Samenvatting

The functional and anatomical distinction between vision-for-perception and vision-for-action, the hallmark of the dual-stream Perception-Action Model, is equally applicable to the auditory domain, implying that non-conscious audition-for-action could play an important role in music performance. Ear training in classical music, however, involves mainly the development of audition-for-perception. Students train the aural discrimination of intervals, chords, and their inversions, but do not learn to play ‘by ear’, a skill that would appear to rely heavily on non-conscious audition-for-action. Moreover, strong emphasis is placed on explicit knowledge of music theory, while its acquisition is anatomically and functionally quite distinct from the implicit ‘grasp’ of music syntax gained non-consciously during imitation and improvisation.