Cognitive extension and musical consciousness
Music and Consciousness 2 April 11, 2019 Lawrence M. Zbikowski
The idea that cognitive processes can extend beyond the brain into material resources, known as cognitive extension, changes how musical consciousness is understood. Drawing on Andy Clark's work on cognitive extension and Edwin Hutchins's distributed cognition, the chapter examines musical examples such as medieval mnemonic devices, musical scores, and instruments. It argues that musical sound itself serves as a medium for extending musical thought into the world, particularly when a musical ensemble functions as a distributed cognitive system.