The Use of Visual Imagery in Music Performance

This thesis presents three studies that develop understanding of the role of visual imagery (VI) in music performance and education, investigating its use in music performance and teaching from musicians’ perspectives. The first study, based on an online survey of musicians, provided an overview of the general characteristics of VI, showing variations in its frequency, intensity, types, and perceived helpfulness. The findings further revealed that these characteristics were linked to musical factors (e.g., the emotional content of a composition, musical elements, and genres) as well as musician-related factors (e.g., emotional state, performance context, and familiarity with the music). Building on these findings, the second study explored the relationships between VI, music, and emotion from performers’ perspectives in a performance context. The results demonstrated that the dyadic and triadic interactions among these elements form a dynamic recursive process, in which each shapes the others within an interpretive loop that often supports performance. The third study employed an action research approach to explore the role of VI in music teaching, showing that VI can play an important role in the communicative process between teachers and students, fostering musical understanding, expressive development, emotional engagement, and cross-cultural exchange. Taken together, these studies provide new insights into the ways VI operates in musical contexts and offer practical recommendations for its pedagogical application. At the same time, limitations such as the small sample size and narrow range of genres highlight the need for larger, more diverse studies across cultural contexts. Future research should also examine practical applications of VI in performance and education, including strategies for its intentional use. Overall, this thesis offers a performer-centred perspective on how VI relates to music and emotion in both performance and pedagogy, while underscoring the need for context-sensitive approaches and further empirical investigation.