System and method for musical sonification of data

• US 7,629,528 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2008
• Issued: 12/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Soft Sound Holdings, LLC
• Original Assignee: Soft Sound Holdings, LLC
• Inventors: Perkins, James C., Brooks, John Graham, Childs, Jr., Edward P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Warren, David S.
• Application Number:
  US12/125,538
• Publication Number:
  US 20090000463A1
• Time in Patent Office: 565 Days
• Field of Search: 84600-609, 846/15, 700/94
• US Class Current: 84/609
• 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 data to monitor the data, the method comprising:

receiving at least one data stream including data values representing a series of events;

determining that received data values represent events to be sonified;

in response to determining events to be sonified, determining corresponding sonifications associated with the events to be sonified, wherein at least some of the sonifications include a musical arrangement of notes that musically convey the event, wherein the musical arrangement of notes includes a melodic fragment indicative of a data movement event, the melodic fragment including at least three notes, wherein one of the notes is a reference note and others of the notes are indicative of previous and current data values, respectively; and

generating an audio signal output corresponding to a series of sonifications determined for at least some of the events in the data stream to produce a musical rendering of the data stream.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the musical arrangement further includes a fourth note indicative of a target value, wherein a duration of the fourth note increases as the data values approach the target value.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the target value is a moving average of the data values.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the musical arrangement of notes is based on an equally tempered scale.

5. A machine-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to perform a method for musical sonification of data to monitor the data, the method comprising:

receiving at least one data stream including data values representing a series of events;

determining that received data values represent events to be sonified;

in response to determining events to be sonified, determining corresponding sonifications associated with the events to be sonified, wherein at least some of the sonifications include a musical arrangement of notes that musically convey the event, wherein the musical arrangement of notes includes a melodic fragment indicative of a data movement event, the melodic fragment including at least three notes, wherein one of the notes is a reference note and others of the notes are indicative of previous and current data values, respectively; and

generating an audio signal output corresponding to a series of sonifications determined for at least some of the events in the data stream to produce a musical rendering of the data stream.

6. The machine-readable medium of claim 5 wherein the musical arrangement of notes is based on an equally tempered scale.

7. The machine-readable medium of claim 5 wherein the musical arrangement further includes a fourth note indicative of a target value, wherein a duration of the fourth note increases as the data values approach the target value.

8. The machine-readable medium of claim 7 wherein the target value is a moving average of the data values.

9. A system for musical sonification of data to monitor the data, the system comprising:

means for receiving at least one data stream including data values representing a series of events;

means for determining that received data values represent events to be sonified and in response to determining events to be sonified, for determining corresponding sonifications associated with the events to be sonified, wherein at least some of the sonifications include a musical arrangement of notes that musically convey the event, wherein the musical arrangement of notes includes a melodic fragment indicative of a data movement event, the melodic fragment including at least three notes, wherein one of the notes is a reference note and others of the notes are indicative of previous and current data values, respectively; and

means for generating an audio signal output corresponding to a series of sonifications determined for at least some of the events in the data stream to produce a musical rendering of the data stream.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the musical arrangement of notes is based on an equally tempered scale.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the musical arrangement further includes a fourth note indicative of a target value, wherein a duration of the fourth note increases as the data values approach the target value.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the target value is a moving average of the data values.

13. A method for musical sonification of data to monitor the data, the method comprising:

receiving at least one data stream including data values representing a series of events;

determining that received data values represent events to be sonified;

in response to determining events to be sonified, determining corresponding sonifications associated with the events to be sonified, wherein at least some of the sonifications include a musical arrangement of notes that musically convey the event, wherein the musical arrangement of notes includes a series of alternating notes indicative of an event, wherein the number of the series of alternating notes is indicative of a relative size of the event, and wherein a last note of the series of alternating notes being higher or lower than a previous note is indicative of a type of the event; and

generating an audio signal output corresponding to a series of sonifications determined for at least some of the events in the data stream to produce a musical rendering of the data stream.

14. A machine-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to perform a method for musical sonification of data to monitor the data, the method comprising:

receiving at least one data stream including data values representing a series of events;

determining that received data values represent events to be sonified;

in response to determining events to be sonified, determining corresponding sonifications associated with the events to be sonified, wherein at least some of the sonifications include a musical arrangement of notes that musically convey the event, wherein the musical arrangement of notes includes a series of alternating notes indicative of an event, wherein the number of the series of alternating notes is indicative of a relative size of the event, and wherein a last note of the series of alternating notes being higher or lower than a previous note is indicative of a type of the event; and

generating an audio signal output corresponding to a series of sonifications determined for at least some of the events in the data stream to produce a musical rendering of the data stream.

15. A system for musical sonification of data to monitor the data, the system comprising:

means for receiving at least one data stream including data values representing a series of events;

means for determining that received data values represent events to be sonified and in response to determining events to be sonified, for determining corresponding sonifications associated with the events to be sonified, wherein at least some of the sonifications include a musical arrangement of notes that musically convey the event, wherein the musical arrangement of notes includes a series of alternating notes indicative of an event, wherein the number of the series of alternating notes is indicative of a relative size of the event, and wherein a last note of the series of alternating notes being higher or lower than a previous note is indicative of a type of the event; and

means for generating an audio signal output corresponding to a series of sonifications determined for at least some of the events in the data stream to produce a musical rendering of the data stream.