Clavivox
The Clavivox was a keyboard sound synthesizer and sequencer developed by American composer Raymond Scott.
Clavivox
- Field
- electric instrument.
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wikidata · Q593794 · wikipedia · Clavivox
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Scott had earlier built a theremin as a toy for his daughter Carrie, and began developing the Clavivox, or "keyboard theremin," in 1952. In 1956, he purchased an R.A. Moog Model 305 theremin from a young Bob Moog and incorporated its sound generator as part of a prototype Clavivox. Scott's instrument allowed the use of portamento over a 3-octave range, which made it possible for the player to control the synthesizer via a keyboard, but with additional glide, giving it a "human" quality. Additionally, Scott's design added amplitude envelopes, vibrato and other effects. Scott applied for a patent in December 1956 and was granted on Feb. 3, 1959. "A lot of the sound-producing circuitry of the Clavivox resembled very closely the first analog synthesizer my company made in the mid-'60s," Moog explained years later. "Some of the sounds are not the same, but they're close." Later Clavivox models used light shining through photographic film onto photocells as a source of control voltage to control pitch and timbre.
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Clavivox, revision 1368231257 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Raymond Scott: Artifacts from the Archives. RaymondScott.net.
- 2.Crab, Simon. The 'Clavivox' Raymond Scott, USA, 1952. 120 Years of Electronic Music. 2013-09-22.
- 3.Glinsky, Albert. Switched On: Bob Moog and the Synthesizer Revolution. Oxford University Press. 32–33. 2022. 9780197642078.
- 4.Rhea, Tom. Electronic Perspectives - Raymond Scott's Clavivox & Electronium. Keyboard. February 1981.
- 5.Chusid, Irwin. Circle Machines and Sequencers: The Untold History of Raymond Scott's Electronica. Electronic Magazine. December 2001.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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