Classical Music Students’ Pre-performance Anxiety, Catastrophizing, and Bodily Complaints Vary by Age, Gender, and Instrument and Predict Self-Rated Performance Quality

Abstract

Music performance anxiety (MPA) is a multifaceted phenomenon occurring on a continuum of severity. In this survey study, we investigated to what extent the affective (anxiety), cognitive (catastrophizing), and somatic (bodily complaints) components of MPA prior to solo performances vary as a function of age, gender, instrument group, musical experience, and practice as well as how these MPA components relate to self-rated change in performance quality from practice to public performance. The sample comprised 75 male and 111 female classical music university students, aged 15–45 years. Age was positively associated with anxious feelings and bodily complaints. Compared to male students, female students reported significantly more anxious feelings and catastrophizing. Singers reported less anxious feelings and catastrophizing than instrumentalists. Breathing-, mouth- and throat-related complaints were highest among singers and wind players; hand- and arm-related complaints were highest among string players and pianists. The indices of musical experience and practice had marginal effects. An average of four bodily complaints bothered the participants strongly to very strongly. Worsening in performance quality from practice to public performance was reported by almost half of the participants and was best predicted by anxious feelings and breathing-related complaints. We conclude that age, gender and instrument play a significant role in understanding the phenomenology of MPA. Musicians should be examined according to these characteristics rather than as one homogenous population. In particular, it might be valuable to develop assessment tools for MPA that incorporate items related to the bodily complaints that are most relevant to the different instrument groups. Breathing-related complaints could add an important dimension to the investigation of MPA and music performance. Finally, the high percentage of students reporting worsening of their performance quality from practice to public performance highlights the need of professional support to help music students be able to perform at their best and thrive as artists.

Repeated stage exposure reduces music performance anxiety

“…We created a solo-performance environment directly comparable with real audition settings, which also contained several social-evaluative factors. These have been reported to be major triggers of explicit monitoring, a form of disruptive and excessive attention to skill processes and procedures during the performance of well-learned, complex motor tasks ( DeCaro et al, 2011 ; Guyon et al, 2022 ; Sokoli et al, 2022 ). For instance, the audience included professional musicians and advanced music students, and appearances were videotaped.…”

“…Our data can contribute to understand some aspects of MPA management. The causes of MPA can be multifactorial and diverse ( Brodsky, 1996 ; DeCaro et al, 2011 ; Studer et al, 2011b ; Kenny et al, 2014 ; Kenny and Ackermann, 2015 ; Haccoun et al, 2020 ; Papageorgi and Welch, 2020 ; Jane, 2022 ; Sokoli et al, 2022 ). Therefore, our data can only partially contribute to the management of MPA.…”

Symptoms of and coping strategies for music performance anxiety through different time periods

“…Therefore, we could not compare the data of pianists with those of other instrumentalists or singers. Since previous literature suggests that MPA symptoms can vary among different types of musicians ( Sokoli et al, 2022 ), future work should investigate how the characteristics of instruments affect coping strategies for MPA. Finally, the questionnaire survey and the interview could not objectively assess the effectiveness of different coping strategies in public performance situations.…”

Dispositional and performance-specific music performance anxiety in young amateur musicians

“…Correlations of higher degrees of MPA in young musicians were found with lower self-confidence and with lower performance quality ( Ryan, 2005 ). Young musicians (aged 7–17 years) often reported a worsening of the performance quality in public performances compared to practice situations ( Sokoli et al, 2022 ).…”