We propose a new framework to understand singing accuracy, based on multi-modal imagery associations: the MMIA model. This model is based on recent data suggesting a link between auditory imagery and singing accuracy, evidence for a link between imagery and the functioning of internal models for sensorimotor associations, and the use of imagery in singing pedagogy. By this account, imagery involves automatic associations between different modalities, which in the present context comprise associations between pitch height and the regulation of vocal fold tension. Importantly, these associations are based on probabilistic relationships that may vary with respect to their precision and accuracy. We further describe how this framework may be extended to multi-modal associations at the sequential level, and how these associations develop. The model we propose here constitutes one part of a larger architecture responsible for singing, but at the same time is cast at a general level that can extend to multi-modal associations outside the domain of singing.

We describe some characteristics of persistent musical and verbal retrieval episodes, commonly known as "earworms." In Study 1, participants first filled out a survey summarizing their earworm experiences retrospectively. This was followed by a diary study to document each experience as it happened. Study 2 was an extension of the diary study with a larger sample and a focus on triggering events. Consistent with popular belief, these persistent musical memories were common across people and occurred frequently for most respondents, and were often linked to recent exposure to preferred music. Contrary to popular belief, the large majority of such experiences were not unpleasant. Verbal earworms were uncommon. These memory experiences provide an interesting example of extended memory retrieval for music in a naturalistic situation.

The Role of Anticipatory Auditory Imagery in musical ensemble performance was investigated by examining the relationship between individual differences in auditory imagery and temporal coordination in piano duos. Vividness of imagery for upcoming sounds was assessed in 14 pianists using a task that required the production of rhythmic sequences with or without auditory feedback. Ensemble coordination was assessed by examining temporal relations between body movements (recorded by a motion capture system) and sound onsets (triggered by key strokes on two MIDI pianos) in seven duos playing two contrasting pieces with or without visual contact. Sound synchrony was found to be related to anterior-posterior body sway coordination in a manner that depended upon leader/follower relations between pianists assigned to 'primo' and 'secondo' parts. Furthermore, the quality of coordination, which was not affected markedly by whether pianists were in visual contact, was correlated with individual differences in anticipatory auditory imagery. These findings suggest that auditory imagery facilitates interpersonal coordination by enhancing the operation of internal models that simulate one's own and others' actions during ensemble performance.