The gramophone was patented in 1887.

Although Thomas Edison is generally credited with the invention that led to the record player, Emile Berliner was actually awarded the patent (#372,786) for a "talking machine" that worked on the same basic principle as the modern record player. Unlike Edison's earlier cylinder sound recorder, Berliner's gramophone used a needle to read spiraling grooves etched into a flat disk. The needle sent the information to a diaphragm, which then reproduced the sounds. Berliner sold his invention to RCA (then called Victor Talking Machine Company), and it became their first major product. RCA later adopted Berliner's trademark as well. The image of a dog listening to his master's voice on a gramophone remains the trademark of RCA to this day.

Illuminations
Using the Sound Sketch Tool (6–12), students experiment with a more modern way of recording sound, using a computer.

ARTSEDGE
Recording devices offer an opportunity for students to listen to and interact with music in the classroom. ARTSEDGE offers a number of lessons centered on listening to music, including the following:

Yo-Yo Ma, Master Cellist (9–12) invites ESL students to listen to and respond to music performed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

In Bibbidi Bobbidi Tunes (5–8), students compare the song Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo from Disney's Cinderella with the same song in the style of composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

ARTSEDGE also provides podcasts and interactive Look-Listen-Learn features that highlight music and sound, including Sounds of China PodPage (K–8) and Xploring Xtremes (3–8), which uses selections from a National Symphony Orchestra concert to illustrate musical extremes.

EDSITEment
EDSITEment offers Music from Across America (3–5), a unit in which students listen to recordings of many different types of music from across America. To develop their listening skills, students use worksheets to record their impressions about the music they hear.

EconEdLink
The technology for listening to music has changed immensely since the gramophone was patented. The EconEdLink lesson Online Music (6–8) looks at the ramifications of new technology on the music industry as students explore whether trading MP3s online is piracy or simply sharing music.