“Visualize! Visualize! Visualize!” is a cry often heard by
athletes. The idea is to picture a performance in the mind, and
by repeatedly doing so, help insure a successful result when the
times comes for the real thing. For example, as a runner I might
try to visualize striding smoothly and powerfully mid-race so
that hopefully, that image will become reality on race day. I
have had some luck with this and recommend Running Within by
Lynch and Scott if you’re interested. But these sorts of things
are rather vague and rely on reinforcement of a positive self-
image, of a confidence-booster. I’m more interested in something
a little more concrete. If you’ve read my earlier DIY Neuro-
Motor posts here and here, you know what I’m getting at. Can the
idea of visualization coupled with mirror neurons be helpful to
someone learning a musical instrument? After reading an article
in Scientific American some time ago regarding mirror neurons,
plus some interesting items I saw on Nova Science Now, the idea
occurred to me