Harald Bode

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File:Hohner Multimonica.jpg
Hohner Multimonica (first released in 1940 / manufactured in 1953 as version II). Designed by Harald Bode.

Harald Bode (October 19, 1909 – January 15, 1987) was a German engineer and pioneer in the development of electronic music instruments.

Biography

Harald Bode was born in 1909 in Hamburg, Germany. At the age of 18 he lost his parents and started studying,[1] and graduated from the University of Hamburg in 1934.[2] In 1935, he began his pioneering work in the field of electronic musical instruments, and with funding support provided by Christian Warnke, his earliest work was completed in 1937.[1]

Warbo Formant Organ (1937),[model 1][photo 1] an archetype of today's polyphonic synthesizer, was a four voice key-assignment keyboard with two formant filters and dynamic envelope controller. Eventually it went into commercial production by a factory in Dachau,[model 2] and it became one of the earliest polyphonic synthesizer products, along with Novachord (1939) by Hammond.

Melochord (1947–1949) developed by Bode was extensively used by Werner Meyer-Eppler in early days of the electronic studio at Bonn University.[model 3] Then in 1953 a Melochord, along with Monochord by Freidrich Trautwein,[3] was specially commissioned by the Studio for Electronic Music of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR Studio in Cologne, West German Broadcasting Corporation),[4] and used by the Elektronische Musik group throughout the 1950s.[model 3] (see Melochord at the WDR Studio in Cologne)

From 1950, Bode designed electronic organs for the Apparatewerk Bayern (AWB) in Germany and the Estey Organ Company in the United States. In 1954, Bode immigrated to the United States as a chief engineer (later vice-president) of Estey Organ,[4] and resumed his research at several companies and as a contractor of German companies.

In 1959-1960, Bode developed modular synthesizer and sound processor, and in 1961, he wrote a paper exploring the advantages of newly emerging transistor technology over older vacuum tube devices;[5][6][7] also he served as AES session chairman on music and electronic for the fall conventions in 1962 and 1964;[2] after then, his ideas were adopted by Robert Moog, Donald Buchla and others.

After retiring from the chief engineer of Bell Aerospace[4] in 1974, he composed TV-advertising spots and gave live concerts. Also in 1977, Harald was invited as a chief engineer of the Norlin/Moog Music[8] after Robert Moog left.

He died in New York, New York, United States in 1987.[2]

Andrew Deutsch, James Fei, Aaron Miller, Robin Rimbaud (aka Scanner), Steina Vasulka and Stephen Vitiello have collaborated with Bode posthumously.[9]

Accomplishments

Theory, circuits and devices to the sound production and sound figuration. Development and building of monophonic and polyphonic electronic organs/synthesizers and the sound processors:

  • Melochord (1947–1949) 37-key monophonic keyboard with dynamic envelope wave shaping, volume pedal controller, and transpose switches to cover seven octaves. Later a second keyboard was added to control the timbre.[model 2][model 3]

For the Apparatewerk Bayern (AWB) in Germany,[4] Estey Organ Company in Brattleboro, Vermont, USA, and others:

During he was an executive of Wurlitzer Organ Co.:[4]

File:BodeFrequencyShifter.jpg
Frequency Shifter Model 735 Mark III. Designed and manufactured by Harald Bode.

As the products of Bode Sound Company:[8]

Note that above three products were also licensed to Moog Music as a part of the Moog Synthesizer.[model 2]

Notable users

Melochord at the WDR Studio in Cologne

The Melochord at the WDR Studio in Cologne have been used by:

But in the case of Karlheinz Stockhausen, a student of Meyer-Eppler at the University of Bonn in 1954–56, his only use of the melochord was in a failed experiment with a ring modulator.[12] After this, he chose to disregard such instruments in favor of sine-wave generators, which he used in producing Studie I (1953) and Studie II (1954). This was also true for the two works by Karel Goeyvaerts produced there, and for Seismogramme (1954) by Henri Pousseur.[13][14][15]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. — Monochord, a modified Concert Trautonium, was commissioned from Dr. Freidrich Trautwein by the Studio for Electronic of WDR, Köln.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (also broken format page remains in here)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    On the PDF version, draft typescript is available at the tail; also HTML version without draft is available in here at the Wayback Machine (archived June 9, 2011).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Harald Bode, Carrier Band, Andrew Deutsch, James Fei, Aaron Miller, Scanner, Steina Vasulka, Stephen Vitiello
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Ekbert Faas, "Interview with Karlheinz Stockhausen Held August 11, 1976", Interface 6 (1977): pp. 187–204; reprinted in Feedback Papers 16 (August 1978): pp. 23–40. here p. 191 and p. 27, respectively.

Models

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.; Originally published as Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (description and history)
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (Note: year in title may be incorrect)
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (antique portable electron tube organ)
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (monophonic portable tube synth keyboard with great electro noises)
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Photos

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
        (photographs of Bode Clavioline and Bode Melochord with Harald Bode)
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

References

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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