Da’Marcus Watkins
Professor Marc Jensen
MUS Z201
11 February 2018
Paper 1 – Topic 1: Technology
How the Inventions of Technology has Changed Music
Over the years, music has changed a tremendous amount due to the different types of
technology. For example, headphones were invented in 1910. This changed how people listening
to music drastically. An electrician named Nathaniel Baldwin invented what he called “radio
headphones.” He invented the first pair of headphones with copper wiring and an operator’s
headband. When Baldwin first invented these radio headphones, they were not a hit. His attempts
repeatedly failed when trying to gain attention from other companies. He soon got tired of
failing, and began to talk to the navy, and they soon ordered hundreds of these headsets.
According to the Rolling Stone Magazine, they state, “legend has it that Baldwin handmade each
pair in his own kitchen, though it remains unknown whether or not he could cook.” The
invention of headphones changed the world in a way. This impacted many people all over. In
todays era, there are many different types of headphones such as: In ear monitors, ear buds, over
ear headphones, on ear headphones, wired headphones, wireless headphones, neck sitting
headphones, noise cancelling and sound isolating headphones, there are headphones with
microphones in them, and there are different headphones for sports, there are headphones for
DJing, and gaming as well. These are just a few of the types of headphones that we can use
today. This invention changed music for us. Nathaniel Baldwins invention had a huge impact on
musical practice.
In the 1930s, a British engineer by the name of Alan Blumlein invented the stereo.
Stereophonic sound is usually described as a method of sound reproduction that creates an
illusion of multi-directional audible perspective. For example, the Bell Labs Two-Channel Stereo
was invented to capture large amounts of sound. These types of stereos are often found and used
in movie theaters. Stereos can also apply to the surround sound systems as well. In this
generation, we use surround sound and stereos every day. We use these when we are driving,
when we watch television, when recording music, at concerts, on the radio, and at the movie
theater. The stereo changed the way individuals listened to music because with the stereo, they
can listen to it very loudly, with different types of beats. The stereo changed music in many
