recording
techniquesreh-KOR-ding
The process of capturing sound for later reproduction, or the captured audio itself.
Recording is the technology and art of capturing musical performances for later playback. The history of recording begins with Thomas Edison's phonograph in 1877, progressing through magnetic tape, multitrack recording, digital audio, and modern DAW-based production. A recording session typically involves musicians performing in a studio while microphones capture the sound, which is then mixed and mastered by engineers and a producer. Recording techniques have profoundly shaped musical style — the close-miked intimacy of a jazz vocal recording creates a very different aesthetic from the natural ambience of a live orchestra recording. Multitrack recording allows each instrument to be captured on a separate track, giving the engineer complete control over the final mix. Recording technology has democratised music: anyone with a laptop and microphone can now produce and distribute music worldwide.
The first known audio recording is a phonautograph of "Au Clair de la Lune" made in 1860 — seventeen years before Edison's phonograph.