Gramophone record facts for kids
A gramophone record (or just record) is a type of analog storage medium. It stores recorded music (or other sounds). It was popular during most of the 20th century. Gramophone records are played on a phonograph ("record player").
A gramophone record is a flat disk that is usually made of plastic. The sound is recorded on a very fine line or groove which goes around and around in a spiral from the outside edge of the disk to the center. The phonograph plays the sound with a needle that touches the groove. A record usually has different music on each side. When made of vinyl they were also known as vinyl records. Most music made in the 20th century used this format.
Thomas Edison made early phonographs in the 1870s. He originally used tin foil to record the sound. Soon wax cylinders were used in place of the tin foil. The cylinders could be taken off the machine and put back on without destroying the recording. Although discs were made as early as 1888, it was not until 1902 that discs became more popular than cylinder records. Discs were first made of a shellac mixture, and later of polyvinyl chloride, often abbreviated as "vinyl". Singles usually carried only one or two songs or recordings. EPs (extended play records) carried from three to five songs. Albums carried many more recordings; a dozen was normal, or from 30 to 45 minutes of playing time. These formats are still used today, with digital recordings, and playing time for singles and albums has grown considerably.
Vinyl records lost popularity but never went out of production. Now, in recent years vinyl is gaining popularity, while CD record shops have gone out of business, more and more vinyl only record shops are opening. Many argue the higher sound quality of vinyl compared to newer formats.
Images for kids
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A typical 12-inch LP record
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Edison wax cylinder phonograph c. 1899
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Emile Berliner with disc record gramophone
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Hungarian Pathé record, 90 to 100 rpm
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A multinational product: an operatic duet sung by Enrico Caruso and Antonio Scotti, recorded in the US in 1906 by the Victor Talking Machine Company, manufactured c. 1908 in Hanover, Germany, for the Gramophone Company, Victor's affiliate in England
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An electronically recorded disc from Carl Lindström AG, Germany, c. 1930
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Examples of Congolese 78 rpm records
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Grooves on a modern 33 rpm record
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Uncommon Columbia 7-inch vinyl 33+1⁄3 rpm microgroove ZLP from 1948
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Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler demonstrating the new RCA Victor 45 rpm player and record in February 1949
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Edison Records Diamond Disc label, early 1920s. Edison Disc Records always ran at 80 rpm.
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Columbia and RCA Victor's competition extended to equipment. Some turntables included spindle size adapters, but other turntables required snap-in inserts like this one to adapt Victor's larger 45 rpm spindle size to the smaller spindle size available on nearly all turntables. Shown is one popular design in use for many years.
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1959 Seeburg 16 rpm record (label only)
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45 rpm vinyl record from 1965
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A standard wide-hole 7-inch vinyl record from 1978 on its sleeve
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Example of 7″ EMI single with notched center hole.
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A dusty/scratched vinyl record being played. The dust settles into the grooves.
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A DJ mixing vinyl records with a DJ mixer at the Sundance Film Festival in 2003
See also
In Spanish: Disco fonográfico para niños
