Performance Anxiety Among Musicians

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-80
Author(s):  
Jennifer Mumm ◽  
Isabel Fernholz ◽  
Andreas Ströhle ◽  
Jens Plag ◽  
Alexander Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Beta Blockers ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Emotional Symptoms ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
High Distress ◽  
Control Loss ◽  
Preventive Methods

Abstract. Musicians suffering from music performance anxiety (MPA) fear and/or avoid performing situations. While performing, they often experience physiological (like increased heart rate or sweating), cognitive (for example fear of control loss), behavioral (like making mistakes or avoiding performances) and emotional symptoms (mostly fear) leading to high distress. About a quarter of all professional musicians suffer from MPA. In studies, cognitive behavioral therapy and beta blockers were effective options for treating MPA. Other treatments and preventive methods are presented.

Music Performance Anxiety—Part 1: A Review of its Epidemiology

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariadna O Brugués
Keyword(s):  
Music Performance ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Professional Experience ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Based Medicine

Music performance anxiety (MPA) affects many individuals regardless of age, gender, experience, and hours of practice. In order to better understand the epidemiology of MPA, a review of the literature was done. Sixteen articles, meeting EBM criteria, were identified and analyzed. Children rarely suffer from MPA, while adolescents show symptoms similar to adults. Females are generally more affected than males. There is no relation between professional experience and performance anxiety. Great musicians such as Pau Casals and Enrico Caruso suffered from MPA. Nevertheless, students affected by MPA may decide not to become professional musicians because of their inability to cope with the devastating effects of performance anxiety. Solo performances showed higher MPA scores than ensemble performances. Despite these conclusions, long-term cohort studies with larger, homogeneous groups of subjects would be desirable, according to the evidence-based medicine criteria.

scholarly journals Self representations and music performance anxiety: A study with professional and amateur musicians

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 792-805
Author(s):  
Claudia Castiglione ◽  
Alberto Rampullo ◽  
Silvia Cardullo
Keyword(s):  
Music Performance ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
Amateur Musicians ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
Future Self ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

Individual, social and situational factors might play an important role on the experience of anxiety during musical performances. The present research focused on the relationship between self-representations, including musical self, and performance anxiety among a sample of Italian professional and amateur musicians (N = 100; age, M = 23.40, 50% females). We predicted that higher self-discrepancies (actual vs. future self) would be associated with higher performance anxiety in a musical setting (vs. a non musical one), via musical self, and only in professional musicians. The results confirmed our hypothesis. Higher discrepancies between actual and future self-representations were positively associated with higher performance anxiety levels via the musical self only in participants who play instruments at a professional level. Furthermore, musical self influenced performance anxiety levels in a music related setting (i.e., a concert) but not in a non musical one (i.e., an exam).

A Single Dose of Oxytocin on Music Performance Anxiety: Results Involving a Situation of Simulated Performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S110-S110
Author(s):  
F.L. Osório ◽  
A.E. M. Barbar ◽  
M.F. Donadon ◽  
J.A.S. Crippa
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Experimental Situation ◽  
Beta Blockers ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Public Performance ◽  
Pharmacological Management ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
Simulated Performance ◽  
Physiological Symptoms

IntroductionMusic performance anxiety (MPA) is a persistent and distressing experience that involves apprehension linked with musical performance in public (individual or collective). Anxious individuals concentrate their anxiety in situations that involve social scrutiny, favoring distorted, dysfunctional, and negative interpretations of that situation followed by experiences of physiological symptoms associated with the exposure. The most commonly used substances in the pharmacological management of MPA are beta-blockers and benzodiazepines. However, these options are not fully efficient and cause relevant side effects that interfere mainly with performance. Therefore, investigations on alternative substances to treat MPA are highly opportune.ObjectiveTo assess the acute effects of oxytocin (OT) on physiological and cognitive variables during an experimental model of simulated performance.MethodsWe assessed 12 musicians with MPA pre-treated with intranasal OT (24 UI) or placebo in a crossover trial involving an experimental situation of public performance. Cognitive and physiological measures (heart rate, blood pressure, salivary cortisol) were recorded before/during performance (anticipatory performance anxiety). Statistical analyses were made using Stata Direct.ResultsThe results showed no effects of OT on physiological symptoms (P > 0.190). In respect to anticipatory anxiety, however, we found a tendency for OT to reduce negative cognitions associated with music performance (P = 0.06). No side effects were reported by musicians throughout the trial.ConclusionThese tendencies, if confirmed through the expansion of the sample, have important implications for the practice of amateur and professional musicians who could benefit from interventions as the one described, possibly with a lesser impact of side effects.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Imagery-Based Interventions for Music Performance Anxiety: An Integrative Review

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Finch ◽  
David A Moscovitch
Keyword(s):  
Mental Imagery ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Relaxation Techniques ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Treatment Protocols ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Treatment Research ◽  
Symptom Changes

