What Can You Hear?

     Exploring the depths of audio recordings can be a lifelong process.This post and the videos below will take about 2 hrs to really dig into, but I seriously hope you take the time. You don't have to do it all in one session. I might say start with the videos just in case they get removed at some point. Life keeps us busy. Unlike anytime in our history, we have an incredible access to experience the past through audio recordings. Yes, there is music, but what if you could hear past Presidents talk about the issues, or listen to a comedian or storyteller. Audio recordings can transport us to incredible experiences. Some might argue, who really cares about some outdated ideas or some point of view which maybe someone doesn't agree. It can still spark your imagination to live in the present and build your own future. There are many free online resources if you know where to look. Check out the Library of Congress Jukebox at 
​http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/browse 
     You will find many interesting performances and they are constantly working everyday to restore many more. Other sources of great free listening material can be found by learning terminology and searching.
     Another great source is this great list provided by Stanford University's Streaming media page which can be found below or at their website
 http://library.stanford.edu/ars/streaming-media

Below This list We will look at a few videos.

Free online audio resources Stanford connections
Christopher Costanza performs the cello suites of Johann Sebastian Bach
Robert Huw Morgan performs the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach
Riverwalk Jazz - streaming jazz and blues radio programs
Sounds from Europe:
All of Bach (Bach from the Netherlands. a new performance each week, forever!)
Europeana Sounds (Sounds from museums, archives and libraries throughout Europe)
Opera Platform (free streaming operas, launched in 2015)
Historical music recordings
The National Jukebox (Library of Congress--see all online sound recording collections at the Library of Congress)
The Cylinder Digitization and Preservation Project (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Belfer Cylinders (Syracuse University)
The Virtual Gramophone (National Library of Canada)
La Phonobase (in French)
Stradivari Quartet/Iowa String Quartet (University of Iowa)
Downloads for sampling, mashing, podcasting
Free Music Archive
CC mixter
Opsound
Jamendo
Free Sound Effects
Spoken words
American Leaders Speak (recordings from World War 1 and the 1920 election at the Library of Congress)
U.S. History Out Loud
Supreme Court of the United States Audio Archives
The Poetry Archive
Internet Poetry Archive (University of North Carolina)
Miscellany
Historic Naval Sound & Video
Bug Bytes (digitized insect sounds)
Macaulay Library audio archive of biodiversity
Internet Archive - Audio Archive
Western Soundscape Archive (field recording archive)

     Now that we know some places to look, let us take a look back to the beginning of audio recordings to when recordings were being invented focusing on the history of the cylinder in the 1st video (playing time: 15:47) and if you find yourself needing to dig deeper into cylinders, check out the blog where i found the 1st video, there are two more videos on the page http://blogs.loc.gov/now-see-hear/2015/10/preserving-audio-cylinders-from-edison-to-the-archeophone/.
The second video here is a look inside the Library of Congress Jukebox (playing time: 54:58) It talks about the project in depth.