JAVS Summer 2023

In sessions, this allows me to better understand their emotional state and anticipate treatment interventions that meet their need. So far, I’ve discerned some ideas related to aphantasia and the nature of image-free thinking. Aphantasia is an under-researched type of neurodiversity, and research studies largely focus on only the visual component of this condition. The multisensory aspect of this condition is still being explored, and implications for musicians have not been discussed. I feel that this condition is incredibly important for musicians and music educators to be aware of because it allows us to be curious about how we intuit music, and how we feel it internally, before it is even played.

Footnotes: 1 https://aphantasia.com/what-is-aphantasia/.

2 Hagenaars, Muriel A., John F. Stins, and Karin Roelofs, “Aversive life events enhance human freezing responses,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 141, no. 1 (2012): 98.

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 39, Summer 2023 Online Issue