Bastian Perrot of Calw is credited as the inventor of the Glass Bead Game. The game was invented in the Musical Academy of Cologne. Perrot, an eccentric, used glass beads instead of letters or notes. These beads were used as an exercise in memory, as one person would give one piece as a clue and the other would have to respond with the musical piece. Perrot was a musician who played the violin. He strung glass beads on wires on an abacus-like contraption, where the wires corresponded to the musical staff and the beads corresponded to the musical notes.
The Glass Bead Game