> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://www.sonificationkit.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://www.sonificationkit.com/data-sonification/concepts/what-is-data-sonification.md).

# What is data sonification?

Simply put, data sonification is the **practice of taking data and representing it in the form of sound**. Just as data visualization uses shapes, color, size, and composition to represent data visually, *data sonification* uses **volume, pitch, timbre, rhythm, duration**, and more to represent data sonically.

There are plenty of **examples from our daily lives** where information is conveyed through audio:\
     ○    Nagging beep of a credit card chip reader — "remove your card!" 💬\
     ○    Wailing alarm from a smoke detector — "smoke!" 🚨\
     ○    Booming clang of a bell tower on the hour — "it's 4 o'clock!" 🕓

Sonification takes this further — it allows us to hear patterns in complex data, and consume information in a new and interesting way.

Not convinced? Check out these examples:

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="files"></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/02/us/vegas-guns.html?smid=pl-share"><strong>The New York Times:</strong> "Nine Rounds a Second: How the Las Vegas Gunman Outfitted a Rifle to Fire Faster"</a></td><td><a href="/files/BaA9shgAphfWTUnATNKu">/files/BaA9shgAphfWTUnATNKu</a></td><td><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/02/us/vegas-guns.html?smid=pl-share">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/02/us/vegas-guns.html?smid=pl-share</a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/04/27/135737940/the-case-shiller-index-sung-as-opera"><strong>NPR's Planet Money:</strong> "U.S. Home Prices, Sung As Opera"</a></td><td><a href="/files/vAQgVwHHQZaZyuXBqRSi">/files/vAQgVwHHQZaZyuXBqRSi</a></td><td><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/04/27/135737940/the-case-shiller-index-sung-as-opera">https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/04/27/135737940/the-case-shiller-index-sung-as-opera</a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/31/the-sounds-of-a-volatile-stock-market/"><strong>Marketplace:</strong> "What sound does a volatile stock market make?"</a></td><td><a href="/files/jKH9AdQJIQIYeV89rjlz">/files/jKH9AdQJIQIYeV89rjlz</a></td><td><a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/31/the-sounds-of-a-volatile-stock-market/">https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/31/the-sounds-of-a-volatile-stock-market/</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

More explanations...\
Jordan Wirfs-Brock gives a great [**explanation of data sonification**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARjgKuFyXE8\&t=220s).\
The Sonification Handbook (2011) provides a [**definition of data sonification**](https://sonification.de/handbook/).

**Approaches to Sonification**

The most common types of data sonification are **parameter mapping** and **audification**

* **Parameter mapping** matches values in a data set to different dimensions of audio.
* **Audification** takes data which in original form is not audible to the human ear, and manipulates it so that it can be heard.

{% hint style="info" %}
These approaches are further elaborated in the [**Methods**](/data-sonification/methods.md) section.
{% endhint %}

Data visualization and sonification can combine to create **audio-visual** representations of data. You can make a chart audible, like in this [audiochart](https://awalmer.github.io/rji-fellowship/article1_highcharts/root/index.html) of the Global Living Planet Index.&#x20;

There are several data sonification [**methods**](/data-sonification/methods.md) and [**tools**](/data-sonification/tools.md) you can use to sonify data. You might use an algorithmic tool, or you might manually compose audio to reflect data (i.e. [“punk” sonification](/data-sonification/methods.md#manual-punk-sonification)). You can even use a combination of these approaches. Sonification can also be performed in person. \
\
It's a modality that offers many avenues for creativity, and many ways to capture an audience's curiosity.

**Auditory Display**

Sonification is part of a bigger category called **auditory display**, which simply refers to the communication of information through audio. This is can be found in interactive interfaces, appliances, devices, and beyond.&#x20;

Examples include the radio display inside a car, voice assistant technologies, the tune that a washing machine sings when it’s done washing clothes, and so on. Data sonification is a subset of auditory display which refers specifically to *communicating data* through sound.