The famous three note NBC chime (G-E-C) originally consisted of seven notes, which was proved difficult to play correctly, so the sequence was shortened to five, then four, and finally three notes. The notes were manually played on four-bar chime sets manufactured by the J.C. Deagan Company of Chicago. Additional reports state that the initial sequence was G-C-G-E-G-C-E, which became G-C-G-E and then just G-E-C (which contrary to popular belief, were not meant to represent General Electric Company's initials (GEC)). November 29, 1929 is sometimes reported to be the date that the three-tone sequence was adopted, however the longer intervals were still in use until 1931 according to surviving network recordings. I couldn't find the recordings, though, so it would still be lost.
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