The first ever recording of computer-generated music

Researchers have restored the first recording of computer-generated music, created by famous computer scientist Alan Turing in 1951. Best known for breaking the Nazis’ Enigma code during the Second World War, it turns out Turing was also an innovator in the world of music. He created the music on a gigantic contraception, which paved the way for synthesizers and the like.

The audio was made 65 years ago by a BBC outside-broadcast unit at the Computing Machine Laboratory in Manchester, England. The huge machine filled much of the lab’s ground floor. Researchers at the University of Canterbury commented: “Alan Turing’s pioneering work in the late 1940s on transforming the computer into a musical instrument has been largely overlooked.”

Researchers found a 12-inch acetate disc containing the music, but the audio was distorted. It was fixed with some nifty electronic detective work, according to professor Jack Copeland, to compensate for a ‘wobble’ in the recording.

“It was a beautiful moment when we first heard the true sound of Turing’s computer,” he said. What do you think was the first thing Alan Turing played on his device? Check out the audio of the first ever recording of computer-generated music below: