Sound Recordings and Reproduction

Sound recordings and reproduction are two separate process used to record, store, and play back sounds. Sound recordings use microphones to pick up sound waves in the air. The pressure changes associated with the waves are converted into electrical signal, which can be coded and stored for future access. Sound reproduction, or playback, uses additional devices to retrieve the stored information and convert it back into electrical signals. The signals are then sent to a loudspeaker, which converts them back into sound.

To record sound, a microphone changes the acoustic energy of sound waves in the air into electrical signals. Inside a microphone is a thin, flat, metallic surface, called a diaphragm that is suspended in a magnetic field. When a sound wave reaches the microphone, the air pressure changes around the diaphragm, causing the diaphragm to move. This movement within a magnetic field creates an electrical signal. The signal is then transferred to a storage medium, such as a cassette tape, a compact disc (CD), or a phonograph record.

To reproduce sound, a playing device-such as a CD player, cassette deck, or phonograph accesses the stored data. The playing device reads the data and converts the information back into electric energy. The electrical signal is sent to a loudspeaker, which has a diaphragm is housed. The electrical signal creates a disturbance in the magnetic field. These resultant variations in the out and pulls in, creating changes in air pressure to recreate the sound that was originally recorded.

Sound recordings and reproduction form the foundation of many industries, including entertainment, communication, and multimedia business. Recording and reproduction of sound allow people to play their favorite music, whether it was recorded yesterday or many years ago. Radio networks rely on sound recording and reproduction for storing news and other types of programming. Television and motion pictures combine images with music, speech, and sound effects to provide the viewer with an enriched experience. Computer programs, multimedia software, and video games also use sound to make programs more engaging.

Find out:

1. What is a sound recording?

2. The first stage of sound recording is………….

3. How many stages are there in a sound recording process? What are they?

4. What is reproduction?

5. How many stages are there in a production process? What are they?

6. Which of these is the purpose of the text?

            a. To describe the ways things are.

            b. To explain the processes involved in the formation or working of sociocultural phenomena.

7. How many action verbs are there used in the text? What are they?

8. Are there any abstract words used in the text? What are they?