Raymond Scott's Circle Machine

The Circle Machine was an analog waveform generator that had a ring of incandescent lamps, each with its own rheostat, and a photo-electric cell on a spindle that twirled in a circle above the lights. The intensity of each bulb was individually adjustable, as was the rotation speed of the photocell. As the lights brightened, the pitch ascended. Arm rotation speed governed the rhythm. The lights could be staggered in brightness, and depending on the pattern, the tone sequence generated would change accordingly. The Circle Machine was capable of a wide range of unearthly sounds, as evidenced by numerous commercial jingles Scott recorded during the late 1950s and early 1960s.