What is audiation?

A little while ago, someone asked me what 'audiation' meant and even though I felt like I knew, I struggled to give a definition that made sense. Irritated by my ignorance, I scurried off to learn more and found this highly articulate article on the Total Music Education blog (no relation!) that really hit the spot. Now I just need someone else to ask me what 'audiation' means.

What is audiation?

Audiation is the process of both mentally hearing and understanding music, even when no music is present. In essence, audiation is thinking in music or thinking about music in a way that brain is able to give meaning to the sounds.

You could compare this to a skill that many of us possess - that of thinking in words! The reason we can think in words is because our language education and experience has taught us this skill. Similarly, well educated musicians have the ability to audiate. Read more ...