'Phonogene', a term coined by Pierre Schaeffer, designates one of the first electronic instruments capable of producing new music by means of modifying significantly existing sound structures. Yet, the word itself has a very sound ethymology, for it is composed of the Greek 'phone' ('voice') and 'genos' ('extraction'). Thus its meaning marks up a trail of our interest. We want to explore the origins of a new sound (phono-gene), namely, the electronic music.