News, writings and activities of FirstSounds.ORG http://www.firstsounds.org/ Sound extracted from famous 1881 prototype recording made at the Volta Laboratory. http://www.firstsounds.org/ Friday, 3 May 2013 18:15:00 EST You may have read recently about a pilot project at the Smithsonian that played back several experimental recordings made between 1881 and 1885 by the Volta Laboratory Associates. First Sounds cofounder Patrick Feaster has studied these six historic recordings in depth. You can read his explanations and working conclusions at First Sounds. http://www.firstsounds.org/sounds/volta/ Sun, 18 December 2011 14:29:00 EST David Giovannoni, First Sounds principal, will discuss "Humanity's First Recordings of its Own Voice" in two public venues this coming week: Monday November 1st at the Library of Congress, Washington DC, and Saturday November 6th at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, NJ. Both are free and open to the public. For more information see the First Sounds website. http://www.firstsounds.org/events/ Wed, 27 October 2010 15:46:00 EST Greetings from Paris, where today we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the recording of Au Clair de la Lune by Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville - the earliest audibly recognizable record of the human voice yet recovered. This week we visited each of the French institutions at which we've identified Scott's manuscripts and recordings over the last two years, presenting each with copies of our high resolution scans of their holdings. Today we're visiting a number of establishments that Edouard-Leon himself might have frequented for conversation, libation, and a good meal. Celebrate with us! Tonight (preferably by the light of the moon) open a window in time, raise a glass in the direction of Paris, and toast an inventor whose experiment - made 150 years ago today - succeeded far beyond his own expectations.And in a more sober moment, check out the documents that trace the inception, development, and maturation of Scott's phonautographic work. They're all at FirstSounds.org. http://www.firstsounds.org/sounds/scott.php#auclair Mon, 09 April 2010 10:00:00 EST Friday April 9th marks the 150th anniversary of the recording of Au Clair de la Lune by Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville - the earliest audibly recognizable record of the human voice yet recovered. To commemorate this landmark achievement, we've published a series of new documents that trace the inception, development, and maturation of Scott's pioneering phonautographic work in Scott's own words. They're all at FirstSounds.org. http://www.firstsounds.org/ Mon, 05 April 2010 11:00:00 EST On Friday May 29, at the Association for Recorded Sound Collections in Washington DC, Patrick Feaster and David Giovannoni announced significant new developments in our understanding of Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville's pioneering work on sound recording. New sounds from his phonautograms--and revised interpretations of previously heard recordings--are now available. http://www.firstsounds.org/sounds/scott.php Fri, 29 May 2008 16:00:00 EST This week Patrick Feaster and David Giovannoni will announce significant new developments at the annual meeting of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections in Washington, DC. Watch this site for updates following their presentation on Friday. http://www.firstsounds.org/ Thurs, 28 May 2008 10:45:00 EST Jody Rosen of Slate.com has named "Au Clair de la Lune" the most moving recording of 2008. http://www.firstsounds.org/ Tues, 23 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST First Sounds plays back a recording made in 1865 as part of a groundbreaking experiment in cognitive psychology. http://www.firstsounds.org/features/donders.php Fri, 07 Nov 2008 9:00:00 EST First Sounds celebrates Halloween by playing back a phonautogram made in the 1860s by attaching a recording stylus to the eardrum of a human cadaver. http://www.firstsounds.org/features/lucae.php Fri, 31 Oct 2008 9:00:00 EST First Sounds plays an experimental speech recording made by Charles Morey, the MIT student who redesigned Scott's phonautograph in 1874. http://www.firstsounds.org/features/morey.php Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:00:00 EST David Giovanonni, First Sounds principal, will discuss the making and preservation of phonautograms Friday, June 6 at The Association of Moving Image Archivists: The Reel Thing XX in Los Angeles, CA. Additional upcoming presentations are scheduled for the California Antique Phonograph Society Banquet and at The Audio Engineering Society's Convention in San Francisco. A current list of upcoming presentations is online http://www.firstsounds.org/events/ Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:00:00 EST Did Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville record Abraham Lincoln's voice on a phonautograph in the White House in 1863? We analyze the evidence and origins of this myth. http://www.firstsounds.org/features/lincoln.php Sun, 18 May 2008 08:00:00 EST First Sounds' recovery of the 1860 recording of Au Clair de la Lune has indisputably established Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville as the inventor of sound recording and rekindled an interest in Scott. We are pleased to publish several of Scott's own writings--many in his own hand--in the effort to understand better how he came to his invention and when. http://www.firstsounds.org/features/scott.php Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EST FirstSounds.ORG has published its first four working papers. The papers are English translations of Scott's original writings about the phonautograph. http://www.firstsounds.org/working-papers/ Sun, 27 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EST FirstSounds.ORG has posted answers to some of your most-asked questions. Visit our FAQ to learn more about "Au clair de la lune," phonautograms, and using our sounds in your work. http://www.firstsounds.org/faq/ Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EST