The configuration and management of “hearing music in the absence of stimuli” in professional musicians: clinical and social implications of the involuntary musical imagery. An exploratory study

BackgroundIn the last decades, much research has shown that the phenomenon of “Hearing Voices” is not necessarily a symptom of psychiatric disorder but can also occur in the general population without causing serious mental health problems. Less attention has been paid to auditory experiences whose content is not verbal but musical. Although it has been hypothesised that both pathological and non-pathological phenomena, known as ”musical hallucinations” and “musical imagery’’, respectively, lie on a continuum, the boundary between these phenomena is not clear, nor why musicians experience them in a more positive way than non-musicians.MethodsThe following study involved 32 musicians to explore how they configure and manage the experience of hearing music in the absence of stimuli. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis methodology.ResultsThe findings suggest that musicians configure this phenomenon as a natural consequence of their musical education and seek to take professional advantage of them or to develop their ability to recall them.DiscussionIn conclusion, the experience of hearing music in the absence of corresponding stimuli may be configured as an adaptive phenomenon, especially in the musical context.