First Airphonic Suite” by Joseph Schillingers
This piece serves as one of the earliest classical pieces written for the Theremin. It’s also written to be performed with an orchestra. The suite is written in a traditional romantic format and sounds both Russian and American. -
"Turntablism"
The practice of “Turntablism” was solidly introduced to the world of music. It’s the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph or digital turntables. This technique is the birth of what DJs use today. Composers such as John Cage used this idea in multiple of his works. -
The “Magnetophon
The first practical audio tape recorder was unveiled, called the “Magnetophon”. Wasn’t until 1942 when test recordings were being made in stereo. These developments were initially confined in Germany, until the end of World War II when recorders and tapes were brought to the United States. This would serve as the basis for the first commercially-produced tape recorder in 1948. -
“Imaginary Landscape No. 1” by John Cage
One of the earliest electro-acoustic works ever composed. Written for muted piano, large Chinese cymbal, and two variable-speed turntables. On the first turntable a Victor frequency record (84522B) and a constant note record (no.24) are played. On the second, another Victor frequency record (84522A) is played. -
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii happened. Japanese fighter planes launched a surprise attack on United States soil, destroying the U.S. Pacific Fleet docked at the base. This makes the United States declare war on Japan, officially entering World War II. -
The Wobble Organ
The Wobble Organ was created by Bell Laboratories electrical engineer Larned A. Meacham. Intended as an inexpensive, portable recreational instrument where families could get together to create electronic “Barber-shop Quartets”. -
The End of World War II
President Truman signed the Treaty of San Francisco, a peace treaty with Japan. This officially ended World War II. -
The Beginning of the Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement began with the August 28th murder of Emmett Till, the refusal on December 1st by Rosa Parks to give up her seat on the bus to a white man, and the subsequent Montogmery Bus Boycott. -
“The Silver Scale” by Max Mathews and Newman Guttman
The first 17 second piece created with “MUSIC I”. Often credited as being the first proper piece of computer generated music. -
"MUSICOMP"
“MUSICOMP” was developed by Lejaren Hiller and his colleague Robert A. Baker. This program was designed to organize compositional functions into computer subroutines to automate parts of the composing process. Essentially it’s one of the first music composition programming languages. -
"MUSIC I"
Max Mathews succeeded in programming a computer to synthesize a few notes of music. The result was a piece lasting 17 seconds, but it was the first program written to generate sound directly from a computer. Mathews called it, “MUSIC I”. Limited to one voice, one waveform (triangular wave), and had no expressive controls over the dynamics of the sound. All it could do was be programmed to playback a sequence of pitches at prescribed intervals of a given loudness for a given length of time. -
“Analogiques A & B” by Iannis Xenakis
Written for four-channel tape and string ensemble. This piece would serve as the first granular synthesis study. -
"Experimental Music" by Hiller & Isaacson
"Experimental Music" by Lejaren Hiller and Leonard Isaacson was published. It became the first book to present an application of scientific method to music. -
The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
U.S. President John F. Kennedy is shot and killed in Dallas, Texas during a parade. Lyndon B. Johnson is quick to swear in as President. -
The Moog Modular Synthesiser,
The Moog Modular Synthesiser, created by Robert Moog and Herbert Deutsh, became the first widely used electronic music synthesiser and the first instrument to make the crossover from the avant-garde to popular music. Artists like The Beatles and Mick Jagger would fall into buying one. -
"Graphic I"
“Graphic 1” was created. A hybrid hardware-software graphic input system for digital synthesis that allowed note values to be written on a CRT computer monitor. It was created for the use of Max Mathews and his newly developed “MUSIC IV”. This served as the precursor to most computer based graphic composition environments such as Logic Pro and Ableton Live. This program was developed by William Ninke, with additional help from Carl Christensen and Henry S. McDonald. -
“Tomorrow Never Knows” by The Beatles
Argued to have been the song to “usher in a new era in the use of electronic music in rock and pop music”. The recording incorporates tape loops and reversed and speed-manipulated tape sounds. -
“Mutations” by Jean-Claude Risset
Composed for magnetic tape at Bell Labs. “Mutations” is one of Risset’s earlier works where he helped expand the frontiers of what digital synthesis can do for the human ear. -
"MUSYS"
A new musical composition and “sequencing” language called MUSYS was developed by Peter Grogono in the United Kingdom. It was designed to be more “composer friendly” and efficient by saving its data to a disk rather than a paper tape. This would serve as a precursor to more modern MIDI software applications. -
"GROOVE"
Max Mathews at Bell Labs produced GROOVE, a musical programming language for real-time performance. It allowed users to continually adjust and “mix” different actions in real time, review sections or an entire piece and then re-run the composition from stored data. -
DJ Kool Herc & "Turntablism"
DJ Kool Herc, at parties in New York, developed a turntable technique (based off of “turntablism”) to extend rhythmic parts of a recorded song and established the musical foundations of hip-hop. -
"Digital Sound Synthesis, Acoustics, and Perception: A Rich Intersection" published by John Chowning
John Chowning published "Digital Sound Synthesis, Acoustics, and Perception: A Rich Intersection". This publication would lay the groundwork for FM (Frequency Modulation) spectral synthesis. Chowning’s technique required simple algorithms that could be processed by early solid-state digital synthesizers and analog-digital hybrids. -
The Beatles Break Up
The famous British rock band The Beatles officially and legally break up after a long court battle where Paul McCartney forced to sue the other three Beatles to get the legal breakup they all needed to go their separate ways. -
“Mycenae-Alpha” by Iannis Xenakis
Written for tape, this would become the first piece composed completely on the UPIC (Unité Polyagogique Informatique du CEMAMu). The musician would draw on a tablet linked to a computer which would then produce sounds based on an X (duration) and Y (pitch) axis. -
Star Wars: A New Hope
