How a cassette tape works
Play, fast-forward, flip to side B, and wind it back with a pencil.
How a cassette tape works
0000:00 / 30:00
- 1Put it in with the side you want facing out, tape edge down.
- 2Press play. Music is stored along the tape, so to reach a song you fast-forward or rewind and listen.
- 3At the end of side A, take it out, turn it over, and play side B.
- 4To save batteries, or to wind back loose tape, put a pencil in a spool's hole and turn it. Try it: drag round the left spool.
The two square tabs on the top edge stop you recording over a tape: break one off and that side is protected; cover the hole with sticky tape to record again. Cassettes were the main way to carry music from the late 1970s until CDs, and mixtapes recorded off the radio were how many people shared songs.
General information, not professional advice: your manual and local rules come first. You use this at your own risk; see our Terms.
Runs in your browser: what you type or paste here is never sent to Hominin. You can also search for it: how to rewind a cassette with a pencil.