System and method for musical sonification of data

• US 20040055447A1
• Filed: 05/28/2003
• Published: 03/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Soft Sound Holdings, LLC
• Original Assignee: Edward P. Childs Jr
• Inventors: Perkins, James C., Childs, Edward P. Jr., Brooks, John Graham
• Granted Patent: US 7,138,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/615
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0025 Automatic or semi-automatic music composition, e.g. producing random music, applying rules from music theory or modifying a musical piece automatically producing a series of tones G10H1/26
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0091 Means for obtaining special acoustic effects combined with modulation G10H1/043
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/151 using templates, i.e. incomplete musical sections, as a basis for composing
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/155 Musical effects
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/101 for graphical creation, edition or control of musical data or parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/455 Camera input, e.g. analyzing pictures from a video camera and using the analysis results as control data
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 5/16 using cathode ray tubes

Abstract

A musical sonification system and method sonifies data, such as real-time financial market data, to produce an audio signal output including a musical rendering of the data. A sonification engine converts the data into sound parameters based on configuration data and a sonification and mapping scheme. A sound generator generates the audio output signal from the sound parameters.

Claims

1. A method for musical sonification of a data stream, said method comprising the steps of:

acquiring at least one data input from at least one data stream;

mapping data parameters to sound parameters corresponding to a musical rendering of mapped data; and

sonifying said mapped data in said data stream by converting data input values into corresponding sound parameters and generating an audio signal output from said corresponding sound parameters, wherein said audio signal output includes said musical rendering of said mapped data in said data stream.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said data stream is sonified in real time.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said data stream is selected from the group consisting of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data, medical data, financial market data, security data, network data, and meteorological data.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of acquiring said at least one data input comprises selecting a data type to be sonified.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the step of acquiring said at least one data input comprises selecting a sonification scheme based on said data type.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said sonification scheme is selected from a plurality of sonification schemes having different operating modes.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said operating modes are selected from the group consisting of an alert mode for providing sonification using event based alerts, an individual mode for providing sonification using continuous single point individual data monitoring, and a relationship mode for providing sonification using relationships between several individual data streams.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said sound parameters correspond to sound characteristics selected from the group consisting of pitch, volume, time signature, tempo, duration, envelope, timbre, spacialization and effects.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of mapping said data parameters to said sound parameters is based on sound and music preferences selected by a user.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of sonifying generates said audio signal output using digital audio synthesis.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of sonifying generates said audio signal output using a MIDI synthesizer.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of sonifying generates said audio signal output using musical manipulation in which said corresponding sound parameters in background music are manipulated in accordance with said data input values.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of sonifying generates said audio signal output using spectral cross synthesis such that one musical track manipulates another using spectral manipulation.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of sonifying generates said audio signal output using direct musical rendering of said data input values.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of adjusting sound characteristics as said data stream is sonified.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of capturing at least a portion of said audio signal output.

17. A system for musical sonification of a data stream, said system comprising:

means for acquiring at least one data input from at least one data stream;

means for mapping data parameters to sound parameters according to a musical rendering of mapped data; and

means for sonifying said mapped data in said data stream by converting data input values into corresponding sound parameters and generating an audio signal output from said corresponding sound parameters, wherein said audio signal output includes a musical rendering of said mapped data in said data stream.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein said means for sonifying said mapped data sonifies said mapped data in real time.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein said data stream is selected from the group consisting of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data, financial market data, security data, network data, and meteorological data.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein said means for mapping maps said data parameters to said sound parameters based on sound and music preferences selected by a user.

21. A method for musical sonification of a data stream, said method comprising the steps of:

providing configuration data and at least one predefined sonification and mapping scheme, wherein said sonification and mapping scheme maps data parameters to sound parameters to form musical renderings of mapped data;

receiving data input values from a data stream;

converting said data input values corresponding to mapped data into corresponding sound parameters based on said sonification and mapping scheme and said configuration data; and

generating an audio signal output from said corresponding sound parameters, wherein said audio signal output includes a musical rendering of said mapped data in said data stream.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the step of providing said configuration data includes receiving configuration data input by a user.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the step of providing at least one sonification and mapping scheme includes selecting said sonification and mapping scheme from a plurality of sonification and mapping schemes based on said configuration data.

24. The method of claim 21 wherein said sonification and mapping scheme forms said musical renderings based on discrete musical sonification.

25. The method of claim 21 wherein said sonification and mapping scheme forms said musical renderings based on continuous musical sonification.

26. The method of claim 21 wherein said sonification and mapping scheme forms said musical renderings based on global musical sonification.

27. The method of claim 21 wherein said sonification and mapping scheme maps different types of data to different instruments.

28. The method of claim 21 wherein said sonification and mapping scheme maps changes in data values to changes in pitch.

29. The method of claim 21 wherein said musical renderings of said mapped data include notes on the chromatic scale.

30. The method of claim 21 wherein said data stream is selected from the group consisting of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data, financial market data, security data, network data, and meteorological data.

31. The method of claim 21 wherein the step of converting said data input values into said corresponding sound parameters comprises calculating said corresponding sound parameters based upon a comparison of said data input values with thresholds in said configuration data.

32. The method of claim 21 wherein said data input values are received in real time from a real-time data stream.

33. A system for musical sonification of data, said system comprising:

a data server for receiving a data stream and for providing data input values from said data stream;

configuration data;

at least one sonification and mapping scheme, wherein said sonification and mapping scheme maps data parameters to sound parameters to form musical renderings of mapped data;

a sonification engine for converting said data input values of mapped data in said data stream into corresponding sound parameters based on said at least one sonification and mapping scheme and said configuration data; and

a sound generator for generating an audio signal output from said corresponding sound parameters, wherein said audio signal output includes a musical rendering of said mapped data in said data stream.

34. A computer program product for use in musical sonification of data, said computer program product including software code stored on a storage medium, said software code comprising:

configuration code for obtaining configuration data;

sonification and mapping scheme code defining at least one sonification and mapping scheme for mapping data parameters to sound parameters to form musical renderings of mapped data; and

sonification engine code for converting data input values of mapped data in a data stream into corresponding sound parameters based on said at least one sonification and mapping scheme and said configuration data, and for sending said sound parameters to a sound generator to generate an audio signal output including a musical rendering of said mapped data.

35. The computer program product of claim 34 wherein said sound parameters correspond to sound characteristics selected from the group consisting of pitch, volume, time signature, tempo, duration, envelope, timbre, specialization, effects, style, instrument, rhythm, harmony, tone, attack, decay, and brightness.