Music, motor control and the brain

Abstract

Although most studies of memory for music performance focus on dimensions of musical structure, recent studies suggest motoric factors of performance are also represented. Brain imaging measures collected during mental practice or listening tasks suggest that both motor and auditory cortical areas are active during musical thought processes. Four lines of behavioral studies with performers reveal motor-based representations: performers' musical interpretations, transfer of learning from one musical task to another, mental practice effects, and anticipatory movements. These sources of evidence implicate distinct motoric and nonmotoric (melodic) information in performers' memory for music. Implications from these behavioral tasks suggest that an accurate auditory and motor representation underlies successful performance from memory.