The player piano is a late entry in the history of programmed machines. The
first documented automatic musical instrument  was invented in the ninth
century by the Banu Musa in Baghdad. It consisted of a pinned cylinder
playing flute pipes. Many others were made over the years. The Jacquard
automatic loom used punched cards to control the pattern in 1805. The
familiar player piano mechanism was previously used in reed organs. No doubt
others will be inspired to quote other examples.

Fritz Gellerman