How did the Hanert Electrical Orchestra perform music from cardboard score cards?

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The Hanert Electrical Orchestra, constructed by John Hanert between 1944 and 1945, was an experimental device designed to perform music from encoded scores rather than through conventional live performance.1

The system consisted of a room filled with electronic tone-generating equipment. To perform music, the instrument utilized an elaborate, motor-driven scanner mounted on a carriage. This carriage rolled along a 60-foot table, where it read encoded musical scores that had been drawn onto cardboard cards covering the table's surface.1