Museum of POP MUSIC | 1878年 – 1886年に録音された音楽

Music recorded between 1878 and 1886

The period from 1878 to 1886, immediately following Edison's invention of the phonograph (1877), was a transitional period in which recording technology was evolving from "experimental devices" to "playable records." Most recordings from this period were experimental, made at demonstrations or in laboratories, and very few physical recordings have survived to posterity. Here, we will organize the developments from 1878 to 1886 by year, focusing on recordings whose existence can currently be confirmed and whose recording dates can generally be determined.
*The number of "confirmed recordings from this year" counts all audio that can be confirmed as "playable sound sources," including music, human voices, and environmental sounds.

Music recorded in 1878

In 1878 (Meiji 11), Japan was making progress in building a modern nation after the Satsuma Rebellion, and was beginning to fully introduce Western technology and systems. Meanwhile, in America and Europe, public demonstrations of Edison's tin foil phonograph were being held all over the country, and the impact of the device's ability to record human voices and sounds began to spread.

In the history of recording, several recordings from this year are considered some of the earliest playable audio sources to date. In particular, the St. Louis tin foil demonstration recording and Frank Lambert's recording of "The Experimental Clock" are considered important milestones that led to later wax cylinder and disc recordings.

Confirmed recordings from this year: 3

Notable recordings of 1878

Title	Artist
St. Louis tinfoil phonograph demonstration (cornet solo, nursery rhymes)	n/a
Metropolitan Elevated Railroad from 40 feet away	Thomas A. Edison Charles Batchelor
Experimental Talking Clock	Frank Lambert

Events surrounding the recording of 1878

At a demonstration of the Edison phonograph in St. Louis, Missouri, a cornet solo and recitation of nursery rhymes such as "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Old Mother Hubbard" were recorded on tin foil. Following restoration in later years, these recordings are now considered to be among the oldest known playable recordings of music and human speech.
Edison and his assistant Charles Batchelor recorded the sound of New York City's Metropolitan Elevated Railroad as part of an acoustical survey, which is considered one of the earliest experimental recordings of urban ambient sounds.
Frank Lambert recorded his experimental talking clock, a lead cylinder, with his own voice telling the time and chiming sounds. This recording is considered one of the oldest known recordings of sound reproduced solely by the mechanical mechanism (though the date is disputed).

References

Music recorded in 1879

In 1879 (Meiji 12), the development of telegraph and railway networks was progressing in Japan, and the foundations for industrialization were being laid. In Europe and the United States, Edison's efforts to make electric lighting practical were attracting attention, and research into voice recording was continuing on a small scale in the afterglow of the "Inventions Show."

Although there are references to a gramophone and recordings of performances made in 1879, there are no confirmed examples of recordings that exist in a form that allows the specific content, speakers, and recording date to be identified and that can be played back as sound. Therefore, this site does not count the 1879 year as a "confirmed playable recording."

Recordings confirmed for this year: 0

Events surrounding the recording of 1879

A tin foil recording (circa February 1879) said to have been recorded at Tivoli Amusement Park in Oslo, Norway, is housed at the Norwegian Technical Museum. A brief digital restoration attempt was made in 2009, but the audio is extremely fragmentary, and public access to it is currently limited.

References

Music recorded in 1880

In 1880 (Meiji 13), an Imperial edict was issued in Japan to establish a national parliament, and preparations for a constitutional system were underway. In the world of acoustic technology, efforts were continuing to improve the durability and practicality of recording media and mechanisms, while at the same time improving the phonograph.

According to historical documents, there are several tin foil records from the late 19th century held in American museums, some of which are estimated to date from around 1879-1880, and are considered to be some of the oldest phonograph recordings after the St. Louis recording of 1878. However, because the content and date of the recording have not been clearly made public, and the audio source is not available to the public, this site only mentions them as "reference information" and does not include them in the number of songs.

Recordings confirmed for this year: 0

Recording events of 1880

Experiments and demonstrations of the Edison phonograph continue, with attempts being made to improve the tin foil medium and stabilize the mechanism, but no recordings with specific sound sources have been confirmed to date.

References

Music recorded in 1881

In 1881 (Meiji 14), the Freedom and People's Rights Movement gained momentum in Japan, and the movement to establish a national parliament became a central political topic. Around the world, urbanization and industrialization progressed, and people began to recognize the resulting noise and environmental changes as social issues.

In that same year, Alexander Graham Bell and others founded the Volta Laboratory, where experimental recordings were made using a variety of media, including wax and metal plates, in an attempt to surpass Edison's tin foil phonograph in sound quality and durability. To date, an experimental disc believed to have been recorded around October 1881 has been restored, and still retains the audible reading of numbers and the pure tone of a tuning fork.

1 confirmed recording from this year

Notable recordings from 1881

Title	Artist
Volta Laboratory experimental disc (numbers and tuning fork tones)	Alexander Graham Bell Chichester Bell Charles Sumner Tainter

Events surrounding the recording of 1881

The Volta Institute experimental discs, containing counting voices and tuning forks, were reconstructed using modern technology from grooves carved into wax and glass plates. They are considered important as "the earliest playable recordings by researchers other than Edison."
Another experimental recording, also from 1881, features a reading of a line from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio..." and is thought to have been made by Alexander Melville Bell (1819–1905) to test his own vocal technique. This recording is one of the earliest attempts to record a relatively complete literary text as audio, and is considered an important step towards later recordings of poetry and drama readings.

References

Music recorded in 1882

In 1882 (Meiji 15), enlightenment activities led by Fukuzawa Yukichi and others became popular in Japan, and discussions of "civilization and enlightenment" spread through newspapers and magazines. Similarly, in Europe and the United States, voice recording technology, along with the telephone, telegraph, and electric light, was gradually gaining public attention. However, to date, there are no known records of recordings clearly dated to 1882 that have been restored and made public in a playable form. Test recordings are thought to have continued at the Volta Institute and other laboratories, but because the audio has not been made public in a way that links it to a year, this site lists the number of tracks as 0.

Recordings confirmed for this year: 0

Events surrounding the recording of 1882

The Volta Laboratory in Washington, D.C., USA, has an experimental sound recording dated April 21, 1882. The recording is said to have been made by the Volta Laboratory Associates, and is considered one of the earliest reliably dated documents of a "graphophone" recording made using wax and glass.
In his notebook "Home Notes" written in the early 1880s, Charles Sumner Tainter (1854–1940) reports on an experiment he attempted to record music from a music box between October 27 and November 11 of that year. This is considered to be one of the earliest attempts at recording "musical instrument sounds" at the Volta Institute, and is an important stepping stone to the later development of music cylinder recordings.

References

Music recorded in 1883

In 1883 (Meiji 16), the Rokumeikan era began in Japan, and Western music and dance were adopted as part of diplomatic protocol. Behind this cultural change was a growing interest in "recording and bringing back" Western music and culture.

Meanwhile, the Volta Laboratory was exploring different recording methods than Edison's (such as wax cuttings and disc media). A spoken word disc later known as "Hamlet's Soliloquy (To be or not to be)" is thought to date from around this time, but the exact year of recording is thought to be between 1883 and 1885, and there is no definitive evidence that it can be dated to 1883. For this reason, it is not counted as a "confirmed recording" from 1883 on this page.

Recordings confirmed for this year: 0

Events surrounding the recording of 1883

Chichester A. Bell (1848–1924) reports in his notebooks that he began to seriously experiment with "wax disc recordings on glass or brass plates" around November 1883. Several experimental discs that appear to correspond to this remain in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, indicating that the transition from the traditional tin foil cylinder to the new medium of "wax discs" began in this year.
One of the results of this period is the disc "Hamlet's Soliloquy" (NMAH 287920), recorded on a brass plate coated with green wax; based on notes, it is estimated to have been recorded around 1883-1884. The narrator is thought to be either Alexander Melville Bell (1819-1905) or Chichester Vale himself, and this recording marks an experimental example of the idea of "recording a complete literary text in audio form," prior to later recordings for entertainment.

