Effects of Mental Practice and Modeling on Guitar and Vocal Performance

The effectiveness of various mental practice regimens in music performance was compared. Guitarists and vocalists who were college-level music majors learned short musical excerpts under four conditions: (a) continuous physical practice; (b) mental practice alternating with physical practice; (c) mental practice with a modeled recording of the music alternating with physical practice; and (d) a motivational control activity alternating with physical practice. Performances with the score and by memory were rated on various musical dimensions. Mental practice with a model resulted in superior performance on a number of dimensions for vocalists and on tonal quality and memory coding for guitarists. For guitarists, mental practice (without a model) and continuous physical practice also produced greater pitch accuracy than the control condition did. It was concluded that mental practice may facilitate cognitive coding and help to create optimal levels of attentional focus and arousal.