The first Star Wars movie opens and becomes the highest grossing film at its time. -
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument) was introduced to the world. It’s a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation. It was one of the earliest music workstations with an embedded digital sampler, and is credited for coining the term “sampling” in music. -
The Royal Wedding
The royal wedding between Britain’s Prince Charles and Diana Spencer was televised live. -
“Is She/He Really Going Out With Him/Her/Them” by Nicolas Collins
Written for circuits, radios, prepared tapes, and computer-controlled mixer. Though not as significant as other pieces on this timeline, this piece is one of the first to acknowledge the use of gender neutral pronouns in its title (which I think is something worth noting). The piece itself was inspired by Grandmaster Flash and the early technique of turntablism. -
The Yamaha DX Family
Yamaha acquired rights to Chowning’s algorithms and produced the Yamaha DX family of FM synthesizers. It is arguable that this family has been the best-selling synthesizers of the last 50 years. This technique was equally good at approximating the sounds of acoustic instruments as well as generating a uniquely electronic sound palette. -
MIDI is Introduced
MIDI was introduced. Because of this it inspired microcomputer makers to develop more robust methods of producing computer music. One result of this was the sound card, or expansion card, which could be added to a personal computer to expand its synthesizing capabilities and provide analog audio output of the sound signal. -
The Challenger Explosion
On the way for its 9th mission to space, the shuttle Challenger explodes over Cape Canaveral, killing all seven astronauts aboard, including the civilian social studies teacher Christa McAuliffe. -
“Jupiter” by Philippe Manoury
For solo flute and real-time electronics, this would serve as the first piece to use the concept of “score following”. It was inspired by the flutist Laurence Beauregard who had developed a flute with fifteen switches on its keys to aid a computer in tracking its pitch quickly. This piece was written with hopes that it would open up possibilities for other composers hoping to write interactive pieces. -
Welcome Cubase
The Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) “Cubase” was introduced to the world, becoming one of the first DAW’s that was accessible by the public. Cubase to this day is still widely used and one of the top programs for music creation. It is currently on version 7.5. -
The Hubble Telescope
The Hubble Telescope was launched into space to enter the Earth’s orbit. -
“Begin Again Again” by Tod Machover
First of the works that comprise the Hyperstring Trilogy. It was written for Yo-Yo Ma. Machover developed an interactive system of sensors measuring physical movements of the cellist. -
Welcome "Sibelius"
One of the world’s most popular music notation software "Sibelius" is first released for Acorn computers. "Sibelius" would continue to develop into becoming one of the most popular music softwares used in the industry today. -
“Nitely News” by Roger Dannenberg
Written for ensemble, electronics, and computer animation. This is the first piece written with real-time computer-generated music notation. The composer controls the work not by writing specific notes, but by planning specific interactions and by responding to the performer/improviser in certain ways. The interactive context guides the improviser towards a certain style and form. “Nitely News” is one of the first truly interactive pieces of music written. -
"Harry Potter" Enters the World
The first “Harry Potter” book by J.K. Rowling hit the shelves all across the United States. -
MP3 Audio Compression
The MP3 audio compression was developed by Dieter Seitzer in Germany. The MP3 (or also known as its full name: MPEG Audio Layer 3) format reduced audio signal by as much as 90%. This allowed the digital store of high fidelity-quality sound files in one tenth of the space required by uncompressed audio files. As an example, this made it possible for an 8GB iPod Nano to hold up to 2,000 four-minute songs instead of around 182 uncompressed audio files. -
The DCMA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act)
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA) is approved by the United States Congress. This Act made it illegal to circumvent electronic measures implemented to protect access to a copyrighted property, even in the absence of any infringement of the copyright itself. This Act would serve as the legal basis for the later coming Digital Rights Management (DRM). -
Introducing AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)
Apple Computer introduced AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), its audio compression scheme incorporating digital data management. It rose to prominence as one of the most widely used compression schemes when Apple Computer adopted a secure version of it as the file format for its iTunes Music Store and iPod portable music player. -
The Tragedy of September 11, 2001
The tragedy of the World Trade Center in New York City happens and over 3,000 people pass away in what is considered to be the worst terrorist attack in United States history. A third hijacked plane flies into the Pentagon and a fourth crashes in rural Pennsylvania. -
“Midnight Request Line” by Skream
This solo single is credited as a key factor in the evolution of a more melodic sound in the early-beloved genre of “dubstep”. -
The Laptop Orchestra
The first ever Laptop Orchestra was founded. Its ensemble is part of research at Princeton University. Its name is the Princeton Laptop Orchestra (abbreviated as PLOrk). It was created to investigate ways in which computers can be integrated into conventional music-making contexts. The PLOrk consists of 12-15 musicians each at their own station consisting of a laptop, a multi-channel hemispherical speaker, and a variety of “control” devices. -
“Nonspecific Gamelan Taiko Fusion” by Perry R. Cook & Ge Wang
Written for the Princeton Laptop Orchestra, this piece is arguably the first piece of repertoire written for the Laptop Orchestra setup. It’s an experiment in human controlled, but machine synchronized percussion ensemble performance. The piece gradually transitions from tuned bell timbres to drums as the texture and density grows. -
SoundCloud
The website SoundCloud is created. It now has over ten million users and prides itself on being the “world’s leading social sound platform where anyone can create sounds and share them everywhere”. Most popular DJs around the world use the site to help gain popularity and stardom. -
President Barack Obama
President Barack Obama was elected into office, beating Republican nominee Senator John McCain. Obama would go on to serve as the first African-American United States President.