Stylophone

Overview

The Stylophone is a miniature analog electronic instrument that is played by touching a small metal stylus to a printed metal keyboard. Each key is wired to a tuned oscillator, so the instrument behaves like a tiny monophonic synthesizer. It runs on batteries, fits in one hand, and produces a thin, slightly nasal buzz that is instantly recognisable.

Origin & History

The Stylophone was designed in the late 1960s by British inventor Brian Jarvis and launched commercially in 1968 by Dubreq, a small London-based company. It quickly became a popular novelty toy, but it also caught the attention of professional musicians. David Bowie used a Stylophone on the original 1969 recording of Space Oddity and again on later songs such as Slip Away. After a long quiet period, Dubreq reissued the instrument in updated forms in the 2000s, and several variant models, including the larger Stylophone Beatbox and Stylophone Gen X-1, have followed.

How It’s Played

The player holds the unit in one hand and uses the attached stylus, tethered to the body by a thin wire, to touch keys on the metal keypad with the other hand. Each touch closes a circuit and triggers the corresponding pitch from a built-in oscillator. Some models add a small vibrato switch and a tone control. Because only one note can sound at a time, melodies are played one stylus tap at a time, like a tiny one-finger keyboard.

Cultural Significance

The Stylophone occupies an unusual cultural slot: it is at once a children’s toy, a piece of late-1960s electronic-music history, and a recurring sound in popular recordings. Its use on Space Oddity gave it a permanent place in rock history, and its low cost has kept it within reach of curious beginners ever since.

Related Instruments

• Synthesizer – the broader family of electronic instruments
• Theremin – another early electronic instrument with an unusual interface
• Optigan – a 1970s home electronic instrument with an equally distinctive sound
• Mellotron – the tape-based keyboard from the same era

Frequently Asked Questions

Who plays the Stylophone on Space Oddity?
David Bowie played the Stylophone himself on the 1969 recording of Space Oddity; the part is small but very prominent in the mix.

Is the Stylophone still made today?
Yes. Dubreq reissued the original design and has released updated models, including beatbox and modular variants, since the mid-2000s.

Image: photograph by Alex Ashbourne, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons).