ABSTRACT
The experience of music, like many other perceptual and cognitive processes, can be argued to largely take place internally; air pressure waves are not necessarily music until they hit the ear, get processed in the brain and body, and are interpreted as music. A special but recognizable case of an internal musical experience is one we generate ourselves as a musical image in the absence of sound, either deliberately or spontaneously. The music in our heads can come from an effortfully initiated and sustained mental action, but often also arises automatically, either with or without some contextual link to other stimuli or situations we are exposed to, and in certain cases as part, and possibly in support, of other cognitive functions. In this chapter, I will discuss different types of imagery and their interactions with other cognitive functions, specifically aspects of memory, and their neural signatures. I will argue that a supportive (also termed constructive ) form of imagery is of crucial importance to the generation of perceptual predictions, which can be considered to be central to the cognition of music listening. Finally, implications for future research are considered.
