Novachord
Encyclopedia
The Novachord is often considered to be the world's first commercial polyphonic synthesizer
. All-electronic, incorporating many circuit and control elements found in modern synths, and using subtractive synthesis
to generate tones, it was designed by John M. Hanert, Laurens Hammond and C. N. Williams and manufactured by the Hammond
company. Only some 1069 examples were built over a period from 1939 to 1942. It was one of very few electronic products released by Hammond that was not intended to emulate the sound of an organ.
.'The Novachord Orchestra' of Ferde Grofé
performed daily at the Ford stand with four Novachords and a Hammond Organ
. The first instrument was delivered to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
on Jan. 30, 1940 as a birthday present.
It was not well suited to the technique of organists or pianists and required frequent adjustments to controls on the front panel to create new sounds. Like many analog synthesizers, it was much better suited to producing "other worldly" timbres. The instrument found its niche some years after production, shaping the sound of many science fiction film and television scores.
Production stopped because of a shortage of parts in 1942; poor sales kept it from being built after the war. It is estimated that fewer than 200 Novachords are still in existence and considerably fewer than this are still in operation. The vast majority of surviving examples are in North America although one is known to be in the UK.
pianos. The divide-down oscillator architecture, based on vacuum tube monostable circuits, permitted all 72 notes to be played polyphonically
by deriving several octaves of notes from twelve top-octave oscillators. A similar design was adopted in polysynths released more than 30 years later by Robert Moog
and A.R.P.
The Novachord featured an early implementation of ADSR with seven attack/decay/sustain envelopes selectable by rotary switch and sustain-pedal controlled release. It also utilised a three-stage resonant band-pass filter
network with variable damping
and an electro-mechanical 6-channel vibrato
unit operating on pairs of adjacent oscillators. The resulting sonic palette ranged from dense sustained string-like and vocal-like timbres to the sharp attack transients of a harpsichord or piano.
Despite its historical importance the Novachord did not enjoy commercial success. This was partly due to instability issues and the onset of World War II
: reliability issues were caused in the main by the tight tolerances required of the operating parameters of hundreds of custom components. Hammond soon offered a special upgrade to improve stability which was no more than a low-power heater bolted inside the enclosure to reduce the effects of humidity. The instrument was not known for vacuum tube failure perhaps because the heater voltage was reduced from the normal 6.3 volts to 5 volts.
, the Ondes Martenot
and the Trautonium
, it can be heard occasionally in horror and science fiction film scores including many genre films from Universal Studios
and James Bernard's ethereal music for Hammer's The Gorgon
(1964). Jerry Goldsmith
utilised the Novachord in several of his film scores and was known to hold the instrument in high regard. It was also used for the entr'acte
music in Gone With the Wind
(1939).
The Novachord can be heard on many recordings of the era. Many songs sung by Vera Lynn
, including We'll Meet Again
, were accompanied by Arthur Young on the Novachord.
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
. All-electronic, incorporating many circuit and control elements found in modern synths, and using subtractive synthesis
Subtractive synthesis
Subtractive synthesis is a method of sound synthesis in which partials of an audio signal are attenuated by a filter to alter the timbre of the sound...
to generate tones, it was designed by John M. Hanert, Laurens Hammond and C. N. Williams and manufactured by the Hammond
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
company. Only some 1069 examples were built over a period from 1939 to 1942. It was one of very few electronic products released by Hammond that was not intended to emulate the sound of an organ.
History of production
While production of the Novachord began in November, 1938, it was first heard at the 1939 New York World's Fair1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
.'The Novachord Orchestra' of Ferde Grofé
Ferde Grofé
Ferde Grofé was a prominent American composer, arranger and pianist. During the 1920s and 1930s, he went by the name Ferdie Grofé.-Early life:...
performed daily at the Ford stand with four Novachords and a Hammond Organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
. The first instrument was delivered to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
on Jan. 30, 1940 as a birthday present.
It was not well suited to the technique of organists or pianists and required frequent adjustments to controls on the front panel to create new sounds. Like many analog synthesizers, it was much better suited to producing "other worldly" timbres. The instrument found its niche some years after production, shaping the sound of many science fiction film and television scores.
