‘We hear with our eyes!’ Unlocking tacit knowledge about multisensory music performing

Abstract

Music performance is now recognised as a multisensory experience where both sound and sight contribute to its transmission and reception. The challenge for music education is to disseminate recent performance science research findings in this area into the curriculum using engaging and meaningful strategies. Practice without access to key research does not adequately prepare future music professionals as critical thinkers about, and evaluators of, music performance production and reception by themselves and by others. This study reports on a multisensory experiential learning workshop which aimed to equip university music students with knowledge and skills to capitalise on their inherent perceptual capacities. In doing so, students’ responses demonstrated an understanding of how to unlock tacit knowledge about performing and appropriate music perception skillsets which can be drawn into their own performing.