I read a scifi story years ago. It may have been in one of the scifi magazines.
It involved Earth having established a relationship with an alien race that valued above all art in all its forms.
They have technology that can both read and transmit thoughts.
A music store owner buys a house that among other things can play music.
While viewing the house he keeps noting the technical errors in the music which are each automatically corrected as he notices them.
The fact that he was able to notice those things, however, tipped off the aliens that he was far more musically gifted than his life would imply.
Examining his life further the aliens realized that this man's fingers weren't nimble enough to play any musical instruments Earth had to offer.
They give him a different house, one without any telepathic illusions or broadcasts (because they have a firm rule about not tampering with the perceptions of artists) and also give him a cone shaped device that responds to his thoughts and produces any music he can imagine.
He becomes a very famous music performer.
