Harald Bode

Harald Bode
Hohner Multimonica (1940). 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.

Contents

Biography

He was born in Hamburg, F.R.G. and graduated from the University of Hamburg in 1934. Bode pursued further education at Heinrich Hertz Institute of Berlin.[1] Bode worked as a researcher[citation needed] in signal processing and on the development of electronic music instruments at the Heinrich Hertz Institute for Oscillation Research at the Technical University of Berlin. [2]

Warbo Formant Organ (1937) developed by Bode and C. Warnke was a four voice key-assignment keyboard with two formant filters and dynamic envelope controller, and eventually went into commercial production by a factory in Dachau.[model 1] It was one of the earliest polyphonic synthesizer products, along with Novachord (1939) by Hammond.

Melochord (1947-49) developed by Bode was extensively used by Werner Meyer-Eppler in early days of the electronic studio at Bonn University. [model 2] Then in 1953 Melochord was, along with Monochord by Freidrich Trautwein,[3] specifically commissioned to the Studio for Electronic Music of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR Studio in Cologne, West German Broadcasting Corporation)[4] to upgrade their synthesis modules, and used by the Elektronische Musik group throughout the 1950s.[model 2] (See #Melochord at the WDR Studio in Cologne for details)

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 1959-60, Bode developed modular synthesizer and sound processor[5][6], and in 1961, he wrote a paper exploring the advantages of newly emerging transistor technology over older vacuum tube devices;[7] also he served as AES session chairman on music and electronic for the fall conventions in 1962 and 1964;[1] 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[2] after Robert Moog left.

He died in New York, New York, United States in 1987. [1]

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:

  • Warbo Formant Organ (1937) one of the first key-assignment polyphonic synthesizer with formant filters and dynamic envelope shaping, designed and built in collaboration with C. Warnke ("Warbo" is acronym of Warnke-Bode) [model 1]
  • Melodium (1938) monophonic touch-sensitive keyboard instrument developed with Oskar Vierling,[model 1] used in the film scores and "light" music [4]
  • Melochord (1947-49) 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 1][model 2]

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

  • Bode Organ (1951), later known as Estey Electronic Organ, based on Polychord III [4][model 1]
  • Tuttivox (1953, Jörgensen Elektronic), under license by Jörgensen Elektronic in Düsseldorf one built. (portable electronic organ based on vacuum tubes) [model 1][8][model 4][model 5]
Frequency Shifter Model 735 Mark III. Designed and manufactured by Harald Bode.

As the products of Bode Sound Company:[2]

Note that above three products were also licensed to Moog Music as a part of the Moog Synthesizer. [model 1]

Notable users

Melochord at the WDR Studio in Cologne

The Melochord at the WDR Studio in Cologne have been used by Werner Meyer-Eppler in his composition Klangmodelle (1951) and lectures at Darmstadt New Music Summer School,[4] Herbert Eimert and Robert Beyer in their joint compositions Klangstudie I (1951)[model 2] and Klangfiguren II[9] (c.1951), and György Ligeti in his composition Glissandi (1957).[model 2]

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.[10] 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.[11][12]