Many musicians experience debilitating music performance anxiety (MPA). Outside music performance, imagery-based interventions have been incorporated into treatment protocols to help individuals, including athletes and those with social anxiety, manage heightened levels of anxiety in order to excel in performance-based domains. Despite the frequent use of mental imagery in MPA interventions and its importance as a mental rehearsal technique for musicians, no existing reviews have examined the literature on imagery-based interventions for MPA. The primary aim of this review was to analyze the existing MPA literature in order to summarize what is known about the efficacy and mechanisms of pre-performance mental imagery exercises. A literature search yielded eight studies that used imagery-based interventions for MPA, in both student and professional musicians, which included three dissertations and five peer-reviewed journal articles. In extant MPA treatment research, pre-performance imagery is often used in conjunction with other techniques in order to alleviate anxiety. Arousal imagery refers to imagining one’s state of arousal during performance and has been incorporated into MPA interventions in various ways that guide musicians to anticipate the heightened arousal that accompanies performance, predominantly through imagery-based relaxation techniques. However, methodological limitations make it impossible to determine whether imagery is itself an active ingredient of treatment that underlies symptom changes, or whether relaxation imagery is the most effective use of pre-performance imagery for all musicians. There is much need for future well-controlled studies to examine whether and how imagery affects MPA independent of the other therapy components and techniques with which it is commonly combined.

Music Performance Anxiety—Part 2: A Review of Treatment Options

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariadna O Brugués
Keyword(s):  
Music Teachers ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
Based Medicine ◽  
Methods Of Treatment

Music performance anxiety (MPA) affects many individuals independent of age, gender, experience, and hours of practice. In order to prevent MPA from happening or to alleviate it when it occurs, a review of the literature about its prevention and treatment was done. Forty-four articles, meeting evidence-based medicine (EBM) criteria, were identified and analyzed. Performance repertoire should be chosen based on the musician’s skill level, and it should be practiced to the point of automaticity. Because of this, the role of music teachers is essential in preventing MPA. Prevention is the most effective method against MPA. Several treatments (psychological as well as pharmacological) have been studied on subjects in order to determine the best treatment for MPA. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) seems to be the most effective, but further investigation is desired. Some musicians, in addition to CBT, also take β-blockers; however, these drugs should only be prescribed occasionally after analyzing the situation and considering the contraindications and possible side effects. Despite these conclusions, more randomized studies with larger, homogeneous groups of subjects would be desirable (according to the EBM criteria), as well as support for the necessity of both MPA prevention and optimized methods of treatment when it does occur.

Music Performance Anxiety: Perceived Causes and Coping Strategies

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S110-S110
Author(s):  
F.L. Osório ◽  
A.B. Burin ◽  
I.S. Nirenberg ◽  
A.E.M. Barbar
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Beta Blockers ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
Competing Interest

IntroductionThe understanding of the causes of music performance anxiety (MPA) and of strategies to cope with it is important for the comprehension/management of this common condition in musicians.ObjectiveTo investigate the causes of MPA reported by Brazilian musicians and the efficacy of the most commonly used strategies to cope with it.MethodsTwo hundred and fourteen Brazilian musicians (53% professional/musicians from orchestras, 67% male, mean age: 34.02 years, 65% with over 11 years of education, 42% of which played string instruments) completed different self-rating scales to assess the presence/absence of MPA.ResultsThirty-nine per cent of the musicians had indicators of MPA. The most commonly reported causes were repertoire difficulty (57%), concerns about audience response (52%), and self-pressure (51%). The most common coping techniques included breathing/relaxing techniques (66%) and increased practice (53%), regarded as efficient by at least 49% of the musicians. Strategies like seeing a doctor/psychiatrist/psychologist and taking antidepressant/anxiolytic medication were among the least frequently used in the sample. Also, 18% of musicians with MPA used beta-blockers and 6% used non-prescribed medications. Comparatively, musicians with MPA believed that it was associated with a higher number of conditions and regarded coping techniques as less efficient.ConclusionMusicians consider internal situations to be the most frequent causes of MPA and use different coping strategies with average effectiveness. Results highlight the poor use of well-established therapeutic resources and the occurrence of self-medication in the sample, which together point to the need for attention on the part of mental health professionals to this specific group.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI): Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Ukrainian version

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-44
Author(s):  
Olena Ksondzyk
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Exploratory Factor Analysis ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
Relationship Context

Introduction: Music performance anxiety (MPA) is one of the most common psychological problems among musicians, regardless of their age, gender or level of stage experience. Since empirical studies of this subject are just emerging in Ukraine, there is a lack of psychometrically valid instruments for measuring it. Many specific instruments are available to evaluate MPA in English, but they have to be adapted for the Ukrainian population. One of such significant psychodiagnostic tools is the Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI) used for different cultural contexts. Purpose: The aim of this research is to study the factor structure of the Ukrainian version of K-MPAI. Methodology: In order to assess the K-MPAI’s linguistic and conceptual equivalence, the questionnaire was translated using blind back-translation method. Thereafter, the sample of 252 professional musicians (aged 19–66, M = 38, SD = 11.24; 59% women and 41% men) completed the K-MPAI. Results: An exploratory factor analysis with principal axis factoring and oblimin rotation method was performed based on the K-MPAI items. The optimal implementation of parallel analysis revealed three factors that explain 44.99 % of variance; they are named “proximal performance concerns”, “early relationship context”, and “psychological vulnerability”. The internal consistency of the Ukrainian version of K-МPAI presents excellent value with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.871 and high temporal stability (r = .84; p<0.001). Discussion & Conclusions: These findings demonstrate evidence of construct validity and reliability of the Ukrainian version of K-MPAI and partially support the theoretical model that became the basis for the development of the original measure. This questionnaire can be used as a valid tool to assess MPA in Ukrainian scientific research

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