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Forthcoming
publications for 2008 include an article in the
Galpin Society Journal,
“George Breed and his Electrified Guitar of 1890” and a review of
The Electric Guitar: A History of an
American Icon in the
Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society |
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In July of
2007 Matthew presented a paper on the 1931 Rickenbacker “Frying Pan” at
the American Musical Instrument Society meeting at Yale University. |
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A
Re-examination of the Rickenbacker
“Frying
Pan”, the First Electric Guitar
In
this paper, I shall re-examine some of the commonly held assumptions
regarding the Frying Pan. I will show that the 1931 prototype Frying Pan
was an electric
guitar in every sense of the word and
was in fact designed to be capable of both
Hawaiian and Spanish-style playing. I shall also look at some of the
design aspects of the Frying Pan’s transition from prototype to
production model. Even now, when its claim can now no longer be
seriously challenged, the Frying Pan’s avant-garde design has led some
to look for a more conventionally guitar-like contender for the title of
the first electric guitar. In light of this, I shall also examine the
viability of some of the more noteworthy rival claims to the invention
of the electric guitar based on my recent research......
To access the
complete paper, click here:
A Re-examination of the Rickenbacker
"Frying Pan" |
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Matthew Hill presenting his
paper at
Yale University July 2007. |
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In 2007, as part of
the “Rock Chic” exhibit at the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin,
Matthew gave a lecture there on “The Rise of the Electric Guitar,
1890-1940”. He also contributed an article to the exhibition’s
catalogue, “Who Invented the Electric Guitar?” |
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Who Invented the
Electric Guitar?
"Who
invented the electric guitar? The question isn’t as simple as it sounds.
As an iconic symbol of the sound (and fury) of Rock and Roll rebellion,
probably no musical instrument has generated as much controversy as the
electric guitar. As befits such a revolutionary instrument, even its
origins have been the cause of much heated debate and the source of much
mythology. There are many, both well known and obscure, legitimately and
less so, to whom the invention of the electric guitar may be
attributed. So then, who invented the electric guitar?........."
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In 2006 Matthew presented a paper on the American early electrical
instrument designer George Breed at the joint Galpin Society / CIMCIM /
American Musical Instrument Society meeting at the National Music Museum
in Vermillion, South Dakota. |
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George Breed and his
Electrified Guitar of 1890
"The electrification of musical instruments is almost certainly the
most important organological innovation of the last 100 years. In 1890,
a United States Naval Officer named George Breed patented a design for
an electrified guitar which, although not the very first example of an
electrified instrument, predates any other documented American
electrical musical instrument and appears to be the very first
application of electricity to a fretted string instrument...... "
To access the
complete paper, click here:
George Breed and his Electrified Guitar
of 1890
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