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How did the Telharmonium produce musical tones?
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The Telharmonium, invented by Thaddeus Cahill and introduced in 1906, was an electromechanical instrument that generated musical tones through the use of large rotating electromagnetic generators.12
These generators produced alternating electric waveforms, which were controlled by an operator using a keyboard. The resulting electric impulses were then transmitted via a network of wires and converted into audible sound by telephone receivers equipped with horns. Although the instrument was complex and ultimately impractical, its use of rotary generators to create waveforms served as a significant predecessor to later electronic organs and synthesizers.231