ABSTRACT
This study investigates multimodal perception in visually impaired (VI) pianists. One of the themes explored is visual imagery as a subset of the mental imagery conjured up or deliberately used to enhance musical performances and stylistic interpretations. Situated within embodied cognition theory (ECT) and aspects of dynamic systems theory (DST), the investigation focuses on modalities and mechanisms employed by a small group of VI South African pianists to resolve performance-related issues. Results from the case study in combination with relevant literature indicate that VI pianists employ multimodal strategies to process sound into meaningful concepts. As a result of brain plasticity, unique multimodal clusters are formed where the senses expand to include properties that manifest as extraordinary forms of mental imagery. The chapter concludes with a conceptual multimodal framework to explain the perception processes experienced by VI pianists as musicians to reach higher planes of artistry in their performances.
