Playing the Market

Playing the Market is a recent experimental music recording by Emerald Suspension. The project features audio compositions based on patterns found in the stock market and in economic data.

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Digital downloads can also be purchased at .

Playing the Market integrates concepts, structure, and source data as part of each arrangement. The resulting tracks range from minimalist orchestral pieces to conceptual industrial audio art. The structural components of some of the pieces in the collection are summarized below:

"Long Bond" is a requiem string solo. Notes in this piece are based on the pattern of interest rates since 1926 as represented by the yield of the 30-year Treasury bond. Higher notes equate to higher interest rates and lower notes reflect the lower rates experienced over time.

"Irrational Exuberance / Great Depression" is a composition for piano that reflects the investor psychology that drives the stock market and the economy as a whole. Notes and expression changes are determined by the historical patterns of the Consumer Confidence Index. Major chords indicate long term shifts and minor chords denote short-term shifts in consumer confidence. Changes in the tempo of the piano solo correspond to historical changes in the index value. The background sound is a piece of musique concrete featuring the processed sounds of an antique ticker tape machine.

"Fibonacci's Random Walk" is algorithmic music interspersed throughout the recording. The piece is inspired by two competing theories about the pattern of stock market returns. Some theories hold that stock prices follow predictable patterns and others state that markets are efficient, with price changes following a 'random walk'. One specific theory about stock price patterns states that patterns are governed by cycles founded upon the Fibonacci number series (1-1-2-3-5-8…). The instrumentation, pitch, and duration of notes in this composition are based on that number series - Then, random deviations from that specific pattern are inserted throughout the performance to represent the efficient market hypothesis.

"Bulls and Bears of the World" includes percussion parts inspired by the historical price patterns of various global stock markets. The melody represents the returns of the aggregation of the world stock markets. Audio samples of bulls and bears are inserted at the appropriate points in time to represent notable global stock price increases and decreases.

"Industrial Century" is an orchestral composition based on 100 years of daily stock market data. Long, intermediate, and short-term trends in the US stock market over the course of the 20th century are represented in the piece. Changes in pitch follow the pattern of high and low returns of the stock market while the dynamics of the various parts included in the arrangement are appropriately determined by market trading 'volume'.

"The Misery Index" is an experimental recording based on the historical patterns of inflation and unemployment. Just as some economists add these two economic indicators together to arrive at a 'misery index', this composition combines audio representations of each. The instrumentation mixes tuned synthesized noise and bowed metal to set an appropriately "dismal" tone.

"National Debt" is an audio representation of the US National Debt as experienced over more than 200 years. Audio events based on debt increases result in a 'rain chime' effect at the beginning of the piece, progressing to the level of a storm by the end.

"Stock Options" is an experimental audio composition based on the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the Put-Call Parity Theorem. The composition is based on stock price, volatility, and interest rate data from 1938 to 1995, the life span of Fischer Black, co-creator of the landmark option pricing formula. The two parts of the composition represent the theoretical price changes of a call option and of a put option on the U.S. stock market over the period.

"IPO" layers music over a collage of audio samples representing money and risk taking, including sounds of an active stock exchange trading floor and those of a casino.

CD information and free sound clips and can be found by clicking here. Digital downloads can also be purchased at .

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