1600
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Athanasius Kircher described in his book, Musurgia Universalis (1600), a mechanical device that composed music. He used numeric and arithmetic relationships to represent scale, rhythm, and tempo relations, called the Arca Musarithmica.
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mid-1600s
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Carillons, a Middle Age invention that used pins mounted on a rotating cylinder to “pluck” the teeth of a tuned steel comb, was modified to instead play a melody, by causing hammers to strike bells in a church tower at quarter-hour intervals.
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1804
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Panharmonium designed by Maelzel. Driven by air pressure, it reproduced the timbres of traditional instruments. Beethoven wrote Battle of Vittoira for the Panharmonium; unfortunately it was not performed due to various technical problems.
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1895
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Boch and Wacher developed the automatic calliope, which used metal discs with holes punched into them to produce music from the calliope’s steam- or air-driven pipes.
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1897
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E.S. Votey invented the Pianola, an instrument that used pre-punched, perforated paper rolls moved over a capillary bridge. The holes in the paper corresponded to the 88 keys of the piano. Openings in the paper roll sounded a note.
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1920s
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Givelet and Coupleux’s pipeless organ used vacuum tube oscillators to create sound, and punched paper tapes to modulate it. One of the first programmable analog music synthesizers. At the same time, Seeburg, Wurlitzer and others were building the first electronic jukeboxes.
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1948-
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Conlon Nancarrow used the player piano as a medium for original composition. He laboriously punched out rolls by hand.
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1950s
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MUSICOMP composition language developed by Lejaren Hiller and Leonard Isaacson’s IBM Illiac 7090 computer at the University of Illinois; the first significant work was a string quartet called the Illiac Suite. In addition, the RCA Mark II synthesizer used operating codes punched on cards or paper tape.
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1951-53
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Eimert and Beyer (b. 1901) produced the first compositions using electronically generated pitches. The pieces used a mechanized device that produced melodies based on Markov analysis of Stephen Foster tunes.
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1956
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Martin Klein and Douglas Bolitho used a Datatron computer called Push-Button Bertha to compose music. This computer was used to compose popular tunes; the tunes were derived from random numerical data that was sieved, or mapped, into a preset tonal scheme.
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late-1950s
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Raymond Scott developed the Electronium, an "instantaneous composition/performance machine" which generated rhythms and melodies in response to a composer’s requests via buttons and switches.
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1963
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The invention of the transistor helped Don Buchla create an analog synthesizer with the first built-in sequencer. Early models that followed came in eight- and sixteen-step versions.
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1964
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Robert Moog’s modular analog synthesizer became a commercial product and featured an eight-step analog sequencer with knobs per step for pitch (CV), gate time (on/off) and timing.
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1974
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Tom Oberheim created the DS-2, the first digital sequencer for controlling analog synthesizers like the MiniMoog. The DS-2 stored and played up to 72 notes, triggers or filter events via control voltage (CV).
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1979-84
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High-end analog and digital synthesizers featured built-in real time sequencing capabilities under computer control; examples included the Fairlight CMI and New England Digital’s Synclavier. By the late 1980s many keyboard synthesizers had built-in sequencers, drum sounds and effects, constituting early MIDI workstations.
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1980-84
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Digital drum sequencers were on the rise, from Roger Linn (LM-1, the first with digital samples), Oberheim (DMX, DX, DSX), Roland, Sequential Circuits, and others.
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1981
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John Melcher wrote the first software sequencer for Passport Designs. It ran on an Apple II personal computer.
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1982
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Oberheim’s CV- and Gate-based System (OBX and Xa synthesizers, DMX digital drum machine, and DSX hardware sequencer) is featured on two Top 40 singles.
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1983
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Dave Smith’s (Sequential Circuits) Universal Synthesizer Interface specification was modified, in collaboration with Roland and Yamaha and was ratified as the MIDI 1.0 Specification.
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1985-86
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Software MIDI sequencers appeared for various computer operating systems: Apple Macintosh (Opcode’s Vision, MOTU’s Performer), Atari ST (Cubase and Notator; the latter became Logic) and IBM (Cakewalk).
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1986-90
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Multitrack MIDI sequencing was welcomed into the recording industry as a legitimate production tool, as well as for live performance. Notation was added to MIDI sequencers; shortly afterwards audio recording is integrated into sequencing.
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1989
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Digidesign released Sound Tools, a stereo audio editor that runs on the Apple Macintosh. In 1991, Sound Tools became Pro Tools, a software multitrack audio recording and editing package. MIDI is added in 1995.
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1995
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Seer Systems was granted a patent covering the first software synthesizer, Reality. The patent promotes the use of the General MIDI (GM) specification for compatibility.
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1998
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Rewire was released. A joint development between Steinberg (Cubase) and Propellerhead Software (Recycle), Rewire facilitates communication between different software sequencers, and allows MIDI, audio and synchronization information to be transferred between programs running on a single computer. Rewire is open for general use without a licensing fee.
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2000
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Propellerhead Software released Reason, a software-based virtual rack consisting of synthesizers, samplers, mixers and effects processors.
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2001
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Ableton Live was released, a loop-based MIDI and audio program designed for both composition and live performance. Live is popular with DJs for its ability to alter an audio clip’s tempo in real time for beat-matching effects.
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