Encoding and recall of finger sequences in experienced pianists compared with musically naïve controls: A combined behavioral and functional imaging study

► Comparison of fMRI-maps during motor transfer in pianists and naive healthy subjects. ► Pianists differ from naïve subjects in motor performance for the new task. ► Pianists recruit motor areas and the mirror neural system already during encoding. ► Naive subjects increase motor recruitment during retrieval but perform worse.