Eight little bodies orbit around a larger one. Symmetrically for a while, until the chaotic attractions of the rocks get the better of them and they swirl seemingly randomly.
Four interlocking melodies are shared by the bodies, played on piano, celesta, slow strings and a tuba!
Here the rocks get geometric. One note per rock, in successive scales. One single body poised above. Changing the initial height by a quarter inch ends up with a different melody.
Then the same world, with three bodies instead of one. They start out symmetric, and then eventually the rounding errors kick in and they wander askew.
Another geometric world, with four bodies moving around a grid. The instruments are more "synthy," giving a bit of an ambient feel. This one is also symmetric until the rounding errors add up.
"What would happen if we arrange the rocks in a big X?"
This is what happens. The balls have two "phased" melodies attached -- almost the same melody, but slightly different lengths, so they get out of synch and combine with each other in interesting ways. <
Same world, but the center rock is a mutator. Every time a ball hits it, it randomly changes the ball's mass. When this happens, the simulation no longer runs the same every time. Here are two takes.