The Musical Experience through the Lens of Embodiment

Abstract

ABSTRACT The author addresses the impression that digital media is diminishing the engagement of the body in our musical experience. Combining theories from the disciplines of philosophy and psychology, he constructs a framework for examining the experience of listening to music. A link between research in mirror neurons and the act of perception, as described by Merleau-Ponty, is used to demonstrate the role of embodiment in the listening experience. While acknowledging that hearing and viewing a musical performance do not provide the same musical experience, he aims to demonstrate how our embodied existence ensures the body's engagement in any musical experience.