Harry Partch is a huge figure in experimental music and instrument invention. He was a prolific instrument maker, building instruments to play his unique style of microtonal music. He is one of the most widely known experimental musical instrument builders. 

====Chronology====
Here is a breakdown of the major locations Partch lived and stayed while building his instruments. \\
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1925 Los angels, Partch began making microtonal marked paper covers for violin and viola fingerboards and began drafting a new music theory in 1928. \\
1930 moved to New Orleans and burned all of his prior scores as part of his efforts to break from the European tradition. Built the Adapted Viola while in New Orleans in 1932.  \\
1932 Moved back to Los Angeles, performed in San Francisco \\
1933 Traveled to to New York and received a grant from  Carnegie Corporation of New York to study in England \\
1934 Traveled England studying speech patterns, a copy of a Greek Kithara, ancient Greek music theory  \\ 
1935 Returned to United States, lived as a Hobo intermittently for 9 years during the Great Depression. \\
1938 Partch is in Big Sur where he takes woodworking lessons and builds the first Kithara \\
1942 He is in Chicago, where he builds the first Chromelodeon \\
1943 Living on East Coast of US when he receives a Guggenheim grant \\
1944 Partch moved to the University Of Wisconsin where he put together his first ensemble, lectured and finished Genesis of Music in 1947 \\ 
1949 Moved to Blue Mounds, Wisconsin and worked out of a converted forge at the Gunnar Johansen ranch where he composed and recorded works. \\
1951 Moved to Oakland and worked at Mills college \\
1953 Moved to Sausalito, California and founded his studio Gate 5 at an abandoned ship yard where he built more instruments and staged performances. \\
1957 University of Illinois, staged a number of large scale works and was in teaching staff. \\
1962 Moved to  Petaluma, California and made a studio an an former chick hatchery \\
1964 Left Petaluma moved to various places \\
1965 Moved to Venice Beach, California at an abandoned laundromat at 1110 West Washington Blvd. \\
1967 Left Venice Beach moved to various places \\
1973 Moved to San Diego until his death in 1974 \\

====Instruments==== 
List of instruments on Wikipedia, which also features some great photos of each instrument ((https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_instruments_by_Harry_Partch)) \\
I have presented Partch's instruments in chronological order in order to better understand the ways his ensemble and interests shifted over time. \\
There are multiple replica sets of the instruments needed to play various compositions by Partch. The original instruments are mostly located at Montclair State University ((https://www.flickr.com/photos/horsepunchkid/albums/72157644372904787)). There is another set located in Los Angeles. 



== Adapted Viola, Adapted Guitar I, Adapted Guitar II, Adapted Guitar III == 
Adapted Viola(Monophone) 1932-1933, Made from a cello neck attached to a viola and built by an unknown violin maker in New Orleans Had 29 notes per octave. \\
Adapted Guitar I 1934 \\
Adapted Guitar II before 1945 \\

==Chromatic Organ==
Built in 1934 

== Kithara I & II == 
Kithara I was built 1938 \\
Kithara II was built 1954 \\

== Chromelodeons ==  
Chromelodeon I was built in 1942-1945 and is a 73-key pump organ. \\
Chromelodeon II was built in 1959 and an 88-key pump organ.\\

== Harmonic Canon I, II & III== 
Harmonic Canon I was built 1945 \\
New Harmonic Canon I was built as a copy of Canon I to allow for an alternative tuning so that the original would not need to be retuned mid performance \\
Harmonic Canon II called "Castor & Pollux" was built 1953 \\
Harmonic Canon III called "Blue Rainbow" was built 1965 \\

== Diamond Marimba == 
Built 1946 

== Bass Marimba == 
Built 1950 

== Spoils of War == 
Built 1950

== Cloud Chamber Bowls == 
Built 1950, made from 12 cut Carboys (glass water tanks) \\

== Surrogate Kithara == 
The Surrogate Kithara was built 1953 \\

== Marimba Eroica == 
Built 1954

== Boo I & II (Bamboo Marimba) ==
Boo I was built in 1955 and updates 1963 \\
Boo II was built in 1971\\

==Crychord== 
Built in 1959 by an unknown student of industrial design at the University of Illinois

== Zymo-Xyl == 
Built 1963 

== Mazda Marimba ==
Built 1963 ((https://www.flickr.com/photos/horsepunchkid/14252039174/))

== Gourd Tree == 
Built 1964

== Cone Gongs ==
Built 1964 

== Eucal Blossom ==
Built 1964 

== Quadrangularis Reversurn ==
Built 1965

==Koto==
A modefied instrument that was originally given to Partch by [[Experimental Gamelan|Lou Harrison]] in 1966. ((https://www.flickr.com/photos/horsepunchkid/14065785750/in/album-72157644372904787/)) \\

==Garden of Eden==
Built 1972 



==Bolivian Double Flute==
The flute was given to Partch by Ervin Wilson 

==Bloboy== 
A "contraption" that gives the impression of a passing freight train. \\

====Makers Influenced by Partch ====

[[Dean Drummond]] was Partch's assistant and later ran the Partch Ensemble after Partch's death. He also built his own microtonal ensemble called [[Newband]]. 


====Notes====

Partch has had a strong influence on me, and I have a tendency to be a contrarian about his lineage, as I have taken a very different interpretation of microtonal music in my work. I am a huge fan of his instruments and work, and because of encountering his instruments I leaned away from making string and percussion instruments and away from very large instruments (choosing instead primarily woodwinds and small scaled instruments with very simple interfaces). Something about the complexity of playing and performing his instruments and the monumental scale of his instruments leaves me uneasy about his music (in terms of taking influences that lead to making things like it, not in the critical of it sense). I would love to make huge instruments that are difficult to tune and to play, but the exercise is very against the kind of intuitive musical ecosystems I want to make. I hope one day I will at the very least start working larger with adequate space.  \\ 
I do not plan to hash out Partch too much beyond his instruments on this wiki, information about him is much more widely available then most of the people featured on this wiki. I will focus on the people he influenced more then focusing on his own life and career. \\
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Instruments of the Partch Ensemble in LA ((http://www.partch.la/instruments-new)) \\
List of instruments on Wikipedia ((https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_instruments_by_Harry_Partch)) \\
Obituary ((http://www.virtualvenice.info/music/partch.htm))\\ 
Harry Partch website ((https://www.harrypartch.com/instruments)) \\
Photographs of the instruments at Montclair state university ((https://www.flickr.com/photos/horsepunchkid/albums/72157644372904787)) \\ 