by Katy Carnaggio
Every note you play begins before you move. Before muscles shift or breath flows, your mind is already running mental simulations that predict what your body will do and how it will feel. Skill develops by testing those predictions against experience, adjusting with every breath and sound.
This predictive process is part of a larger system called internal modeling: the brain’s way of anticipating outcomes before they happen, and refining them over time.
Internal modeling relies on two processes:
- Inverse modeling: predicts the actions needed to achieve a musical outcome, sending motor commands to your body.
- Forward modeling: predicts how those movements will feel and sound, even before a note is played.
Together, these processes create a continuous flow of intention and anticipation.
As you play, sensory feedback streams in. Your brain constantly compares prediction to reality. When they align, the model is reinforced. When they diverge, it’s adjusted, sharpening future predictions and improving precision.
Think of internal modeling (what you intend and imagine) and sensory feedback (what you actually hear and feel) as two oars on a paddleboat. Used together, they move you forward with ease. Neglect one, and you may find yourself gently circling without realizing it.
This is why imagining, choosing, and feeling the sound before you play matters so much. It strengthens your internal model (the often-overlooked oar), priming your movements to become more precise, reliable, and free. Like an internal GPS, it gives you something you can trust every time you play.
To refine your internal models, incorporate deliberate prediction into your practice: predicting both the actions needed to create sound and the sensations those actions should produce.
This can look like:
Embodied Imagery
- Choose an image, emotion, or physical sensation (like "an icy lake" or "velvet dusk").
- Organize your breath, body, and focus around becoming that internal world.
- Let sound emerge naturally from embodiment, not mechanical control.
Active Listening
- While listening to great performances, imagine you are creating the sound:
- Feel the breath, the embouchure, the posture shaping each phrase. (How does it shift when you imagine singing like Avi Kaplan versus Luciano Pavarotti?)
These strategies draw from current research on predictive motor control and skill acquisition. Their specific applications to music performance are an exciting and growing area of study. You'll find additional ideas linked here if you'd like to explore further.
And as you do, remember: building a stronger internal model isn't just about adding new detail; it's also about letting some things go. As Brené Brown says, “Change always includes a series of small deaths.” Even positive growth carries loss—the shedding of familiar ways of moving, familiar ways of thinking, even familiar versions of yourself.
But each time you release an old way of moving or thinking, you clear the path for something more true, more grounded, more yours.
You don’t just change how you play.
You become someone who plays differently because you are different inside.
Article Series Map
Part 1: Prediction as a Tool for Letting Go
Part 2: Your Sound Starts Here
Part 3: Strengthen Your Inner Map (This Month!)
Part 4: Surrender in Spotlight (Coming Next Month)