A Brief History of Audio Production
Submitted by 2 students of The Art Institute
Audio Production 102
March 2012
A Brief History of Audio Production
Men like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Vladimir Poulsen are some of the great thinkers in the historical walk through audio production. Dating back some 135 years, one can begin to witness the imagination and drive that led these, and so many other inventors, to capture and replicate a better sound. The song, Mary’s Little Lamb, was Edison’s first successful reproduction of sound, which he achieved in 1877 by wrapping tinfoil around a cylinder and spinning it.i Edison then was able to demonstrate his successful reproduction of sound at the magazine offices of Scientific American, which resulted in the birth of a machine called the phonograph.ii According to Roland Gelatt in his 1954 book, The Fabulous Phonograph, “A history of the phonograph is at once the history of an invention, an industry, and a musical instrument. It cannot be otherwise.”iii
Edison constantly improved the design of his invention, and eventually devised a disc machine with a spiral, which anticipated the form of the phonograph, as we know it today.iv In 1878, a musician and composer named Jules Levy played the song Yankee Doodle, which represents the first time music was officially put on a record.v Exhibitions were held around the country to show off and demonstrate Edison’s new creation, and visitors were fascinated by what they saw and heard; but eventually interest waned and the public became bored.vi Even Edison began to lose interest because he wanted to work on his other amazing invention – the incandescent lamp.vii
Flowers 2
Alexander Graham Bell was still interested in the phonograph, however, and sought to improve it. With the aid of Charles Sumner Tainter, a scientist and instrument maker, Bell was able to devise a cylinder machine called the graphophone, which he patented and unveiled to the public in Washington, D.C. in 1887.viii
Audio Production 102
March 2012
A Brief History of Audio Production
Men like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Vladimir Poulsen are some of the great thinkers in the historical walk through audio production. Dating back some 135 years, one can begin to witness the imagination and drive that led these, and so many other inventors, to capture and replicate a better sound. The song, Mary’s Little Lamb, was Edison’s first successful reproduction of sound, which he achieved in 1877 by wrapping tinfoil around a cylinder and spinning it.i Edison then was able to demonstrate his successful reproduction of sound at the magazine offices of Scientific American, which resulted in the birth of a machine called the phonograph.ii According to Roland Gelatt in his 1954 book, The Fabulous Phonograph, “A history of the phonograph is at once the history of an invention, an industry, and a musical instrument. It cannot be otherwise.”iii
Edison constantly improved the design of his invention, and eventually devised a disc machine with a spiral, which anticipated the form of the phonograph, as we know it today.iv In 1878, a musician and composer named Jules Levy played the song Yankee Doodle, which represents the first time music was officially put on a record.v Exhibitions were held around the country to show off and demonstrate Edison’s new creation, and visitors were fascinated by what they saw and heard; but eventually interest waned and the public became bored.vi Even Edison began to lose interest because he wanted to work on his other amazing invention – the incandescent lamp.vii
Flowers 2
Alexander Graham Bell was still interested in the phonograph, however, and sought to improve it. With the aid of Charles Sumner Tainter, a scientist and instrument maker, Bell was able to devise a cylinder machine called the graphophone, which he patented and unveiled to the public in Washington, D.C. in 1887.viii