Electronic Voices- Capturing, Recording and Reproducing Sound

Classroom

This class aims to demystify the invisible physical phenomenon that we process as sound. We will follow the mechanical and electrical pioneers of the 19th and 20th century as they spent sleepless nights trying to capture the minute fluctuations in air pressure that our brain effortlessly decodes as sound

This class will explain and re-create some of the experiments of the early sound recording pioneers and then go on to cover the history and techniques of sound manipulation through the acoustical, electrical, and digital eras.

In this class we will learn some the basics of early sound recording and reproduction and learn to build a makeshift phonograph using mechanical amplification. We will then move on to discuss electronics and electromagnetism and how they relate to recording and amplifying sound. We will eventually build a working speaker out of a post-it note, a wire, and a magnet.

This class is also available as a three-session course in which we go on to build a solid-state amplifier in a cigar box:

The Physics of Sound / Build a Cigar-Box Amplifier

Project Guide by David Sheinkopf

David Sheinkopf has taught in the NY school system for 10 years and has spent the last 5 of those years developing a curriculum for teaching analog and digital electronics to high school students in order to prepare them for life in an increasingly-electrified world. Before teaching, Sheinkopf worke... view full bio