References

Music recorded in 1884

In 1884 (Meiji 17), tensions were rising in Japan due to the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, as seen in the Chichibu Incident. Internationally, colonial rule was expanding and industrial technology was advancing at the same time, and the results of scientific experiments were being widely shared through media reports.

In the same year, an experiment known as the "barometer of speech" was conducted at the Volta Institute, and a disc recording dated November 17, 1884, remains. This experimental recording was made to measure the strength and intonation of the voice, and was later restored to include a recording of the narration explaining the experiment.

1 confirmed recording from this year

Notable recordings from 1884

Title	Artist
Volta Laboratory experimental disc “barometer of speech” test	Volta Laboratory staff (Alexander G. Bell et al.)
Volta Laboratory experimental sound recording, Glass disc (4 May 1886)	Volta Laboratory staff

Events surrounding the recording of 1884

The "Voice Barometer" experimental discs are part of an attempt to quantify the physical characteristics of sound, and are records of scientific experiments rather than music. However, as reproducible sound sources, they occupy an important place in the history of recording in the second half of the 19th century.

References

Music recorded in 1885

In 1885 (Meiji 18), the cabinet system was established in Japan, and the cabinet of Ito Hirobumi was formed. Alongside the modernization of politics and institutions, Western music and theater gradually became established as part of urban culture.

That same year, several important experimental recordings were made at the Volta Institute. One of the best-known is a disc of Alexander Graham Bell's own voice, recorded on April 15, 1885. In the restored recording, Bell can be heard saying, "Hear my voice. Alexander Graham Bell," after reading the numbers, making it a valuable recording that directly conveys the inventor's own voice.

Also in 1885, an unknown cornet quartet was recorded on wax-coated binder's board discs, playing "Killarney" and "Hot-Shot March." This recording was later restored and made available to the public, and is considered particularly important as one of the earliest pure "music recordings" from the Volta Institute.

Confirmed recordings from this year: 3

Notable recordings from 1885

Title	Artist
Hear my voice. Alexander Graham Bell. (Volta Laboratory disc, 15 April 1885)	Alexander Graham Bell
Killarney	n/a
Hot Shot March	n/a

Events surrounding the recording of 1885

The Volta Institute collection from 1885 includes the above-mentioned recording of Bell himself, as well as several other recordings, including poetry readings, counting, and experimental recordings of messages, giving us a glimpse into the world of "laboratory voice recording" that preceded the later commercial recordings.

References

Music recorded in 1886

In 1886 (Meiji 19), interest in the revision of unequal treaties grew in Japan due to events such as the Normanton Incident, and tensions continued between international relations and domestic public opinion. Around the world, Bell and others obtained patents related to the graphophone, and recording and playback devices began to be seen as "business machines."

In the same year, Alexander Graham Bell and others obtained a patent for the graphophone on May 4, 1886, and sound recording devices began to be seen as practical business devices rather than just a showpiece. It is believed that experimental recordings using glass and wax continued at the Volta Institute, but no recordings from 1886 with a clearly identifiable recording date and reproduced using modern technology have been made publicly available.

Recordings confirmed for this year: 0

Events surrounding the recording of 1886

The graphophone-related patent granted on May 4, 1886, is considered one of the starting points for the later widespread use of commercial recording and playback devices through the American Graphophone Company.
The Volta Institute's collection of experimental discs from the early to mid-1880s shows that a variety of media, including not only wax and metal but also glass, were being experimented with, and it provides insight into the design concepts that would later lead to the graphophone and commercial phonograph.

References

1877

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1887