#datasonification

The data sonification I created was adopted by Joshua Clausen to create a composition called “Requiem.” The piece was performed by the Concordia College Choir in March 2018 and is currently on tour in seven states.

I interviewed Clausen about his inspirations on the World.

Listen to my interview with Clausen here. 🎧

Listen to an excerpt of “Requiem” in performance on Clausen’s site. 🎧

Download the score. 🎼

For the World’s special edition on global gun culture last Friday, I used data sonification to convey the death toll of a year of mass shootings in America.

Each note represents a day when a mass shooting occurred. The Gun Violence Archive, which has been tracking gun violence in America since 2013, defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot and/or killed.

The volume of each note corresponds with how many people were killed. Shootings in which no one died are represented with the quietest note.

The loudest note is the Las Vegas shooting on Oct. 1, where 59 people died, the deadliest shooting in US history.

The last note is from Nov. 16, when a shooting in Columbus, Georgia, injured seven — the day before the episode aired.

Listen to the piece, with narration, below (sonification begins at 1:02):

And learn more by reading the article on PRI.org: How other countries can help us understand America's mass shooting crisis.

Special thanks to Mike Corey at Reveal News, who built the python MIDITime library I used to sonify the data.

Two Trains - Sonification of Income Inequality on the NYC Subway from brian foo on Vimeo.