CHENEY – A professor at Eastern Washington University has been developing sonification software that can turn datasets into a musical composition.
Jonathan Middleton, DMA, who has worked at the university since 1999, has worked with students and researchers alike to develop his sonification software, which converts data streams into audible sounds, such as music.
“It’s algorithmic, it’s a set of steps, and it’ll take numbers and letters (like genetic code) and transform them into pitches and rhythms,” Middleton said. “And the transformation is a bunch of mapping systems in that step; the final outcome can sound more or less musical.”
His collaborations extend across various scientific fields, including microbiology, ecology, agriculture and even economics.
Middleton highlighted his experiences, from working with proteomic specialists to collaborating with five companies in Finland. Each collaboration presented a distinct set of challenges, resulting in a collection of diverse and innovative sonifications.
He began software development in 2004 when he received a grant to do a proof of concept.
“Once I got the funding I used some computer science students at Eastern as well as some alumni,” he said.
After the software was complete, Middleton and students created a website to host the software. Several scientists took interest in the software and contacted Middleton.
Scientific collaborations followed, with researchers like Robert Bywater and Jens Hag reaching out to Middleton to sonify protein structures and salmon migrations, respectively.
“The hope is that hearing data can actually complement or give someone who wants to know what the data is doing a better understanding of what’s going on,” he said. “I’ve even had a doctor reach out to me with data related to thyroid disorders.”
He said that being able to interpret data through sound could be useful in the medical field, from diagnosing patients to analyzing medical statistics.
When asked about practical daily applications of the technology, Middleton said, “Right now, one of the most common is notices, so you get a notice when you get in your car. They’re mainly aural, but beyond notices you get ‘here’s a stream of data that you need to interpret.’ Like ‘watch out there’s a car behind you.’”
One project involved turning weather predictions into a musical event in Finland.
Middleton sees potential in expanding sonification beyond notices on phones to interpreting complex data streams.
“We took weather predictions, and then it turned it into a musical event, and then people could hear the weather forecast,” he said.
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
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