Leonardo da Vinci designed a mechanical drum that could produce an automated musical performance.
The device used a rotating cylinder fitted with projecting pegs or cams. As the cylinder turned, the projections operated drumsticks and struck a drum in a programmed sequence. The arrangement resembles the basic principle later used in mechanical music boxes and other automatic musical instruments.
Leonardo’s mechanical music designs show how he applied controlled motion to entertainment as well as to warfare and transport. The rhythm could be changed by altering the placement of the pegs, allowing the mechanism to encode different patterns of beats.
This design is sometimes confused with Leonardo’s mechanical knight, another automaton associated with him. The knight was built to perform bodily movements, while the mechanical drum focused specifically on producing percussion. As with many Leonardo inventions, surviving drawings provide the main evidence rather than an original machine.