Having Music in Your Life Doesn't Require Electricity

I love to listen to music. I was recently speaking with a lady from my church and we were discussing music.  I mentioned how much I loved music from the pre-World War II era (think Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby) as well as earlier. So she asked me "How do you listen to music without using electricity?" 

I am sure she expected an answer that would involve someone in my family playing some sort of musical instrument.  That isn't possible because we don't have any musical talent at my house.  My solution is more along the lines of stepping back in time. Here is a picture of how I listen to music without electricity.

I made a sample recording so you can hear it if you are interested. I must apologize that I am not an expert at recording so the quality isn't where I would like it to be.  I used the recording tools found in the Accessories folder of my computer. I just held the computer microphone up to the record player and hit record. It is a Windows Media Audio File. It didn't give me an option to make an mp3 file. The link below is to DivShare where I placed the file.

This song is called the Mississippi Ripples Waltz. It was recorded on August 11, 1908 and distributed by the Victor Talking Machine Company. In my opinion, it isn't bad for 104 year old record. Just think of where this record has been and how many people have listened to it!

The Mississippi Ripples Waltz

My record collection is fairly extensive, although I am always on the lookout for more. I like records better than CDs. I bet we own less than 10 CDs. Most of them are in our cars. The only ones I have in my cabinet in the house are a Michael Buble CD and some of Susan Boyle's CDs. 

So while I do use electricity to play some music, having music in your life doesn't have to require an electrical appliance.