"Mechanical music-making is nothing more than a particular system invented by us whereby anyone, even the unmusical, may... compose melodies according to a desired style."

Arca Musarithmica, mid-1600s
17th century Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher invented the Arca Musarithmica device to compose church music. More algorithm than machine, the setup consisted of wooden panels with musical phrases strung together by a user to create new pieces. Links to arca1650 where you can create and listen to compositions based on Kircher's method.