Recording Device Phonograph - Case Study Example

Thomas Edison invented the recording device phonograph in 1877 after conducting several experiments (Kenney, 2003). Although some inventors had designed instruments that could record sound, the phonograph was unique in that it reproduced the recorded sound. Edison’s original phonograph used to record sound onto a sheet phonograph cylinder, but Alexander Graham Bell made some improvements, including the use of cardboard cylinders and a cutting stylus (Kenney, 2003). There have been a lot of changes on the origin Edison’s phonograph although all of them employ the same technology. The phonograph changed music from being a group experience to a personal thing since listening to music by some musicians was available on demand.  The phonograph allowed the recording of music that gave room for analysis of music. The development helped people to copy songs and listen to them again and again (Bearman, 2013). Although some quarters believed the development was a cultural disaster, the truth is that many people could listen to different types of music than they could have at any other time. There was also an impact on the musicians for they were compelled to think in a different way concerning how they wrote songs. Over the years, artists and professionals from different fields have subverted, abused and transformed the phonograph. Some of the notable public figures and institutions that have subverted the use of phonograph include Christian Ernest Marclay, Laurie Anderson, and NASA (the Voyager Golden Record). The irony behind the invention of phonograph history is that the device was not made with the intention of being used for music. Edison planned to use the cylinder as a device for business communication that could substitute the expensive use of stenography. The cylinder was also targeted at preserving in eternity the voices of people who had died (Kenney, 2003). Christian Ernest Marclay got an interest in record manipulation when he discovered a Batman record in a street. The interest was engaged when he listened to the pops, clicks and loops that came out of the record (Horwatt, 2013). At the point of the downfall of the phonograph as a medium of music, Marclay discovered a disposable material that could be used. Marclay’s interest in the performance of rock compelled him to move to the direction of the phonograph itself as an instrument of music. His experiments with the phonograph happened at a crucial time in the history of the technology since hip hop led to the Renaissance of the turntable into an accepted culture. Christian Ernest Marclay started his work with records at the time of the creation of the new music industry (Horwatt, 2013). If there is one trademark associated with Laurie Anderson, it is technology. Anderson created musical instruments that she used in her performances. One notable musical instrument was the Viophonograph. The instrument consisted of a violin that had a turntable that was attached to its body. The bow of the instrument contained a phonograph needle. As a record turned on the violin, Anderson placed the bow with the needle on it allowing the record to play. Anderson also created the Tape Bow Violin, a violin that had a magnetic playback head on the bridge. She stretched tapes of different sounds on violin bows and pulled the tape across the playback head in order to play them. Anderson controlled the speed and articulation of the bow so as to achieve incredible variations in pitch as the recorded sounds played (Jestrovic & Sharkey’s Day, 2000). The performances of Anderson in modern days use digital audio and visual displays. A phonograph record the Voyager Golden Record was included in the Voyager spacecrafts launched in 1977 by NASA. The record contained sounds and images that portrayed the diversity of life and culture of the world. The contents of the record included images and natural sounds such as those made by wind, surf, thunder and animals. In addition, there were musical selections from various periods of time, spoken greetings in different languages, and President Jimmy Carter’s message. The message placed on the two Voyagers by NASA was aimed at communicating a story of the earth to extraterrestrials. All the data was recorded in analog form since it was the only technology that was available at the time of the launching in 1977 (Kishor, 2014). The data could only be recorded on one side because technology had not advanced so much at the time of the launch. Enrico Caruso was one of the stars who used the phonograph. Caruso's voice is one of the fascinating things in the history of the phonograph. The tone of the musician penetrating penetrated the haze of the instrument and made the musician appear as if present. The phonograph seemed to favor brassy singing and all the other things that could puncture surface noise. The trumpet of Louis Armstrong was famous and he appeared to follow the footsteps of Caruso (Horning, 2013). However, classical music that was characterized by softer-edged sounds was not very successful when using the phonograph. Such music appeared very different and artists and fans preferred live performances. The discovery of the cylinder phonograph was the beginning of a new world of cultural research. The machine became a very important tool in the world of anthropology. Phonograph equipped researchers with a way of preserving ancient songs and research on various arguments in the areas of anthropology and folklore. Ethnographers used the opportunity to move to different places around the world to record rituals, songs, riddles, cultures and many other historical facts. The government played a critical role in the collection of cultures that were about to disappear. There were spirited efforts to document American Indian language, songs, rituals and culture so as to prevent technology and civilization from consuming them (Brady, 1999). Before the phonograph was invented, music was just a social event where people could listen to it live (Horning, 2013). The phonograph was a great 19th-century invention. The emergence of the phonograph transformed how music was consumed by fans. In modern days, people do not use the phonograph as a means of listening to their favorite music. However, the iPod shares some similarities with the ancient device. Recording of music brought down barriers that existed amongst cultures. It also placed ancient music at the risk of disappearance. Since it was possible to record and playback sound, many musicians started recording music (Kenney, 2003). In later years, Emile Berliner invented the Gramophone, which was the original version of the Record Player. The Gramophone replaced the Phonograph in 1929 due to its popularity as people realized that it was clearer and reliable (Horwatt, 2013). However, the Gramophone used the same technology as the Phonograph, and it also recorded sound in the same way. The phonograph has had an enormous impact on all aspects of music. From its original conception and throughout recent history, the phonograph drastically and permanently altered the way people listen to, created and understood music. The invention of the phonograph was a step in the right direction towards a revolution in the music industry. Today, when people play music in their various media they need to have a reason to thank Edison for inventing a way in which music could be recorded. Although the phonograph was mainly used for music, other people and artists used the device for other purposes. NASA and anthropologists used the phonograph in sending messages to the space and collection of historical information respectively. Although many technologies have come and gone, they all employ the same principle as the phonograph. References Bearman, C. J. (2013). The Folk-Song Society and the Phonograph. Folk Music Journal, 10(3), 370. Brady, E. (1999). A spiral way: How the phonograph changed ethnography. Univ. Press of Mississippi. Horning, S. S. (2013). Chasing Sound: Technology, Culture, and the Art of Studio Recording from Edison to the LP. JHU Press. Horwatt, E. (2013). On The Clock and Christian Marclay's Instrumental Logic of Appropriation. Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media, 54(2), 208-225. Jestrovic, S., & Sharkey’s Day, L. A. (2000). The performer and the machine: Some aspects of Laurie Anderson’s stage work’. Body, Space, &Technology Journal, 1(1). Kishor, P. (2014). The Voyager Golden Record. Retrieved on May 11, 2015 from http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/44290 Kenney, W. H. (2003). Recorded Music in American Life: The Phonograph and Popular Memory, 1890-1945. Oxford University Press. Read More