10 Innovations That Are Changing How We Do Music

Oh, well that's fancy. Join SONY in celebrating these engineered works of art, and see how music is evolving today.

1. The art exhibition that makes musical scores out of doodles.

Nadya Peek / CC by http://2.0 / Via Flickr: nadya

Designer Yuri Suzuki unleashed his audio-visual project "Looks Like Music" in Luxembourg last year. Small electronic carts follow lines on paper and project notes according to the curves (drawn with markers). Suzuki developed the project after growing up with dyslexia and struggling with standard notation.

2. The world-class (inflatable) concert hall...

Courtesy of Lucerne Festival / ark-nova.com

Courtesy of Lucerne Festival / ark-nova.com

...that looks like this inside.

Courtesy of Lucerne Festival ark-nova.com

The esteemed Lucerne Festival, an orchestral organization in Switzerland, built the massive blow-up concert hall in Matsushima, Japan. The structure serves to inspire the region that was so devastated following the 2011 tsunamis.

3. The organ that is actually a violin.

AFP / Getty Images

An original da Vinci brainchild, the Viola Organista made its world debut in Krakow. It was engineered (and played!) by Polish musician Slawomir Zubrzycki.

4. The towering sculpture that is redefining "windchime."

Mark Tighe / CC BY http://2.0 / Via Flickr: mjtmail

The "Singing Ringing Tree" in England unleashes an eerie melody when there's wind in the air. The tubes are carefully tuned based on their length, width, and directionality.

5. The scholastic conference that studies video game music.

cheezburger.com

The 2014 conference at Youngstown State University is the first academic gathering of ludomusicologists (video game scorers) in North America. The most notable game discussed at the conference, Bioshock Infinite, features a barbershop version of The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows."

6. The music video that you can "paint" upon.

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The format for Arcade Fire's single "Just a Reflektor" allows viewers to engage with the music video. Users are able to wave their smartphone in front of their computer monitor to add visual effects.

7. The proposal that could have New Yorkers hearing a happier commute.

Stephen Chernin / Getty Images News

LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy has spent over 14 years leveraging for musical themes in the New York City subways. The plan would match chords with stations so you can hear the stations as easily as seeing them. No more falling asleep and missing your stop.

8. The apps that are allowing nearly anyone to become a professional DJ.

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Apps like Traktor DJ allow the user to mix their own music without really having any musical abilities. The app automatically detects beat and key. Everyone can be a DJ!

9. The music therapies that are reigniting the lives of those with memory loss.

ODD ANDERSEN / AFP / Getty Images

After discovering that many assisted-living facilities did not provide its residents with personal music players, Music & Memory executive director Dan Cohen began a music revolution. Researchers are actively studying how a personal mp3 player can help someone reclaim their identity after memory loss.

10. The musical festival that is taking orchestral submissions — via Twitter.

Ludwig Van Beethoven @DroppinTheBeet

#retweetif GIRLS THROW THEIR PETTICOATS ONTO DER STAGE WHEN U PLAY SONATAS!!!

08:59 PM - 18 May 2011

The Kurt Weill Festival in Frankfurt, Germany is holding its first ever "Tweetfonie." A specially designed website allows people to translate their musical riffs into tweets, leading to a crowdsourced composition unlike any other.

And now, SONY is taking the mp3 player underwater.