The pianist Alfred Brendel says he doesn’t think about notes when he’s onstage; he thinks about creating an experience. Stevie Wonder told me that when he’s performing, he tries to get himself into the same frame of mind and “frame of heart” that he was in when he wrote the song; he tries to capture the same feelings and sentiment, and that helps him to deliver the performance. What this means in terms of how he sings or plays differently is something no one knows. From a neuroscientific perspective, though, this makes perfect sense. As we’ve seen, remembering music involves setting the
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