Thinking ahead: the use of mental training in young violinists’ skill development

Abstract

Mental training has been employed successfully by experienced musicians, but rarely explored with younger learners. Considering its benefits, however, including the use and development of predictive, feedforward processes, identified in neuroscience as being central to playing a musical instrument, this mixed qualitative-quantitative study investigates how mental training can be adapted for assisting young violinists in developing awareness of these inner processes creatively and in a manner that is consistent with the cognitive processes of learning. Nine students (average age 8) participated in five routines that included: (1) Alternation of sound perception and movement with physical playing, (2) A melodic composition game combined with motor and auditory imagery, (3) Movement with deliberate pre-hearing, (4) Sound perception, followed by sound reproduction and (5) A conceptual-verbal exercise, illustrating mental imagery formation and its externalisation. Results after routine one indicated improvements in intonational range (t = 2.59, p = 0.032) and timing (Z = 3.162, p = 0.002). After the second routine students hummed pitches before playing them, suggesting development of pre-hearing. Observations from the other routines included improvements in posture, attention, and awareness of imagery formation.