Composing by musical analog: a look at planetary orbits

Generating musical compositions using models from probability statistics, fractal geometry, and other nonlinear and chaotic systems, referred to by some composers as a mapping technique or mapping, is discussed. Composition based on celestial coordinates made audible through an interactive Pascal computer program that generates such coordinates for all the planets and the Earth´s Moon as seen from any point on Earth for any given time frame is reported. The compositional environment is examined, the durational schemes used are described, and the composer´s options are discussed.<>