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Music Production – From the Beginning to the Present Day. By Alex Diekmann. “In the beginning…”. History of sound recording dates back to 1796 – Swiss watchmaker develops idea for what we now call a cylindrical musical box.
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Music Production – From the Beginning to the Present Day By Alex Diekmann
“In the beginning…” • History of sound recording dates back to 1796 – Swiss watchmaker develops idea for what we now call a cylindrical musical box. • (Mid 1800’s) Player Piano invented (self-playing piano – reproduces music via long paper roll with etches corresponding to piano keys.
The “Phonoautograph” • 1st device to record arbitrary sound. • Invented in 1857 by Leon Scott • Could only record sound – not play back. • Inspired Thomas Edison’s invention of…
The Phonograph • Invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison. • Could record and play back sound. • Cylinder used as recording medium (via metal stylus etches onto cylinder).
The Phonograph (Cont.) Advantages: • Could now record and play back sound Disadvantages: • Cylinders difficult to mass-produce • Could only record up to 3 min. of sound • Had to wind by hand to listen to sound • Playbacks limited by life of cylinder
The Gramophone • Invented 1887 by Emile Berliner. • Inscribes grooves horizontally on disc instead of vertically (like the cylinder). • Depth of groove remains constant.
The Gramophone (Cont.) Advantages of Records over Cylinders: • Easier/cheaper to mass-produce • Greater lifespan than cylinders • Takes up less space = more convenient! As a result… • Records wildly popular until 1980’s – replace cylinders completely by 1929.
“Around the same time...” – The Birth of Electrical Recording • (1899) Invention of a magnetic wire recorder – pioneers magnetic tape recording • (1926) Fritz Pfleumer invents magnetic tape recording in Germany – technology doesn’t reach USA until after WWII (1947) – pioneers reel-to-reel tape recording and cassette tapes.
Magnetic Tape Recording The Process: • Sound is captured/changed into electrical signal • Electrical signal is fed to the recording head, inducing a pattern of magnetization similar to the signal onto the magnetic tape (RECORDING) • A playback head picks up the changes in the magnetic field from the tape and converts it into an electrical signal. (PLAYBACK)
Magnetic Tape Recording (Cont.) Advantages over other recording methods: • Recording duration longer than possible on a standard record • Little to no loss of sound quality over time • Sound could be erased and re-recorded on the same tape several times Reel-to-reel tape used as primary method for recording music until 21st Century
Introduction of Digital Audio • (Up until mid 1970’s) all sound recorded was analog (IE. Sound waves) on either magnetic tape or vinyl records. • Digital sound = computerized sound (#’s) • Digital sound recording (circa 1970’s) pioneers CD’s and (eventually) the MP3 audio format.
Compact Discs • Put on the market in 1982 by Sony – remains the current standard physical medium for commercial audio recordings. • 1980’s – 1990’s – Gradual transition from audio cassettes to compact discs.
The Dominance of the MP3 Player • 21st Century marks the turning point for digital audio • MP3 Players (IPod’s in particular) revolutionize the world, putting CD players and walkmans on the brink of extinction. • Most convenient form of portable music • Revolution? (Over 100 million IPod’s sold)
The future? • Likely to see MP3 players increase in popularity – CD’s may altogether disappear from the mainstream. • Computerization of audio and visual entertainment on the increase as well • Convenience governs popularity
References • http://www.customrecords.com/Phonograph_Record_History.html • http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/analog-digital1.htm • http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/analog-digital3.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_mixing • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_disc • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramophone_record • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sound_recording • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_tape_sound_recording • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microphones • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_recording