See also

Instruments & technologies


Related manufacturers

Notes

  1. ^ a b c "In Memoriam". Journal of the Audio Engineering Society (JAES) 35 (9): 741. September 1987. http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/jaes.obit/JAES_V35_9_PG741.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-18. 
  2. ^ a b c "Harold Bode's biography". 120 years of Electronic Music. http://120years.net/machines/melochord/. 
  3. ^ "The Monochord (1948)". 120 Years of Electronic Music. http://120years.net/machines/monochord/. 
        Monochord, a modified Concert Trautonium, was commissioned from Dr. Freidrich Trautwein by the Studio for Electronic of WDR, Köln.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Tom Rhea (May 2004). "Harald Bode". Video History Project. Experimental Television Center. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20110719162439/http://www.experimentaltvcenter.org/history/people/bio.php3?id=83.  (also broken format page remains in here)
  5. ^ a b Harald Bode (The Wurlitzer Company). "Sound Synthesizer Creates New Musical Effects". Electronics (December 1, 1961). http://haraldbodenews.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/hbodeelectronics1961.pdf. 
  6. ^ a b Harald Bode (Bode Sound Co.) (September 1984). "History of Electronic Sound Modification". Journal of the Audio Engineering Society (JAES) 32 (10): 730–739. http://www.studio250.fr/docs/divers%20synthese/History%20of%20electronic%20sound%20modification.pdf.  (draft typescript is available at the tail of PDF version. HTML version without draft is also available in here)
  7. ^ a b Harald Bode (1961). "European Electronic Music Instrument Design". Journal of the Audio Engineering Society (JAES) ix (1961): 267. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Harald's wonderful Instruments". Harald Bode News. 27 Apr 2010. http://haraldbodenews.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/haralds-wonderful-instruments/. 
  9. ^ Marietta Morawska-Büngeler. Schwingende Elektronen: Eine Dokumentation über das Studio für Elektronische Musik des Westdeutschen Rundfunks in Köln, 1951–1986. Cologne-Rodenkirchen: P. J. Tonger Musikverlag, 1988. p. 13. 
  10. ^ Michael Kurtz; (translated by Richard Toop). Stockhausen: A Biography. London and Boston: Faber and Faber, 1992. p. 62. ISBN 0571143237 (cloth) ISBN 0-571-17146-X (pbk).. 
  11. ^ Karlheinz Stockhausen. "Komposition 1953 Nr. 2: Studie I, Analyse". In his (edited by Dieter Schnebel). Texte 2. Cologne: Verlag M. DuMont Schauberg, 1964. p. 23–36, here p. 23. 
  12. ^ Karlheinz Stockhausen. "Elektronische Musik: Brief von Douglas M. Davis (Antwort: geschrieben am 13.IX.1970)". In his (edited by Dieter Schnebel). Texte 3. Cologne: Verlag M. DuMont Schauberg, 1971. p. 341–47, here pp. 344–45. 

Models

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "The 'Warbo Formant Orgel' (1937), The 'Melodium' (1938), The 'Melochord' (1947-9), and 'Bode Sound Co' (1963-)". 120 years of Electronic Music. http://120years.net/machines/melochord/. 
  2. ^ a b c d e "The "Melochord" (1947–9)". The Keyboardmuseum Online. Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20071114183540/http://www.keyboardmuseum.org/pre60/1940/melochord.html.  (description and history)
  3. ^ "The Multimonica (1940)". 120 Years of Electronic Music. http://120years.net/machines/multimonica. 
  4. ^ "The Tuttivox (1946)". 120 Years of Electronic Music. http://120years.net/machines/tuttivox/index.html.  (Note: year in title may be incorrect)
  5. ^ Christian Oliver Windler. "Jörgensen Electronic Tuttivox". http://weltenschule.de/TableHooters/Joergensen_Tuttivox.html.  (antique portable electron tube organ)
  6. ^ "The Clavioline (1947) & Combichord (1953)". 120 Years of Electronic Music. http://120years.net/machines/clavioline/. 
  7. ^ Bode (6 octave) Clavioline (photograph). Clavioline.com. Archived from the original on 2006-08-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20060821072543/http://go.zibycom.com/members/002222119/Site4/bode.html. 
        (photographs of Bode Clavioline and Bode Melochord with Harald Bode)
  8. ^ Christian Oliver Windler. "Jörgensen Electronic Clavioline". http://weltenschule.de/TableHooters/Joergensen_Clavioline.html.  (monophonic portable tube synth keyboard with great electro noises)
  9. ^ John Levin. Estey Electronic Organ model AS-1, designed by Harald Bode (photograph). Estey Organ Museum, Brattleboro. http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnlevin/4418119881/in/set-72157623458381307. 
  10. ^ Harald Bode. "Instruments by Harald Bode and The Bode Sound Co.". Experimental Television Center. http://www.experimentaltvcenter.org/instruments-harald-bode-and-bode-sound-co. 
  11. ^ Bode Feedback Stabilizer MOD. 741XR (Pamphlet). Bode Sound Co.. http://www.vasulka.org/archive/Artists1/Bode,Harald/FeedbackSynth.pdf. 

Further reading

External links

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