Who Invented The Phonograph
The Phonograph
The phonograph is a revolutionary invention. It was created by Thomas Edison in 1877, inspired by his work on sound and his recent development of the telephone. He had the idea that sounds could be recorded and played back at a later date. Edison invented the phonograph, but others perfected it. 10 years after the invention was introduced, Emile Berliner patented the Gramophone, which used records instead of tinfoil cylinders to record sound. When the record is recorded, a needle cuts grooves into a disc or piece of tinfoil, and when the needle runs along the grooves it had previously cut, the sound that the grooves represent is played back. The grooves were originally cut into a piece of tinfoil, but a record for the Gramophone (made of hard rubber or shellac, a resin) was much sturdier. Shortly after the phonograph’s invention, the price of this newfangled machine was so high, only the upper class could …show more content…
afford it, but in the start of the 20s, it became less expensive, and rose in popularity. This device that could record and reproduce sound would change America for the better.
Other machines could record sound, but only the phonograph could play it back.
This invention made the job of musician a plausible one. Before the phonograph, bands and musicians were limited to towns the played in, and could only connect with small groups of people at a time. With phonograph records, musicians could send their work across America, building up the music industry. This contribution was honored in the name of the Gramophone Awards, commonly known as the Grammys. The Jazz Age was a boost to phonographs, as popular as dance and jazz were, people wanted to be able to own the music for themselves and listen to it at their whim. Phonographs also let the blind hear the news and listen to books. They also led to the invention of the radio, which was a huge jump forward in entertainment. People’s voices could be recorded, whether it was the voice of a criminal confessing a crime, a dying relative’s last words, or a teacher’s instruction. Now that sound was recordable, a whole new world of experiences, industry, and communication had opened
up.
Though the phonograph was a revolutionary invention, it was soon replaced by different ways of recording and reproducing sound. In the 1960s, the cassette tape was introduced. It used magnetism on a tape to make a physical representation of the audio or video. Movies could also be used on the cassette. The 1980s brought the CD, or compact disc, which, like the cassette tape, was portable, bringing an edge over phonographs. The CD records sounds and images digitally, transforming them into 1s and 0s. The data is then read by a laser and reproduced. It was also compatible with computers, bringing the digital age closer. MP3 players and headphones have allowed people to listen to things on the go, and fit hours of music and movies in their pocket. Phonographs have become all but extinct, except for small groups of people who prefer the old-fashioned way to newer sources. But those vinyl records and large cases will forever hold a place in many people’s hearts.
The phonograph is a revolutionary invention. It was created by Thomas Edison in 1877, inspired by his work on sound and his recent development of the telephone. He had the idea that sounds could be recorded and played back at a later date. Edison invented the phonograph, but others perfected it. 10 years after the invention was introduced, Emile Berliner patented the Gramophone, which used records instead of tinfoil cylinders to record sound. When the record is recorded, a needle cuts grooves into a disc or piece of tinfoil, and when the needle runs along the grooves it had previously cut, the sound that the grooves represent is played back. The grooves were originally cut into a piece of tinfoil, but a record for the Gramophone (made of hard rubber or shellac, a resin) was much sturdier. Shortly after the phonograph’s invention, the price of this newfangled machine was so high, only the upper class could …show more content…
afford it, but in the start of the 20s, it became less expensive, and rose in popularity. This device that could record and reproduce sound would change America for the better.
Other machines could record sound, but only the phonograph could play it back.
This invention made the job of musician a plausible one. Before the phonograph, bands and musicians were limited to towns the played in, and could only connect with small groups of people at a time. With phonograph records, musicians could send their work across America, building up the music industry. This contribution was honored in the name of the Gramophone Awards, commonly known as the Grammys. The Jazz Age was a boost to phonographs, as popular as dance and jazz were, people wanted to be able to own the music for themselves and listen to it at their whim. Phonographs also let the blind hear the news and listen to books. They also led to the invention of the radio, which was a huge jump forward in entertainment. People’s voices could be recorded, whether it was the voice of a criminal confessing a crime, a dying relative’s last words, or a teacher’s instruction. Now that sound was recordable, a whole new world of experiences, industry, and communication had opened
up.
Though the phonograph was a revolutionary invention, it was soon replaced by different ways of recording and reproducing sound. In the 1960s, the cassette tape was introduced. It used magnetism on a tape to make a physical representation of the audio or video. Movies could also be used on the cassette. The 1980s brought the CD, or compact disc, which, like the cassette tape, was portable, bringing an edge over phonographs. The CD records sounds and images digitally, transforming them into 1s and 0s. The data is then read by a laser and reproduced. It was also compatible with computers, bringing the digital age closer. MP3 players and headphones have allowed people to listen to things on the go, and fit hours of music and movies in their pocket. Phonographs have become all but extinct, except for small groups of people who prefer the old-fashioned way to newer sources. But those vinyl records and large cases will forever hold a place in many people’s hearts.