What is music?

In this post, I came across a video of an artist who interpreted what the rings of a tree would sound like on a record player.  For those that don't remember what a record player is, this is a picture of one.

Bartholomaus Traubeck assembled a piece called Years that does exactly that.  Using a turntable, a PS3 eye camera, a stepper motor to control the arm, and a computer.  The program on the computer interprets the rings with its embedded piano sounds.  The particular ring in this video sounds like abstract piano music in an indie European movie.



This artistic music interpretation using modern technology reminds me of another piece that Takehito Etani, an innovative artist I mentioned in an earlier post.  In Pimp my Heart, Etani created a device that links the heartbeat of a human being to a car stereo system.  The heartbeat becomes the bass line for the streaming music.  Both Etani and Traubeck have thought outside the box and questioned, "What is music?"