The history of music technology is marked by significant advancements that have transformed how music is created, recorded, and consumed. The introduction of MIDI in 1983 revolutionized electronic music by enabling various devices to communicate and synchronize.
1983: MIDI, or musical instrument digital interface is a protocol that allows electronic musical instruments, computors and other devices to connect with each other in discrete units of data. It carries messages that specify pitch, notation, velocity and control signals for things such as volume and clock signals. Data can be recorded into a hardwear device called a sequencer which can be used for play back and editing.
1982: CD's or compact disks are usaed to store digital data and were originally developed to store and play back sound recordings. they became available for the public but only to listen to them. At thed time of their introduction, CD's had a larger capacity than computor hard drives
1947: Transistors are semiconductor devices that amplify and switch electronic signals and electrical power. A transistor radio is a small radio reciver which became the most popular communication device in history. It was the first time that people could have a pocket sized sound system that allowed them to listen to music wherever they went. the first compact and affordable transistor radio was produced by sony.
1935: Multitrack recording is a device that allows multiple separate sound sources to be recorded and then joined together to create a single peice of music. This method of recording was used by the beetles who used 5 track machines which made it possible to experiment with a variety of musical textures. It was also used by Les Paul, with a tape recorder of 1 inch tape and 8 separate tracks.
1931: Electric guitars, are guitars that use pickup to convert vibration from the strings into electric impulses. During the 1950's and 1960's it was the most important pop instrument and is still today a major part of jazz, rock and roll as well as other musical genres.
1952: Gibson, was fouded by Orville Gibson. The commpany prodused the archtop guitar by using the same type of carved arched tops as the violin. It also created the flat top acoustic as well as one of the first commercially available hollow-body electric guitars. Gibson was certainly where electric guitars took off with many new modals like the spanish modal and the steel based modal.
1951: Fender, was founded by Clarence Leonidas Fender and although it was not the first electric instrument producing company, it produced amazing versatile solid-body guitars. The build was so good that even today, many pop artists like Keith Urban and Brad Paisly use them.
1931: Rickenbacker, grew out of the first company that sold fully electric instruments, amplifiers and other musical devises. It was founded by Adolf Rickenbacker and is now running it's 83rd year of buisness. As the frist electric guitar modal, Rickenbacker was very popular and became even more so after the look and sound of it was claimed by the beetles.
1895: Pianola, otherwise known as the self playing piano was the first truly musical playing device in the world. It was operated by pedals which turned a cylinder of paper that deturmened which notes to play.
