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Gramophone
What is a Gramophone?
A gramophone was the first way we recorded and played music and sound.
When was it made?
The gramophone was invented by Emile Berliner in 1887.
It quickly became a very popular way to play recorded music and noise until the 1980s.
Your parents or grandparents may have a type of electric gramophone in their home. It is called a record player.
How did it work?
The gramophone played the sound from a flat, round disc called a record.
Record
Handle
You had to turn a handle to make the music play when the gramophone was first invented. Later on they made electric ones.
The first records could only play for 3 minutes which was enough time to play one song.
How did it work?
The gramophone had an arm with a needle at the end. You put the needle on the record and the sound come out of the gramophone speaker horn.
Needle
Speaker horn
The large speaker horn made the music louder.
What was the gramophone made of ?
Gramophones boxes were made out of wood or glass and the horn was metal.
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The first records were made of glass or plastic.
How has recording and playing music changed over time?
The gramophone was the first way to play and record music but there have been lots of new ways invented since then.
How do we play music now?
We don't gramophones any more except to show how music used to be played in the past.
Now we use things like iPods, iPads, CD players, radios, bluetooth speakers, YouTube and TV channels to play our music.
Where was the gramophone used?
Gramophones were mostly used at home but could be used anywhere you wanted to play music. Schools might have had one to use in dancing or singing lessons.
Press play to listen to music being played on a gramophone.
Watch carefully to see how the man sets it all up.