telharmonium

a model of thaddeus cahill's dynamophone. geared shafts, shared alternators, and a line that sags under load.

launching 2026-11-17

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cahill’s machine filled the basement of telharmonic hall in new york, 1906, and sent its music down telephone lines. this one runs in a browser tab.

84 alternators on twelve shafts, seven to a shaft. seven stops: partials 1 to 6, and the 8th. no 7th — the 1897 patent rejects it. patent pitch: c is 32 hz, a sits near 430.

heavy chords pull the pitch flat, slowly. the sound comes through a telephone receiver, 300 hz to 3 khz, and keeps ringing in a soundboard after the keys come up.

the patents settle the gearing. where they run out, each guess is one constant, and written down.