The Phonograph
It all started in 1877
Thomas Edison was
working on the
invention of the
telegraph and
telephone
 Discovered that the
telephone message
could be recorded

 Gave
a sketch of the
machine to his mechanic,
who built it in 30 hours
It all started in 1877
Had a little lamb”
–Thomas Edison
 How did it work?
–Energy from sound waves
pressed into a foil or wax
coated cylinder

“Mary

How did the phonograph work???
Then in 1887
flat gramophone disc
(or phonograph disc) was
invented by Emile Berliner
–More durable, cheaper,
easier to use
 The
 1890:
Machines in public
places called nickelodeons
played the discs for a nickel
–Modern day jukebox
By 1900:
 Columbia
Records & Victor
Talking Machine Company
were the main companies
 1902: 12” disc – the “78
rpm” was invented
–Revolutions per minute
 Each
disc held 4 minutes of
music
 1904: Double sided 78 discs
Impact
 Used
for at least 40 years
until the 33 rpm 45 rpm discs
were put into use
Early phonographs
 Used
at beginning to
preserve voices, not music
–Presidential speeches, for
instance
 1st
Musical recording:
–Enrico Caruso: recorded
opera arias in London
(1902)
Effects – Good & Bad
 If
you had a “Victrola”, you
were considered to be
“moving on up” in the world
 However:
–Initial public reaction was
dislike: technological
advancement was
distracting young people
–Has this happened before?
Popularity
 1904:
1 of every 22 houses
had a phonograph
 1909: 26 million
discs/cylinders were produced
Discussion…
 Do
you get the same
musical “effect” of listening
to a live vs recorded piece
of music?
Questions
 You
have an hour (by
yourself):
–Same amount of $
Listen to a CD of music
Go to a concert
 You
have an hour (with
friends):
–Same amount of $
Listen to a CD of music
Go to a concert
 Is the answer to both
different? Why? What
changes?