Investigation of the Understanding and Application of Musical Imagery in China University Music Students

Abstract

This study compared the recognition and the usage of imagery among China university music students with different majors (i.e. instrument and vocal) to explore whether the different learning pathways may provide various influences on musicians' imagery creation. Eighty-six music students from Shandong University of Science and Technology were recruited as participants. Analysis of the questionnaires revealed that the term "musical imagery" had been commonly introduced to students mainly by their teachers rather than from books or the internet. In addition, instrumental students (both Western and Chinese styles) demonstrated more familiarity in recognizing and applying imagery within their practice and daily life than vocal students. In contrast, the Chinese traditional vocal students received the lowest scores among all questions within the questionnaires and presented less interest in employing imagery within their daily practice. Conclusively, this small-scale research provided a glance at the understanding of musical imagery among Chinese university students. It is expected to stimulate the China music psychology research community to pay closer attention to music imagery study for empirically exploring practical strategies and pedagogy for further benefiting music students and their studies.