Monday, November 07, 2011

Mainly for Men - Before the iPod, a history of mechanical music

Retired engineer John Wolff has long been fascinated by technical antiques, especially mechanical calculating machines and self-playing musical instruments. He has amassed a significant collection of both calculating and musical machines during his travels around Australia. John has restored many of these machines to working order, and has documented their history and mechanisms in a popular website.

In this session he will talk about some of the mechanical instruments that provided folk with recorded music in the days before iPods, LPs, or wind-up gramophones. The focus will be on the technical and social history of "mechanical music", with plenty of hands-on examples. There will be opportunities to examine and play some of the typical domestic instruments of the time.

Refreshments available

When: Wednesday 9th November 7pm
Where: Ferntree Gully Library, 1010 Burwood Hwy, Ferntree Gully
Cost: Free event
Bookings essential phone 97363851

Cheers, Maryanne

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