Apparatus, methods, and systems for use in providing tangential (linear) tracking of a stylus on a record during play. In some embodiments, a tonearm assembly includes a tonearm with a laser emission source mounted thereto, and a receiver for receiving a light beam from the laser emission source and for splitting the light beam, and a movement actuator for adjusting a position of the tonearm based on a differential in light intensity between different portions of the split beam.