Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Esther (class of 2025) and features our new portable record player and an opera LP to go with it. Thanks, Esther!

For the Audiophiles

I love exploring different mediums of storage when it comes to art. I initially became interested in physical art forms because of film photography; as a musician, it was inevitable for me to stumble into the world of sound storage mediums. From VHS tapes to 8-track cartridges to cassette tapes to vinyl records, there were so many different forms of music over the years I did not know about. There seems to be controversy over what form sounds best, but we can respect all the different presentations!

LP stands for “Long Playing” due to the extended playing time (around 22 minutes per side) that resulted from the larger discs spinning at 33 ⅓ rpm. (As compared to EPs which are smaller and held about 10-15 minutes of material per side.) They are also referred to as vinyl records because of the material the physical discs are made of. These discs can transmit sound waves when placed on a turntable because the stylus placed on top of the disc moves through the small grooves along the record. As the stylus is reading, the tip of it vibrates and the microscopic bounces are transmitted along the bar. Ultimately, an electrical signal is generated and is played through the stereo speakers!

I appreciate the history of music storage forms, especially because of the wide availability we have for any song nowadays that significantly contributed to the relationship between the listeners and producers. Though I prefer the pros of digital music over analog with the technology we have today, the nostalgia of LP records is appealing as well. One of my fondest memories of growing up was listening to opera on the cassette tape player with my mother.

So, when I found out about a new addition to the music library — a portable record player — I had to recommend this LP to go with it!

Ten Tenors, Ten Arias

Though you are welcome to play it on your turntable, and in addition to the record player that lives in one of our study rooms, the Music Library also has a portable vinyl player available for anyone to check out for a week at a time!