Production stopped because of a shortage of parts in 1942; poor sales kept it from being built after the war. It is estimated that fewer than 200 Novachords are still in existence and considerably fewer than this are still in operation. The vast majority of surviving examples are in North America although one is known to be in the UK.
Technical details
Containing 163 vacuum tubes and over 1,000 custom capacitors, it weighed nearly 500 pounds and was roughly the size of two spinetSpinet
A spinet is a smaller type of harpsichord or other keyboard instrument, such as a piano or organ.-Spinets as harpsichords:While the term spinet is used to designate a harpsichord, typically what is meant is the bentside spinet, described in this section...
pianos. The divide-down oscillator architecture, based on vacuum tube monostable circuits, permitted all 72 notes to be played polyphonically
Polyphony (instrument)
Polyphony Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophonic.-Synthesizer:Most of early synthesizers were monophonic musical instruments which can play only one note at a time, and are often called monosynth as opposed to polysynth...
by deriving several octaves of notes from twelve top-octave oscillators. A similar design was adopted in polysynths released more than 30 years later by Robert Moog
Robert Moog
Robert Arthur Moog , commonly called Bob Moog was an American pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer.-Life:...
and A.R.P.
The Novachord featured an early implementation of ADSR with seven attack/decay/sustain envelopes selectable by rotary switch and sustain-pedal controlled release. It also utilised a three-stage resonant band-pass filter
Band-pass filter
A band-pass filter is a device that passes frequencies within a certain range and rejects frequencies outside that range.Optical band-pass filters are of common usage....
network with variable damping
Damping
In physics, damping is any effect that tends to reduce the amplitude of oscillations in an oscillatory system, particularly the harmonic oscillator.In mechanics, friction is one such damping effect...
and an electro-mechanical 6-channel vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
unit operating on pairs of adjacent oscillators. The resulting sonic palette ranged from dense sustained string-like and vocal-like timbres to the sharp attack transients of a harpsichord or piano.
Despite its historical importance the Novachord did not enjoy commercial success. This was partly due to instability issues and the onset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
: reliability issues were caused in the main by the tight tolerances required of the operating parameters of hundreds of custom components. Hammond soon offered a special upgrade to improve stability which was no more than a low-power heater bolted inside the enclosure to reduce the effects of humidity. The instrument was not known for vacuum tube failure perhaps because the heater voltage was reduced from the normal 6.3 volts to 5 volts.
Appearances in contemporary media
Like its contemporaries, the ThereminTheremin
The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
, the Ondes Martenot
Ondes Martenot
The ondes Martenot , also known as the ondium Martenot, Martenot and ondes musicales, is an early electronic musical instrument invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot. The original design was similar in sound to the theremin...
and the Trautonium
Trautonium
The trautonium is a monophonic electronic musical instrument invented about 1929 by Friedrich Trautwein in Berlin at the Musikhochschule's music and radio lab, the Rundfunkversuchstelle. Soon Oskar Sala joined him, continuing development until Sala's death in 2002. Instead of a keyboard, its manual...
, it can be heard occasionally in horror and science fiction film scores including many genre films from Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
and James Bernard's ethereal music for Hammer's The Gorgon
The Gorgon
The Gorgon is a 1964 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer.It stars Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley and Richard Pasco. The film was photographed by Michael Reed, and designed by Bernard Robinson. For the score James Bernard combined a soprano with a little-known...
(1964). Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
utilised the Novachord in several of his film scores and was known to hold the instrument in high regard. It was also used for the entr'acte
Entr'acte
' is French for "between the acts" . It can mean a pause between two parts of a stage production, synonymous to an intermission, but it more often indicates a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production...
music in Gone With the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
(1939).
The Novachord can be heard on many recordings of the era. Many songs sung by Vera Lynn
Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...
, including We'll Meet Again
We'll Meet Again
"We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song made famous by British singer Vera Lynn, and it also may refer to:* We'll Meet Again , a musical starring Lynn that includes the song...
, were accompanied by Arthur Young on the Novachord.
See also
- Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
- SynthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
- ADSR