The Violin Plot

A one-page violin plot for comparing grouped distributions by shape, not just by a five-number summary or a stack of bars. Each group takes raw observations and turns them into a mirrored density silhouette on one shared vertical value axis. Where the shape gets wide, values pile up; where it narrows, readings are sparse. A median crossbar keeps the middle visible without flattening the whole story into one number. Use it for response times across teams, test scores across classes, prices across stores, sleep duration across weeks, workout results across programs, survey ratings across cohorts, delivery lead times across vendors, or any grouped measurements where spread and clustering matter. Unlike a histogram, it compares several distributions side by side; unlike a box plot, it keeps the distribution silhouette visible. Type one group per line with its raw observations and the violins compute themselves. Leave it blank to print clean mirrored frames and sketch by hand.

• Landscape
• 1 page
• Tracking

Best for: Comparing grouped distributions by shape — response times, scores, prices, sleep, survey ratings, lead times, or any raw observations split by group.