In search of a generative grammar for music

The idea of a generative grammar for music is the outcome of research geared toward the formulation of a system, or set of rules, capable of rewriting the sequence of mental representations (of sound structures) which are assumed to underly the execution of activities called musical. Such a system can be called a (general or particular) competence model for music or, since it is a rewriting system, a grammar for music.1 The research, undertaken in order to formulate a methodological framework for programmed studies in musical competence, was initially conceived as consisting of two principal kinds of investigation: