History of Electronic Music.

Telharmonium

Jun 6, 1897

The Telharmonium ivented by Thaddeus Cahill is patented in 1897. The Telharmonium was the direct precursor to the modern synthesizer.

The Theremin

Jun 3, 1920

Leon Theremin a Russian born genius invents the Etherephone which later comes to be called simply the Theremin. The Theremin is hugely popular.

The Ondes Martenot invented

Feb 24, 1928

Invented by Frenchman Ondes Martenot, The Ondes Martenot was made to be more like a traditional instrument. It was still far more like the Theremin than anything else but iut was housed in a cabinet with a keyboard in addition to the Theremin technology.

RCA starts Theremin Production

Mar 3, 1929

In 1929 Theremin signed a licensing agreement with the American company RCA to manufacture and distribute a commercial version of the instrument. With the great depression hitting at its release date the Theremin was not an immediate success.

The Hammond Organ

Oct 26, 1929

In 1929 an inventor named Laurens Hammond invented the Hammond Organ. The technology was very similar to the Telharmonium.

The RCA Mark II

Sep 17, 1958

In 1958 a descendant of the Telharmonium is invented. It's the RCA Mark II which is a flagship piece of equipment at the Colombia Princeton Electronic Music Center.

MiniMoog

May 23, 1968

In 1968 Robert Moog introduces the first commercially available synthesizers.

Buchla Synthesizer

Mar 5, 1969

While Robert Moog was working on his synthesizers on the east coast Donald Buchla was working on his own in San Francisco.