The Water Quality Xylophone is both a performable musical instrument and a representation of water quality readings form the nearby water.
The instrument is at the same time a visualization and a sonification of the water quality data collected.
Sonification: the use of (traditionally) non-speech audio to convey information.
In the case of the Water Quality Xylophone the tone each pipe produces is determined by its length and it’s length is determined by a data reading collected form the water.
Longer pipes produce a lower note while shorter pipes will produce a higher note.
The instrument as a whole then gives insight into the changing quality of the water over time.
This project is made possible by funding from Bravo Greater Des Moines with support by Group Creative Services