Who used parts of a real human ear to design a phonautograph to find out how sound waves work?
Alexander Graham Bell experimented with a Phonautograph in 1874. He used a human ear (including the internal parts) from a cadaver, attaching a stylus to the eardrum and using it to make a recording of sound waves. It is important to note that these first devices could not play back sound, but they could record the shape of the sound waves.
After the phonautograph came the phonograph. It used a cylinder to record sound waves. What was this cylider made out of?
a) carbon
b) silly putty
c) wax
d) shampoo
The answer is C, wax.
The phonograph was very useful because it could record sound and play it back. What did people have to sing or speak into in order to record sound on a phongraph?
A very large horn
The Graphophone was invented in 1857. It was not invented to record or play back music. What was it invented to do?
It was invented to record telephone conversations.
In 1924, Columbia began experiments with a new technology developed by the Western Electric Company. Western Electric's recorder used electronic amplifiers to drive an electromagnetic cutting head, rather than relying on the acoustic horn. The result was _____________________________________
A recording with a louder and clearer sound
Early discs, 45-rpm records, and LPs were all made using much the same process. After an original recording was captured on a soft wax "master," electroplating technology was used to make a hard metal stamper. How was this stamper used?
The stamper was the "mother" record. It would be placed on a machine and used to stamp out copies of vinyl records.
There were three sizes of records...the 78, the 45, and the 33. Which one came first?
Which record is the smallest in size 78, 33, or 45?
Once a record was made and ready to be played, it needed a proper machine to bring its sounds to life. Which machine is used to play vinyl records?
a) 8 track player
b) gramophone
c) peanut butter and banana sandwich
d) record player
The answer, of course, is D, a record player
The vinyl is poured on to a plate, the mother record is used to stamp the grooves into the vinyl, but how were the records "pressed" ?
A hydrolic press was used to force grooves from the mother into the vinyl.
Do you have to rewind an 8 track tape?
No, it plays over and over again on a permanent loop.
Where were 8 track players commonly used in the 1970's?
in Cars... the tapes were easy to insert into the car tape deck, they didn't need to be rewoun, and for the first time people were able to listen to something other than the radio while driving so they became very popular.
Name two advantages that cassette tapes had over the 8 track
You can record anything you want instantly and the tape will remember what you recorded for playback at any time.
You can erase the tape and record something else on it any time you like.
In the 1980's, the personal cassette player was everywhere. How did people carry them around without using thier hands?
The "walkman" had a belt clip that would fasten to your belt or to the waist of your pants
Why do you think cassette tapes have been replaced by mp3 recordings?
There are many reasons, the main one being that we no longer have to carry around suitcases full of cassettes to listen to our favorite songs!
What is the number one portable device used today to listen to music?
Ipod
Music is now available almost anywhere, any time, it is now possible for people to be exposed to _____________
a lot more music, and a much wider range of music
______________________________allow users the greatest flexibility and interaction with music
Computers
Recording artists don't usually sell records anymore...how do we know who is "number one" as far as sales?
Companies like Billboard look at download sales, youtube hits, and other social media sites to determine who is the most popular
Can you think of one disadvantage of todays digital music technology?
There are several possible answers, one being that people are becomming less social. We used to get together to listen to records, shop for records, go to see bands. Now a lot of young people listen to their music privately on headphones and they purchase it on their computer without any human interaction
Approximately how heavy was a "portable" 8 track player
10 to 20 pounds!!!!!
How did people listen to music before the invention of recording technology?
They had to hear it live
Now that we have the internet, do you think it is easier or more difficult for a person to sell their original music?
It's easier to get your voice heard thanks to sites like YouTube, but there is also a lot more competition, so it is easier in some ways to sell your music, and more difficult in other ways because a lot more people are producing their own music on home studios and promoting themselves on social media
How have computers changed the recording industry? Give a detailed answer
There are many ways that computers have changed the recording industry, some of the main ways include easier access to recorded music, and the possibility of people producing their own recordings instead of having to go to a professional studio. The programs available online to produce music are incredibly good, even for people who don't really know what they are doing! Another way computers have changed the recording industry is that we don't really buy records, tapes and CDs anymore. Some people like to collect them, but most of us dowload the music we want to listen to.
Can you describe how the Graphophone, an early recording device, worked?
A person would speak or play an instrument into a big horn. A diaphragm which had an embossing point and was held against rapidly-moving paraffin paper. The speaking vibrations made indentations in the paper. Thomas Edison later changed the paper to a metal cylinder with tin foil wrapped around it. The machine had two diaphragm-and-needle units, one for recording, and one for playback. When one would speak into a mouthpiece, the sound vibrations would be indented onto the cylinder by the recording needle in a vertical (or hill and dale) groove pattern. Edison gave a sketch of the machine to his mechanic, John Kruesi, to build, which Kruesi supposedly did within 30 hours. Edison immediately tested the machine by speaking the nursery rhyme into the mouthpiece, "Mary had a little lamb." To his amazement, the machine played his words back to him.