Interactive sonification with Csound
Andrés Cabrera
Media Arts and Technology
University of California Santa Barbara
Sonification
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The process of rendering information and interaction as sound
- Three major techniques
- Audification
- Parameter Mapping Sonification
- Model based sonification
Audification
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Direct mapping of one-dimensional data to an audio signal
Parameter Based Sonification
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Data is used to control parameters of synthesis
Model-based sonification
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The data itself is the model
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The user interacts by "exciting" the model
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Many different approaches:
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Using physical interfaces for data scrubbing
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Data is interpreted as a multidimensional gravitational field and the user shoots particles into the field listening to their velocity
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etc.
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Sonification vs. sonification design
- Sonification is the result of sonification design
- The success of a sonification depends on how well it was "designed"
- Sonification design is an iterative process of exploration
- Trying out different techniques and mappings to "see" what "works"
Sonification workflow
- Load data
- Design sonification
- Interact with the sonification
Sonification workflow
- Load data
- Design sonification
- Interact with the sonification
Csound
Python
icsound
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icsound is a python module designed to be used in the ipython notebook
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bridge the gap between data and sonification
- Better sonification design workflow
- Builds upon previous work by François Pinot and Jacob Joaquin