Show HN: The Music of the McKenzie River, Data Sonification to Music(github.com)
github.com
Show HN: The Music of the McKenzie River, Data Sonification to Music
https://github.com/cconaway/Hydrology-Sonification-2.0
https://github.com/cconaway/Hydrology-Sonification-2.0
I'm a long time reader of HN (since 2018 when I was 19!) but I've never had a chance to show something cool and computer related since my main gig is as a musician and composer.
This is one of my first steps towards making a more universal sonification package to turn data of all sorts into sound. In the code above I run through simple random data sonifications, then to 3D data sonifications, surfaces, and finally the capstone of using some real data from the HJ Andrews Forest in Oregon to compose some symphonies.
The primary difference between this code and much of the sonification work done so far, is that it converts the data into Midi control/notes rather than directly sonifying the data through something like RTCMix. This allows for some greater artistic liberties to made, plus saves some time from coding envelopes, synthesizers, filters etc etc.
My next goal for this project is to make a better interpolation function for "choosing" notes to play based on things happening in the data. For example: having dissonant intervals played only when the slope of the data passes some threshold. I think it would be really cool to have something like - NIGHT AT THE SYMPHONY: THE MUSIC OF EUROPA - where a scientist comes out and explains some phenomena and then David Attenborough explains what instruments are playing what. Then the symphony plays and the music is both aesthetically pleasing but communicative of the processes taking place.
If you have something cool you want to make into music please feel free to email or message me! I'm a student without a job right now and I really want to pursue my musical passions.
With that, Thank you for lending me your ears and I hope it gets you thinking about how music can convey information!