Wall Street of Sound

By Scott Kirsner - Wired Magazine

Abstract snippets of clarinet and harpsichord waft from their workstations. But the financial advisers at Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Credit Suisse First Boston aren't listening to Philip Glass. They're the earliest adopters of new auditory display software that translates market fluctuations into sound.

The technology, which comes from a Dartmouth College spinoff called Accentus, aims to help traders deal with information overload. Typical traders monitor a half dozen or more computer screens filled with raw data, flashing numbers, and color-coded pop-ups. It's enough to max out anyone's visual cortex. But a trader's auditory cortex has plenty of unused processing power.

The Accentus software - which costs $12,500 per seat plus $350 a month for each user - relies on an orchestra pit full of instruments to convey complex information. That lengthy marimba trill coming from the left speaker, for example? It represents a trade involving a large quantity of short-maturity treasury bonds. Traders have a Pavlovian response: They learn gradually to associate music with market movements - no training required. Now many use the Accentus software to monitor 15 or more market indicators, each represented by a different instrument. Hi-fi speakers sold separately.

Listening to the market

You hear: Staccato G, B, and C coming from a bassoon.
It means: Dow Jones is up 50 points on the day, most recent move up 10.

You hear: Harpsichord playing two notes, second higher than first.
It means: German DAX index just ticked up.

You hear: Short ascending clarinet melody.
It means: Canadian dollar gains 0.1 percent against US dollar.

You hear: Lush strings, punctuated by ascending double bass notes.
It means: Trade made on options portfolio; risk position moved up by $6,000.

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