There are, arguably, two main components at play during music performance: motor execution, on the one hand, and the contents and focus of the musician’s mental state, on the other. This workshop addresses the latter. We will bring together researchers working on phenomenological and experimental approaches to understand subjective experience and its role during music performance.
We aim for the workshop to be both inclusive and focused. Inclusive in that we welcome philosophical and empirical perspectives spanning cognitive to education sciences, examining the contents, dynamics, and effects of mental states during music performance. Focused, in that we are guided by a central question: What are the boundaries of introspection during performance, and (how) can these boundaries be pushed through learning and instruction?
The workshop will work explicitly towards writing a joint review and opinion piece on this question, distilling what participants collectively see as the most promising directions for future research. A broader aim is to articulate what the study of introspection during music performance can offer to our understanding of subjective experience, and what it can capture that other models cannot.
The symposium is open to anyone interested in introspection and music performance. Please register by August 31st so that attendance can be planned. The workshop is intentionally small and places are limited. If registrations exceed capacity, attendees will be placed on a waiting list and notified afterward.
We hope you can join us. Please feel free to forward this invitation to colleagues who may be interested.
BRAMS Institute, Université de Montréal
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
University of York
University of Oslo
Università degli Studi di Padova
Ghent University
Imperial College London
University of Tübingen
University of Luxembourg
Musicking Beyond Experience: An Interdisciplinary, Phenomenological Proposal.
Musical improvisation as a model system for spontaneous thought: Mind wandering, creativity, and brain dynamics.
The improvisational state of mind: performers, audiences, and collective experience.
Reframing the Musical Mind through Cognitive Ecosystems.
Rhythm in Action: From Individual Skill Learning to Social Connection.
Extending the Musical Body: Virtual Embodiment and Performance.
Musical Agency and Musical Experience: Interdisciplinary Reflections.
Mindful Music Practice: The Role of Metacognition in Music Study.
On the Difficulties in Improving Metacognition During Music Practice.
Felt From Within: The Musician–Instrument Relationship as the Ground of Subjective Experience in Performance.
In Pursuit of Musical Togetherness: Thoughts and Behaviour in Ensemble Playing.