The Telharmonium, also called the Dynamophone, was an early electrical organ created by Thaddeus Cahill around 1896. It received a patent in 1897. Electrical signals from the Telharmonium were sent through wires and heard at the receiving end using "horn" speakers.

Similar to the later Hammond organ, the Telharmonium used spinning wheels called tonewheels to create musical sounds as electrical signals by combining different tones. It is considered the first electromechanical musical instrument, meaning it uses both electricity and moving parts to produce sound.

Background

• In 1809, Prussian inventor Samuel Thomas Soemmerring made an electrical telegraph that caused tuned bells to ring.
• In 1885, Hermann Helmholtz’s book On the Sensations of Tone (originally published in 1862) was translated into English.
• In 1874, Elisha Gray invented a device called the “Musical Telegraph.”
• In Paris, Clément Ader developed the “Théâtrophone” in 1881. This system used two telephone lines to send music from a theater to two separate receivers, called “binauriclar auduition,” marking the first stereo concert transmitted by telephone.
• In 1890, AT&T stopped working on a music service, admitting that there were problems with sound quality.
• In 1893, Hungarian inventor Tivadar Puskás developed the “Telefonhírmondó,” also known as the “Telephone Herald.”

History

In the 1890s, Thaddeus Cahill was a lawyer living in Washington, D.C. He also created tools for pianos and typewriters. At the time, he worked as a helper for Congress and thought of the telharmonium, a device that could send music through telephone wires to provide continuous entertainment for people listening.

Earlier, some experiments had been done to make sound using electricity. However, Cahill’s idea was different. Other systems used mechanical parts connected to electrical motors or actuators to create sound. Cahill’s system did not do this. Instead, it sent electrical signals directly into telephone lines. At the receiving end, a metal cone attached to a telephone produced a basic loudspeaker that turned the signals into sound.

To make different musical notes, Cahill used twelve special machines called alternating-current generators. Each machine made a specific note. Eight switches on the generators changed the pitch to different octaves. The system had controls that let signals be mixed, creating effects like vibrato. Because the first six notes of a musical scale were correct, mixing allowed for different tones. Volume was controlled by moving a part inside the generators that changed the electricity flow. The performer used a keyboard similar to a pipe organ, with switches to control effects. The final version was patented in 1897.

Cahill built three versions of the system. They were smaller than the original because the generators were expensive. By 1901, Cahill made a working model with only eight of the planned twelve generators, which played only the white keys of a piano. This version, called Mark I, weighed 7 tons.

The 1906 model, called Mark II, had 145 electric generators. It weighed almost 200 tons, was 60 feet long, had multiple keyboards and controls, and needed at least two people to operate it. Moving it required 30 railroad cars. At this time, the company tried to offer music through telephone lines, but Bell Telephone said their equipment might be damaged and refused to let them use their lines. However, new radio discoveries allowed the company to consider using radio for distribution. Lee DeForest used the system from Telharmonic Hall to broadcast music that could be heard clearly from miles away without wires.

A few performances were given for live audiences in addition to telephone transmissions. In 1906, performances in New York City were well received by the public, and famous writer Mark Twain was among the people who attended. Performers sat at a console to control the instrument.

The 1911 model, called Mark III, weighed almost 200 tons, was 60 feet long, had multiple keyboards and controls, and needed at least two players. It was placed in a special room in New York City.

The Telharmonium was an early example of modern electronic musical equipment. Its sound was produced by connecting telephone receivers to large paper cones, a simple form of loudspeaker. Cahill said electromagnetic diaphragms were best for making the instrument’s unique sound. No recordings of its music are known to exist.

Cahill sold the Telharmonium for $200,000.

The Telharmonium’s use declined for several reasons. The instrument was very large and heavy. Before vacuum tubes were invented, it needed large electric machines that used a lot of power to create strong audio signals. Problems also occurred when telephone broadcasts of Telharmonium music caused interference, surprising telephone users with strange sounds. By 1912, interest in the instrument decreased, and Cahill’s company was declared unsuccessful in 1914.

Cahill died in 1934. His younger brother kept Mark I for many years but could not find anyone interested in it. Mark I was the last version to be removed in 1962.

Design

Telharmonium tones were described as "clear and pure" because the instrument could create electronic sine wave sounds. However, it was not limited to these simple tones. Each tonewheel in the instrument was linked to a single musical note. To expand its range, Cahill added extra tonewheels to create harmonics for each note. This, along with features like organ-like stops, multiple keyboards (which allowed the Telharmonium to play many notes at once), and several foot pedals, enabled the instrument to shape and change sounds in many ways. It was known for its ability to copy the sounds of common orchestral woodwind instruments, such as the flute, bassoon, clarinet, and the cello. The Telharmonium required 671 kilowatts of power and had 153 keys to function properly.

The same system was used to create the Hammond organ. The main difference is that the signals from the "tone wheels" are read using a standard pickup. This produces a very small amount of power, which is then sent to an electronic amplifier and then to a speaker on the organ. The smaller size and lower power needs allowed Hammond to add another harmonic disk, called the eighth harmonic (skipping the seventh, to improve the sound further). This system was later used to create Muzak, which was sent over telephone lines.