Audiation

In the English language, imagination implies a visual mode. Since there was no word similar to imagination for the auditory mode, music education researcher Edwin Gordon coined the word audiation in 1975. Audiation is to sound in the same way that imagination is to images. For example, audiation may involve mentally hearing and comprehending music, even when no physical sound is present. It is a cognitive process by which the brain gives meaning to musical sounds. In essence, audiation of music is analogous to thinking in a language. The term audiation should not be confused with audition, the mere perception of sound. Audiation is also more than just a musical form of auditory imagery. Developed audiation includes the necessary understanding of music to enable the conscious prediction of patterns in unfamiliar music and sound.