Historical Roots of Music Recording

Jul 29
08:13

2008

Kristin DeAnn Gabriel

Kristin DeAnn Gabriel

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It was only 130 years ago when the music recording industry got its start. In 1878 Thomas Edison invented a machine called the phonograph that could record sound. Today, almost anyone can record music thatnks to the personal computer and software editing programs have become accessible and less expensive.

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The music recording industry was founded about 130 years ago when in 1878 Thomas Edison invented the phonograph,Historical Roots of Music Recording Articles which recorded sound. The phonograph was originally planned to relay telegraph messages and for automated speech via the telephone.

Edison had figured out that the needle could prick a paper tape and record a message, which led to a stylus on a tinfoil cylinder that played back the message, "Mary had a little lamb, which he had recorded." In reality, the phonograph machine was a tinfoil wrapped cylinder on which sound vibrations could be engraved and played back.

Recordings were being produced in the 1900s by musicians globally. The recording industry became a really serious business by 1910 for anyone who had money. For 90 years, recording, editing and the distribution of music was available only to those with money. The reason is that people could not afford expensive studios with recording equipment.

But by the late 1980s people began experimenting with digital audio processing, and sound vibrations were converted to binary words by computers,so by the 1990s greater bit depths became available. Audio could be better represented digitally, but it took computers with high processing power, and this was still expensive.

Nowadays, the personal computer has become accessible and less expensive, so memory and fast processing speeds that are needed for digital audio are available on almost every computer. Audio interfaces and sound cards have also become less expensive. There is software such as Digeaper Design, Garage Band, Reason, Logic Pro, Garage Band, and Audacity. Programs for digital audio recording are now available for free so almost anyone can play around with recording.

Pro Tools software is a favorite go-to tool for many artists. More and more students who are interested in a career in the music recording industry already have experience with audio recording on their home computers.

What's more, students have started to realize that there are mentor courses where they can learn from pros in the business. Reasonably priced at around $7,450, students get a classroom that is a real recording studio in the town or city where they live. The courses actually train people for a job in the music recording industry; jobs such as recording engineer, mixer or music producer. Some programs include hands-on lab drills in the actual local recording studio where training is conducted by the mentor professional.