PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

We present in this paper SingingFunction, a vowel-based sonification strategy for mathematical functions. Within the research field of auditory graphs as representation of scalar functions, we focus in SingingFunction on important aspects of sound design, which allow to better distinguish function shapes as auditory gestalts. SingingFunction features the first vowel-based synthesis for function sonification, and allows for a seamless integration of higher derivatives of the function into a single sound stream. We present further the results of a psycho physical experiment, where we compare the effectiveness of function sonifications based on either mapping only f'(x), or including hirarchically further information about the first derivatives f'(x), or the second derivative f''(x). Further we look at interactivity as an important factor and report interesting effects across all 3 sonification methods by comparing interactive explorations versus simple playback of sonified functions. Finally, we discuss SingingFunction within the context of existing function sonifications, and possible evaluation methods.