A PianoWell Collection
Music Cognition
A curated exploration of how the mind hears, imagines, remembers, and transforms music before it becomes movement.
Music cognition examines the internal processes that make musical performance possible. Researchers study how we anticipate sound, mentally rehearse passages, perceive harmony, form expectations, and connect hearing with movement. These questions lie at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, music theory, and performance.
The articles in this collection explore these ideas from the perspective of piano performance. They connect established concepts such as audiation, auditory imagery, mental practice, predictive processing, and embodied cognition with practical questions that arise every day at the keyboard.
Whether you are a pianist, teacher, researcher, or simply curious about how musical thought becomes sound, this collection provides an entry point into the cognitive foundations of performance.
The Collection
Five editorial series tracing the inner musical experience that precedes performance—from audiation and inner hearing to score reading, silent practice, and the musical brain.
Series 1
Hearing Music Before We Play
A journey through audiation, inner hearing, auditory imagery, and the invisible musical experience that precedes performance.
4 Articles
Series 2
Reading the Score
How musicians transform written notation into an internal musical experience before touching the keyboard.
1 Article
Series 3
Practising Without the Piano
Mental rehearsal, silent practice, and cognitive approaches to musical preparation.
1 Article
Series 4
The Musical Brain
Research into prediction, movement, and embodied musical thinking.
5 Articles
Series 5
Beyond Traditional Concepts
Articles exploring how the PianoWell System builds upon—and sometimes extends—established ideas in music cognition and performance.
3 Articles