Daisy Ai

His & Lit 4

Dr. Strasser

Jan. 13 2019

Mini Essay #1: Recorded Sound

 In 1877, Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison made the first playable

sound recording in his laboratory. He intended this new device to be a

dictation machine for office. Edison’s phonograph recorded sound by a

mechanical process.

 In 1887, Emile Berliner invented a more practical system that recorded

sound on a flat discs, which also allowed many more copies to be made.

 In the 1890s, record players became available, and discs had the capacity to

play four minutes of music on each side and were sold for a dollar each.

 In 1902, Italian tenor Enrico Caruso(1873-1921) made his first recording.

He encouraged the medium’s acceptance as suitable for opera.

 In 1913, Berlin Philharmonic recorded Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on eight

discs. It was the only recorded symphony at the time because mechanical

recording didn’t have enough range of frequencies to record orchestra.

 In the 1920s, new methods of recording and reproduction were found based

on the use of electricity. This increased the sound’s frequency range,

dynamic variation, and fidelity

 In 1948 Columbia Records introduced the long-playing record, or LP, which

can record twenty-three minutes of music per side of the discs .

 In 1950s, magnetic tape was introduced. Philips introduced cassette tapes in

1963. In 1983, Philips and Sony introduced the Compact Disc, or CD.