How Did Steve Reich Contribute To The Discovery Of Sound?

In this essay, I will be looking at the works of the composer Steve Reich, his inspiration from Pierre Schaeffer and his innovations in sound that have stretched the limitations of sound production, exhibition and understanding, but before we look at these innovations we first need to identify what sound is. Sound is created essentially by frequent changes in both the pressure and the density of air molecules within the Earths atmosphere, otherwise known as ‘Sound pressure and the fluctuations in pressure as sound waves’ . Bodies that are vibrating and traveling from one point to another create sound waves and these sound waves can carry vibrations through air, water or even through objects made from metal. In order for a complete sound to be created, there must be a sound source and a sound receiver for example, when we speak, our vocal chords act as the sound source and our ears act as the sound receiver. Almost any vibrating object can create musical sounds such as the strings on a guitar, the head of a drum or the reeds on an oboe.

In Edison’s invention, the sound waves were recorded and engraved onto rotating discs and while the surface of the phonograph also rotated, a small device called a stylus mapped the channel, causing it to vibrate and copy the sound. The sound was then played through a horn (a vibrating body), which amplified the sound so that it was audible. The evolutions of musical instruments dates back to over 40,000 years ago and have continuously been developed in order to produce new and innovative sounds that have never been heard before and by the end of the 19th century, these innovations saw the first use of electronic devices to create sound and