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Trigger Happy
295
in that small movements of the fingers result in
beautiful music.
But musicians know that there is another
phenomenon at work, which is also appropriate to a
discussion of videogame playing: muscle memory.
When a pianist attempts a new piece, most of her
attention is focused consciously on playing the right
notes according to what is printed on the manuscript
page, and working out precise fingerings for
particularly difficult passages. But there is a point at
which these visual instructions are no longer needed,
when the player has so thoroughly learned the music
that she does not consciously think about where to put
her hands next. People also call this “getting the music
under your fingers.” It is only now, when the
mechanics of playing have been assimilated, that the
player can concentrate on performing the music.
The point is that the pianist begins really to play the
music, and thereby enters into a “flow” state, at
precisely the stage when she is no longer consciously
controlling the individual movements of fingers. It is as
if the fingers themselves know what to do. That is what
we mean by “muscle memory.” The same thing
happens when you drive a car or touch-type. But this is
not a mysterious process for which we need to invoke