Petri nets applicability to music analysis and composition

This paper addresses the adoption of Petri Nets (PNs) in order to describe music processes. On the one hand, such formalism can be used to represent the results coming from the analysis of already existing music works. On the other hand, Petri Nets provide a formal tool to generate new music pieces. This paper is the evolution of an earlier work presented at CMMR 2005, where analytical and descriptive possibilities of Petri Nets were explored in music field. The focus of this paper is writing music by Petri Nets, and the last section will show a case study of PN-based composition.