The Dow Piano

The daily trading of the Dow Jones industrial average determines the songwriting here, translating the ups and downs of 2010’s market into musical notes. Using a five-note scale spanning three octaves, pitch is determined by each day’s closing level.

Heavy trading volume – most notably on the day of the May 6 ‘Flash Crash’ – leads to high musical volume. Notice the piano tends to play quietly around holidays. The notes are generally clustered in series of five, representing Mondays through Fridays. Follow along with the graph to experience the market in a (somewhat) musical way.

Click here to play the Dow Piano…