Music has been a part of many cultures all over the world. Looking back, many music players have been invented just so people would have a more convenient way to listen. It's easy to forget how hard it was to access music or music players before, as opposed to having one-tap music streaming services now. Here are a few players over the years.
Music Box (1811)
The music box was the first automatic music device, as mentioned in Black Pool Grand. Pins on a disc or revolving cylinder would hit little protrusions, wherein it would make individual sounds. With the sounds played in a sequence, it created a tune. It can still be heard in certain items today, like the famous box with a ballerina spinning as you open it.
Phonograph (1877)
It'll be decades before Thomas Edison would invent the Phonograph, to which the first song played was "Mary Had A Little Lamb." You would have to wind it up before it's able to play music. The invention changed the music industry, and it worked by using vibration waveforms, which came from the cylindrical part of the device.
Gramophone (1887)
Emile Berliner created the Gramophone based on the Phonograph. The similarities are evident, except that Gramophone now uses a flat disc to play music as opposed to a cylinder. It hit the market in 1896, going by "Victrola." It became the first commercially available music player that can play recorded music.
Electronic Record Player (1925)
The Electronic Record Player was a more compact version of the Gramophone. It also used discs to play music, but it used a box-shaped speaker instead of a trumpet-like magnifier. It still uses a needle, but now you can adjust its volume as well. It was more popular and cheaper, according to Time Toast.
Tape Recorder (1928)
The tape recorder was first invented in the 20s by Dr. Fritz Pfleumer. It was only available in Germany at the time. It was made of magnetic tape, which was made by putting iron oxide on a thin strip of paper with lacquer.
Magnetophone Tape Recorder (1935)
It's the more advanced version of the 1928 recorder. It now came with knobs and gauges. It was invented by a German electronics and engineering company called AEG. It became the first reel-to-reel tape recorder.
Transistor Radio (1954)
Transistor Radio made it possible for people to play music on the go. It was the first portable music device, and it was capable of working with AM broadcast. It's basically the forefather of Walkman.
Boombox (1966)
The iconic Boombox was introduced to the world in '66, which made radio broadcasts be recorded into tapes more conveniently, which were invented in 1964. You probably saw it as John Cusack held it over his head in "Say Anything."
Walkman (1979)
Sony's Walkman was the first to introduce personal listening sessions, using Nathaniel Baldwin's headphones and cassette tapes. You can carry as many cassette tapes as you can, and listen to your favorite songs at any time.
Discman (1984)
The Discman came two years after the compact disc was invented by Sony. It changed the way people stored music, and cassette tapes and vinyl records became low on the list of music listeners.
MP3 Player (1998)
File compression became a product of computer technology, which allowed for a smaller device to hold music. The ".mp3" extension became famous, and music was getting more and more accessible through the Internet.
iPod (2001)
Apple gave the world iPods, which come with five to 10 GB of storage. Its users can easily scroll through music using the scroll wheel, and they can view which song they want to play with the backlit screen on the device. Soon after, music players started becoming obsolete, as phones and computers were able to function as music players as well.
