Dr. LeCaine (Re: [sdiy] ot: search for pioneers of electronic music)

[houshu at muj.biglobe.ne.jp]

Hello List,

I took some photos of the museum when I lived in Ottawa.

  http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~houshu/museum/

Enjoy,

Sam Hoshuyama
Kawasaki, JAPAN

Keith Daniel wrote:
> >I'm interested to hear about electrnoic music pioneers...
> 
> >Local historiography of course assumes the local heros to be the first.
> 
> At the end of WWII, the National Research Council of Canada sent some off to research aerodynamics, jet engines, analog computers...
> 
> One of the analog computer geniuses, Hugh Lecaine, was given grants to design and build electronic music instruments. Perhaps Canada was tired of war, and had this weird idea that art and culture were more imprortant. Or maybe he just didn't fit into the new cold war ideals.
> 
> Dr. Lecaine had his own ideas to work on, like tube oscillator banks to do formant synthesis. Or his precursor to the Mellotron.
> 
> It has been suggested that Dr. LeCaine was the first to use voltage control for music.
> 
> I used to work with his machines, and the neatest was the Poly. Individual oscillators for each key, and a 'tear drop' optical amplitude dynamic arrangement. Built in 1962.
> 
> His machines are now in storage at the Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa.
> 
> I started electronic music in 1973, the year Dr. LeCaine passed away. Never got to meet him.
> 
> But he's the Great Canadian Pioneer of Electronic Music.
> 
> 
> 
> Keith Daniel
> 
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> 
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>