The Very First Recordings (1859-1879)

The first successful sound recording ever made was of a 435 hz tuning fork made by Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville. They are taken from transcriptions of sources from The French Academy of Sciences, and The Edison Museum. The earliest recordings made with the Phonautograph, were originally realized in 2008 by the Livermore Laboratory by First Sounds. The Edison recording is from the earliest known tin foil recording that exists, The sound in the background is audience laughter. The cornet is the earliest recording of a musical instrument ever made. The name of the player is unknown. Credits: First (Scott-de-Martinville) The Edison Museum (Edison) For an update and new restoration of the Edison Demo, visit NOTE: Subsequent research by Patrick Feaster has determined, definitively, that this is the actual voice of Eduard-Leon Scott-de-Martinville. Subsequent voice-print research on the Edison foil suggests that this recording is almost certainly Edison, but historic, documentary evidence has not yet been found. This puts the odds at about 99.9% that this is him. We recommend paying a visit to the First Sounds site. There are more recordings, and very interesting background information about these amazing, historic sounds. Note: The word “coronet“ is a typo. Since reloading would have caused a loss of all comments and data, the post remains as-is. The proper spelling, of course, is “cornet“. Historical note: A lot of people comment that Edison “stole“ everything and did not invent them. This is completely false. Edison invented many of his own products, including the phonograph. The idea of recording sound on metal and playing it back was entirely his own, and it is well documented. Mastered in 2018 Engineer: Paul Howard Hey! Show us you care... In order for our posts to remain uninterrupted and commercial-free, we do not monetize on this channel. If you think this kind of entertainment matters, buy us a cup of coffee at: