system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How is music digitally stored AND played?

I've been wondering about this for quite some time now, but can anyone explain it without sounding overly complicated?

There are no musical instruments inside a speaker, so how is it able to play recorded music? And relatedly, how is a recording instrument able to store sounds/music?
gpt
Every single sound is just a combination of waves in the air. Instruments and the like are designed to create certain specific combinations, which is why (for example) a trumpet sounds like a trumpet: it vibrates the air in a attern that is (more or less) unique.

Speakers are cool in that they are capable of producing any sound wave. They do this simply by vibrating a plate back and forth very carefully to create the exact same wave that was recorded. (This vibration is caused by an electric current creating a magnetic field that can push or pull the metal plate)

Recording sounds works in very much the same way. If you play loud sounds at a speaker, the plate inside it will vibrate, and then produce a current which can be stored as data.