Because you notice stuff you didn't before and it's surprising. The auto-pilot knows stuff you don't.
But if I were to speculate, the lateral and premotor cortex is the area of conscious thought about movement. It's not separate from your consciousness since it is part of your consciousness.
Sure- I think this is where having the choice is so important, though. Many people think the less awareness the better- but it's because their ability is so superficial that they get better results this way. They don't tackle the things that they need to develop head on, but merely try not to think- which leaves all of their holes in place. Conversely, a really effective pianist has tackled all of these things in practise and come to understand a variety of different viewpoints. For that pianist, when they seem not to be thinking, all of those underlying skills are still bubbling under the surface. Somtimes they'll think more, sometimes they'll just do it- but there are no suprises in store either way. However, for most pianists who think they are better off not thinking about what they get confused by, no such ability exists- and they instantly fall apart if the physical habit slides (as well as playing with minimal control of their sound, due to the intent not to think about what they are actually doing but to instead follow mere physical habits). Only experienced artists should be deciding that instincts are already good enough and that anything else is "interference". (just to clarify, I'm speaking primarily about classical)
Speculation aside, is there not room for error between the conscious wish and the movement (muscular contraction)? But if we don't know what is between...?
Many people think the less awareness the better- but it's because their ability is so superficial that they get better results this way. They don't tackle the things that they need to develop head on, but merely try not to think- which leaves all of their holes in place.
I don't know who these people are but I think it is pretty common knowledge that as you get good at any skill you go from doing it very consciously to doing it more unconsciously.
Sorry ramble so much :/, to answer "how do we start a movement?" is a surprisingly complicated topic...
Not with all skills. There's nothing consciously you can do to help you learn the balance needed for this posture. The learning occurs totally on a subliminal level.
AbstractThis review deals with the physiology of the initiation of a voluntary movement and the appreciation of whether it is voluntary or not. I argue that free will is not a driving force for movement, but a conscious awareness concerning the nature of the movement. Movement initiation and the perception of willing the movement can be separately manipulated. Movement is generated subconsciously, and the conscious sense of volition comes later, but the exact time of this event is difficult to assess because of the potentially illusory nature of introspection. Neurological disorders of volition are also reviewed. The evidence suggests that movement is initiated in the frontal lobe, particularly the mesial areas, and the sense of volition arises as the result of a corollary discharge likely involving multiple areas with reciprocal connections including those in the parietal lobe and insular cortex.
So if that was true, during the learning process your conscious mind would not be needed and would thus be free to do other stuff, like say, talking to another person or doing math?
Seriously, there's so much we do not know about the mind/body connections and the way they may be different in individuals that I really don't envy the poor people that call themselves piano teachers...
Areas of the brain that change in relationship to motor training include the putamen and premotor cortex. Grey matter decreases as white matter increases indicating that extensive myelination has occurred. This indicates that learned and well-practiced movements are encoded in the premotor cortex; i.e. this is where you store your muscle memory.Structural neuroplasticity in the sensorimotor network of professional female ballet dancers. (2010)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20024944
The present findings complement the results of functional imaging studies in experts that revealed reduced neural activity in skilled compared with nonskilled subjects. Reductions in brain activity are accompanied by local decreases in GM and WM volumes and decreased FA.
The movements will take care of themselves, but the artistry wont.
I don't know who these people are but I think it is pretty common knowledge that as you get good at any skill you go from doing it very consciously to doing it more unconsciously. Of course one can't just skip to the last part, I don't think anybody claimed that.
I can only assume you've never learnt any balancing skill. You must have been a strange sight learning to ride a bike!
Have you considered that people may actually be different?
? It's as essential as in any other skill to start with conscious awareness. The first thing you have to realise when riding a bike is that if it tips in one direction, you need to move your centre of gravity to the opposite side.
You have no need to realize it at all. You can realize it or not realize it, I doubt it makes much of a difference though my guess is not realizing and responding faster than consciousness could well give you the edge (certainly stop you falling over).
Yeah, but it's not instinct. At some point you observe that falling sideways can be prevented by leaning in the opposite direction. Nobody does that by instinct straight off.
Sorry, that is so obviously wrong I won't waste my time with it.
But the paper says 'Reductions in brain activity are accompanied by local decreases in GM and WM volumes' while you say 'Grey matter decreases as white matter increases'.
Imagine you're in a maze. If you first walk through it, you will likely reach dead ends and have to double back. But the more you walk it, the less likely you'll walk down dead ends before reaching the end of the maze. With enough trials, you'll likely have figured out the most direct route to reach the end and do it faster. This principle is the same as having less neural activity for well-practiced tasks.
Areas of the brain that change in relationship to motor training include the putamen and premotor cortex. Grey matter decreases as white matter increases indicating that extensive myelination has occurred.
I know what myelin is. It's role in learnt tasks, outside of early years, is not clear.
Who's rattled your cage?
I have noticed something... My hands memorize things very fast, it is only my conscious mind that is slow. This is actually a bit of a problem. When I learn new pieces my hands learn the movements almost right away. So this is what happens: My hands already know what to do, but because my mind doesn't, it starts overthinking and "making sure" the hands know what to do and end up confusing the hands and that causes a break or even a black out. Sometimes my hands do things before my brain has time to do anything and I can almost literally hear my mind yelling at them "What the hell were you thinking!" and that also confuses the hands which already have gone to the next part It can take a long time before my mind "catches up" with the hands but if I just keep on working on the piece it finally does. I have experimented different things to make it faster, but had little success. I know someone will tell me to take the sheet and work on it before going to piano. But I just cannot do that. I cannot consciously memorize anything that involves symbols, whether they are notes, numbers or letters. I literally get a headache if I try. I've been like this ever since a young child.Yesterday instead of just playing a piece (that I already have memorized on some level, but sometimes get these blackouts), I tried to play the notes of the right and then the left hand with just random fingers and found several spots that I can play in the piece, but had absolutely no idea what notes to play next. I even had to take out the score to look.Isn't it just interesting how piano playing makes it visible how your brain works? The things you have read as theory suddenly just become real... And no, I don't think the hands have a memory of their own, it is just situtated in the other half of the brain, not the control freak half that is always trying to mess up with my playing any way it can
The kind of memory that many people neglect is tactile memory! Practice feeling the keys. Close your eyes, imagine your hand position on the piano and try to visualize in your mind you exact hand position. Just by feeling the keys, you ought to know where your fingers are. If you watch close up videos of professional pianists' hands, you will observe a LOT of "feeling around the keys". If you haven't noticed it already, please spend some time on youtube and observe it.
Topic: Memorizing and how the brain works 