Where do we get the sounds that we all love every day in the past, today, and even in the future? From our earliest days as humans we’ve been perspective of and responsive to the noise that surrounds us. Through centuries of existence, we formed ways to listen through…
1811: MUSIC BOXES
The automatic music box, believed to be created by Louis Favre, was the first music device created. It created sound by pressing pins onto a disc inside of the box. Longer prongs emit lower notes, while shorter ones produce higher sounds. Its original name was “carillons à musique,” which means “chimes of music,” in French.
The music box was popular from its first days, but had a surge in popularity around 1855. This was the year that. The Symphonion Company, which was the first factory-producer of music boxes, was founded by Oscar Paul Lochmann, Gustave Brachhausen, and Paul Riessner.
1857: RECORD PLAYERS
“Arguably one of the most important inventions in the history of home entertainment; the record player has brought music into the home for over a century,”(ElectroHome). The record player was originally inspired by the Phonautograph, which was created in France in 1857. Thomas Edison then invented the Phonograph, which is known to be the first-ever record player. From there, the record player continued to adapt into what it is today:
Despite the fact that these music devices were most popular years ago, they are still put to use today. Tons of people collect records for their record players. According to Rare Records, “It’s surprising to see how many new fans are coming to record collecting today and that includes relatively young collectors who are seeking out vinyl records that were made before they were born.” People want these records because they are much bigger and provide a larger picture. They can also come with additional tools, like lyrics, posters, and information about the songs. And even the volume and sound of the records on the record player is challenged to be better than other music sources.
1910: HEADPHONES
In 1910, the first headphones were designed by Nathaniel Baldwin, an American industrialist and inventor. Due to the lack of padding, they were uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time, but useful nevertheless. Headphones that closely resemble these ones are still popular today, over 100 years later. The invention of bluetooth headphones in 2004, another huge music device development, propelled their use and prevalence in our society.
1920: RADIO STATIONS
Even today, we all listen to the radio. Whether it’s when your favorite song finally comes on, or the impatient waiting just to hear it, it’s a fun experience. The first radio station was KDKA, in 1920, which was based in Pittsburgh! According to Britannica, “The success of the KDKA broadcast and of the musical programs that were initiated thereafter motivated others to install similar stations; a total of eight were operating in the United States by the end of 1921.” And now look where we are today- with about 40,000 radio stations around the world!
1963: CASSETTE TAPES
With every source of music before cassette tapes, it was always stuck on the album and couldn’t move. With cassette tapes, people were able to create mixtapes with the music that they preferred. The Grand Theatre Blackpool claims that “Phillips consolidated the reel-to-reel into the first compact cassette tape, which allowed for music to become more fluid and for mixtapes to be created.”
In record stores, you could walk in and find a wall lined with old and new cassette tapes. Even more modern pop artists like Taylor Swift have cassette tapes that were just created weeks ago. Wired claims that the “young, curious generation of music buyers” are desperate to discover more about cassette tapes.
1982: CDs
The compact disc, or CD, was first invented in Europe and Japan 1979. In 1982, CDs were available in stores and people were purchasing the newly developed form of listening to music. People often preferred CDs because they were smaller than the previous vinyl and were less breakable.
Even today, the CD is collected. Similar to Vinyl, CDs have great sound and volume. According to the Sacramento Bee, Furthermore, owning an album on CD allows listeners to keep a physical copy of their favorite music that they can show to their friends and family. Collectors also cherish physical music formats like CDs. Beyond serving as a cherished collectible, physical items could have resale value in the future.”
2001: IPODS
As the world took a turn into a more modern and technological place, electronic iPods were introduced. Apple created the first iPod in 2001, and sold around 400,000 of this small and compact way of listening to music. The Verge says that “By 2006, Apple was selling 39 million of them a year.”
Even though the iPod was making rapid money, the iPhone eventually came out, which was inspired and adapted from the iPod (iPod touch, which was a later adaptation of the original iPod created in 2001). Over time, with iPads and iPhones, the iPod eventually stopped selling. Despite it no longer being popular, it is still a trace of the timeline that creates all of the music devices throughout the ages.
PRESENT DAY: PHONES
When companies started coming out with electronic music streaming services, more and more people started to listen to that instead of the traditional musical devices. And here we are today, with our extremely technologically advanced phones that can play music to us whenever we want. We could plug in our headphones, or even connect to Bluetooth. Nothing that we could have done so many years ago. It’s amazing to think how far we have come with music and listening to it for entertainment.
The final question is how we are going to be listening to music in 2030, 2100, and possibly even further. Will it be screens built into our eyes that transfer music to our ears? Or will it be devices in our head that respond to any music request that we think of? Will radios even exist?
That’s up to you to decide.
