You are here:  Home  >  Helpful Information  >  Music Box FAQs 

Music Box FAQs


  1. Who Invented Music Boxes?

    2. The invention of the music box is attributed to Antoine Favre, an 18th Century Swiss watchmaker. And no, there is no indication that he is related to Brett Favre, the NFL quarterback.

  2. How Do Music Boxes Work?

    3. Traditional music boxes produce music through the use of a steel comb that strikes a revolving cylinder or disc. Of course with modern technology music can also be produced through the use of computer chips, but this is not as enchanting.

    Musical Paperweight

  3. What Sort of Maintenance Do Music Boxes Need?

    4. Music boxes are delicate and painstakingly handcrafted objects that should be treated with the utmost care. You can not treat a music box the same way you would an iPod. For some music box owners, that is part of their appeal.

    Keep your music box in a safe and dry place in your home, free from dust and sunlight or excessive humidity. Do not open your music box and try to handle its parts to discover how it works. This could damage it, and besides, some things are beautiful in proportion to how mysterious they are.

    When winding your music box, take care not to use force. Always allow your music box to finish whatever movement it is playing to the very end. Stopping the movement prematurely can also potentially cause damage.

  4. Can I Get Music Boxes to Play a Particular Tune?

    5. Yes, but it is extremely expensive. There are companies that will customize a tune for you, but the work involved could take six months to a year or even more and will cost you several thousand dollars.

    If you are more interested in finding an affordable device that plays a particular tune than in owning a music box, the Japanese music box company Sankyo also makes 20-note musical movements that are played by a punched paper strip.

  5. What Are Musical Movements or Note Movements?

    6. Any investigation of the history and construction of music boxes will quickly turn up the phrase "musical movements" or "note movements." There are actually two proper definitions of a musical movement, one related to musical form and the other directly to music box design.

  6. Musical Form

    7. A musical movement can be defined as a portion of a larger composition that is intended to be played in succession but is also complete in itself. Symphonies customarily have four movements, for example, each with its own pace, structure, and position.

    Symphonic musical movements each have a tempo assigned to them by the composer that determines the speed at which they should be played. The commonest tempos are:

    • allegro, or quickly
    • allegretto, literally "a little allegro," or not quite as fast
    • andante, or at a walking pace
    • adagio, or slowly
    • vivace, or very fast
    • presto, or fast

  7. Music Boxes

    8. In relation to music boxes, musical movements refer to the mechanisms of small automatic musical instruments. The phrase musical movements is also commonly used to describe how many notes or tunes are played by a music box. The higher the note selection, the fuller the range of available notes that are played.

    Note movements vary a great deal. Eighteen note musical movements playing one tune are very basic note movements. Musical movements of 28 notes, 30 notes, and 36 notes are also available, though the best musical movements feature 50 notes or 72 notes.

    As mechanisms, music box musical movements are extremely sensitive and carefully handcrafted devices. If you have purchased a musical movement for your music box, take care in how you handle it. Musical movement parts are prone to rust and tarnishing. Avoid touching musical movements with your bare hands. Improper storage or movement of your musical movements can be damaging, so be sure to read about proper musical movement care before your purchase one.