Mental Control in Musical Imagery: A Dual Component Model

Abstract

Hearing music in your head is a ubiquitous experience, but the role mental control plays in these experiences has not been deeply addressed. In this conceptual analysis, a dual-component model of mental control in musical imagery experiences is developed and discussed. The first component, initiation, refers to whether the musical imagery experience began voluntarily or involuntarily. The second component, management, refers to instances of control that occur after the experience has begun (e.g., changing the song, stopping the experience). Given the complex nature of this inner experience, we propose a new model combining and integrating four literatures: lab-based auditory imagery research using musical stimuli; involuntary musical imagery; mental rehearsal and composition in musicians; and in vivo studies of musical imagery in everyday environments. These literatures support the contention that mental control of musical imagery is multi-faceted. Future research should investigate these two components of mental control and better integrate the diverse literatures on musical imagery.

Mental Effort When Playing, Listening, and Imagining Music in One Pianist’s Eyes and Brain

“…Hearing music in the head appears to be a ubiquitous experience (Cotter, 2019) but the role that mental control or effort plays in these experiences has not been addressed in current research in any thorough manner. That is, both professional musicians and music writers, as well as musically naïve individuals, have the power to start, stop, shape, and maintain in their head musical images unfolding in time (e.g., Zatorre, 1999;Janata, 2001;Cotter, 2019). However, all these mental ''actions'' are a form of cognitive work and require focused attention; they are likely to draw on mental resources and engage brain systems the control cognitive arousal (Alnaes et al, 2014).…”

Mental control of musical imagery: Comparing tonal and song stimuli.

“…People generally did not strongly endorse these items, implying that management failure is not the norm. When asked whether they felt their imagery was under their control, Cotter et al (2019) found that students generally perceive a moderate level of control over their imagery. Further, reported that, when asked to change specific elements of their musical imagery in daily life (e.g., tempo, vocalist's gender), both music and nonmusic students report being able to do so most of the time and do not perceive managing their imagery to be difficult.…”

“…How people exercise mental control over inner musical experience appears complex and remains poorly understood. Traditionally, musical imagery has been labeled as voluntary or involuntary without consideration of the variety of ways in which people can exercise control over these internal experiences (see Cotter, 2019; Williams, 2015). A recent framework suggests that mental control of musical imagery can be thought of in two ways (see Cotter, 2019, for review)—initiation and management.…”

Right-Lateralized Enhancement of the Auditory Cortical Network During Imagined Music Performance

“…Musical imagery is multi-faceted ( Cotter, 2019 ). This study did not assess whether musical imagery is broken down into general imagination processes and imagery specific to music.…”