Phonograph Records

music · analog · vintage · sound

Spiral grooves hold sound. A record has a groove that spirals from the outside edge all the way to the center, kind of like a maze made of bumps and dips. This groove pattern stores the actual sound waves as physical patterns in the vinyl.

A needle reads the groove. When you play a record, a tiny needle rides along the groove and vibrates up and down following its bumpy pattern. Those vibrations travel through the machine and get turned into sound you can hear through speakers.

Spinning disc plays music. The record spins around and around while the needle stays in one spot, slowly moving toward the center. The spinning motion combined with the groove pattern is what creates the music or voice that comes out.

Made from vinyl plastic. Most phonograph records are made from a special plastic called vinyl, which is durable and can be played thousands of times without wearing out completely. Vinyl was chosen because it holds those tiny grooves really well.

Analog sound storage. Unlike digital music on computers, phonograph records store sound as actual physical wiggles and waves pressed into the material. Your ear can hear these grooves being turned into vibrations by the needle.