Lee Hosts Harmony Writer Display

  • Tuesday, September 20, 2016
  • Naudia O’Steen, Lee University

Lee University showcased a new display called the “Harmony Writer” hosted in the Music Resource Center. 

The Harmony Writer is a customized typewriter for musical notation in popular use for over three decades preceding FINALE—a world standard notation software for music composition. 

The event was standing room only, with attendants from across campus and around the community. It included talks from Lucien Bailey, son of the inventor Garland A. Bailey, and Jack Clark, a typesetter, as well as an opportunity to type music using the Writer. 

Mr. Bailey spoke on his father’s natural ability to invent and shared personal memories of his father. 

Mr. Clark talked about the typesetting process without the machine and then his use of it to set a majority of the music he was setting. 

“The opportunity to enjoy first-hand accounts of the development and use of a machine like the Harmony Writer was a unique experience,” said Laud Vaught, the event host and music resource center coordinator. “Every attendee I spoke with was amazed by the ingenuity of Garland Bailey and captivated by even the brief stories related by his son and Mr. Clark.” 

Performances by Lee students Yong-en Huang and Charlie Edholm on the Bailey-crafted violin/mandolin and guitar, respectively, took place between interviews. Mr. Huang played an excerpt of a violin sonata by J.S. Bach and Edholm opened with a short passage from “Dueling Banjos.” He then invited the crowd to sing along with “Amazing Grace” for which he had written an especially beautiful ending for the guitar, according to Mr. Vaught. 

The Harmony Writer and accompanying materials will be on permanent display in the Music Resource Center in the Lee University School of Music. The instruments constructed by Mr. Bailey will be on display for the rest of the fall semester and then returned to the owners. 

For more information about the event and the Harmony Writer, contact Mr. Vaught at lvaught@leeuniversity.edu.


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