An ancient ‘computer’ designed to help novice composers create church music using mechanical principles is the subject of a new YouTube video by engineer Levi McClain.
McClain reveals that the music-composing device, known as the Arca Musarithmic, was outlined in a 17th-century book on music theory by Athanasius Kirker.
McClain demonstrates a modern-day replica of the Arca, which comprises a box containing wooden cards with musical instructions, and invites viewers to try it out for themselves online.
McClain emphasises that the principles of the Arca, which allows users to create music via a mechanical process, closely resemble those of later mechanical computers.
