ABSTRACT
This paper proposes some general comments concerning a syntactic approach to the domain of micro-time, that is, to the realm of what we call “timbre7’. I will attempt to do this by referring to some steps toward Spectral Modeling. However, this not an historical essay, since these problems and perspectives are related to the present state of the field.
The concept of syntax, as it is used here, refers to the modalities of any temporal articulation. It can be seen as a generic categorization of hierarchies dealing with nested chains of events which appear as composed time. In this perspective, the usual link between syntax and common language constitutes a special case, which cannot be generalized to all situations involving an articulation of temporal relationships. To situate the concept in this context I can recall the aims of the science of Syntactics, which emerged in the field of formal logic at the beginning of the century (defined by Cournot as a théorie des enchaînements), as well as its prolongations in the field of early Artificial Intelligence, especially in relation to pattern analysis and recognition strategies (Fu, 1974).
