The Elbert County Tribune

Grand Opera at Home.

Grand opera at home via your telephone receiver is a New England and New York scheme. A central power plant is to be established wherefrom music by electricity is to be transmitted through telephones to the houses of the subscribers. A battery of alternators is to be installed which will transmit musical electrical waves and these are adjusted to as many different vibrations as the strings of a piano. To play the instrument a piano keyboard is used. The pressing of a key will operate a switch which will close the circuit leading to the alternators adjusted to produce the note that the piano string would produce. But the note will be sounded in the ear of the operator from the battery itself. The vibrations will be communicated to the main wires, which will transmit them through branch wires to the other end of the telephones. There the note will be sounded. One of these receiving telephones will be connected with the operator so that he will know how his playing sounds to all others connected with the main wires. The receiving telephones will be fitted with a megaphone-like device warranted to carry the notes through the room as well as an organ would. The woodwind, brass and string tones of the orchestra are easily produced by mixing the required harmonics in the required proportions.