Before headphone was commonly used to play music. Back in the day it had nothing to do with music at all. The development and growth of technology is often inspired or innovated from old technology. Its ancestors were the earpiece that the operator was using back in the 1800s. It was the only way to hear electrical audio signals. In the 1880s, telephone operators carried a 10 pounds earpiece on their shoulders to communicate. (Image a boombox strap to your shoulder.) It was designed to keep their hand free. The main purpose of the headphone is to allow the user to hear the audio source privately. The models after were design for easy access, and better sound quality. Headphone later in the 20th to 21th century made a breakthrough and created a huge impact in the music industry and to the world. However, it may have some negative drawback. People claim that it may drop concentration and productivity for the user using during work or school. The most popular negative drawback is that headphone make people anti-social. Headphone not only changed the way we listen to music but also the relationship to public spaces and other people.
The first headphone that was successfully tested was in the early 1910. Nathaniel Baldwin made a claim that he made a device from his kitchen that can amplify sound. The United States Navy was interested in the device and bought it to use it in World War 1. It was the first model that has the traditional band in the middle and two mini speakers on the ear. They were later commonly used for radio work, like telephone/radio operators, and for the US navy. It wasn’t until late 1950s, John C. Koss developed the first stereo headphone and changed the radio listening habit, allowing people to listen to radio anywhere. After two decades in the 1980s, the headphone gains ah huge popularity due to Sony Walkman cassette players, making listening to music publicly with ease. In the 20th century, there were a lot of music technology developed. Music was able to transmit through radio, speaker made music loud, and cars has speaker to made music mobile. Headphone was the major turning point that changed the music history.
The main purpose of the headphone is allowing the user to listen to the audio source, mainly music, privately. This took a different direction for the music’s social purpose. Before people enjoyed music together, by dancing, singing along with it. It was a way for people to bond. “Music together with dance co-evolved biologically and culturally to serve as a technology of social bonding” said Nils L. Wallin and Bjorn Merker in The Origins of Music. Music was meant to be enjoyed with others, but headphones allow music to be enjoyed alone. However, to most music lovers, headphone was a savor to their privacy. It provided the independence that people have sought. They want the option to share and listen to what they desire. Headphone is the medium for people to express their thought and emotion. It has the capacity to carry our thought, an outlet to vent their feelings, and problems. Music can help changed the emotion and mood for the listener and having the option to listen to their favorite song on the go was something that they wished for.
By listening to music alone, essentially blocking outside audio source and communication with outside. Some people have some concern that headphone can make us anti-social. “Loneliness is one of the first things ordinary Americans spend their money achieving.” Stephen Marche said in his cover story for The Atlantic. “The price of self-determination and self-reliance has often been loneliness. Americans have always have been willing to pay that price. “People like to control their environment” Dr. Michael Bull from University of Sussex explained on how headphone changed the relationship between people and public space. “music is the most powerful medium for thought, mood and movement control.” Social interaction with strangers can be nervous, disturbing, or even painfully awkward. It’s an unconformable situation that no one enjoy. Listening to music with headphone became a way for people to avoid those situations. Wearing headphone in public automatically creates a barrier with the outside people. The society assume people wearing it are busy or just don’t want to be bothered. Controlling the public environment was one of the most important concern in our generation.
As more people listen to their music on their headphone, it not just the easy access, or to avoid interaction. Most people also enjoy their music on high quality. Different audio output has different various of sound, their own sonic anomalies. Bob Power, Grammy winning producer explained the three main differences listening from a stereo headphone than to a regular speaker. The first is the depth perception. The right left signals won’t be as intermingled as hearing it from a stereo headphone. The second is how the frequencies are rendered. Some factory earbuds or computer speakers can’t handle the high or low frequencies. The third is the presence, “a sense of being closer to the music”, since its right into their ears. Another record producer Nick Sansano, also explains that it provides more dynamic range. “I spend more and more time sound-mixing on headphones, knowing a huge portion of the audience will be doing the same. We have to provide music that will translate within the limitations of earbuds, small speakers. Less dynamics essentially makes listeners perceive the song’s sound as loud and present.” Headphones became a way for artist to communicate with their audience. Not only did it change the way how artist produced music, but also the pleasure for how the audience wants to listen.
While the main focus was on the sound quality with many headphone users, it also became a fashion trend. The development and the evolution of headphone is not just the sound quality but also the aesthetic appeal. In 2008, Dr. Dre saw the rise of the headphone and sought after the business as a luxury item. Dr. Dre, Jimmy Lovine created Beats by Dre headphone with the help of Monster. The attitude toward headphone changed, with the texture of the earpads and the color, the style, became just as important as the audio quality. Beats became the headphone fashion icon., with celebrity like Lil Wayne, Lebron and many more wearing it. A whole industry began to complete with Beats as more model became more visually appealing. Consumers became more willing to pay more for the new style, and the quality.
While the use of headphone is simply used for listening to audio sounds. There are many applications uses in the professional fields, and from many different sources. In the studio, high quality sound headphone is used for sound mixing, sound engineering, and monitoring the sound quality. DJs cue up the next song on their headphone without playing it on the main speaker. Singers and musicians sing along to the track with the headphone on. Audio engineers uses the headphone to listen to the sound quality for mixing sound for live concert or during recording. Military and cell center monitor the audio signals and communicate with headphone.
Headphone was able to evolve the music production and give people the independence that people hoped for. Music is a powerful medium for thought and emotion. People wants private music for their own enjoyment. The original use for the headphone developed by Baldwin was communication, a way for people to connect, now its became a way to disconnect with people, an aura of privacy.
Work cited:
Marsden Rhodri. The rise and rise of headphones: Why the set you buy isn’t just a question of sound quality, but identity. The Independent. Dec 2015. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-rise-and-rise-of-headphones-why-the-set-you-buy-isn-t-just-a-question-of-sound-quality-but-a6756396.html
Thompson Derek. How Headphones Changed the World. The Atlantic. May 30 2012. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/05/how-headphones-changed-the-world/257830/
Petrusich Amanda. Headphones Everywhere. The New Yorker. July 12, 2016. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/headphones-everywhere
Cool Material. History of Headphone. http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/history-of-headphones/