Heart Rate Variability During Piano Playing: A Case Study of Three Professional Solo Pianists Playing a Self-Selected and a Difficult Prima Vista Piece

Harmat, László; Ullén, Fredrik; Manzano, Örjan de; Olsson, Erik; Elofsson, Ulf; Schéele, Bo von; Theorell, Töres

doi:10.1177/1943862110387158

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the temporal domain, contrary to other studies, only a marginal effect of the number of inter-beat intervals exceeding 50ms was observed. One explanation for this divergence might be that previous studies using temporal heart rate variability measures have been based on physical activity or performance, which could in turn affect variability (da Silva et al 2014;Harmat et al, 2011;Nakahara et al, 2009). Further work should explore how these heart rate variability measures might correspond to emotions related to preparatory actions of performance, as well as anticipatory responses to upcoming familiar passages as neither of these issues were examined in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…In the frequency domain, low-frequency heart-rate variability (LF) in the range of 0.04 -0.15 Hz has been shown to be sensitive to both sympathetic and parasympathetic activation (Bernston et al, 2007;Harmat et al, 2011;Iwanaga et al, 2005), with sympathetic innervation perhaps being dominant (da Silva et al, 2014). High-frequency heart-rate variability (HF) 0.15 -0.4 Hz reflects parasympathetic control (Bernston et al, 2007;Iwanaga et al, 2005).…”

Section: Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Psychophysiological Indices of Music-Evoked Emotions in Musicians

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A number of psychophysiological measures indexing autonomic and somatovisceral activation to music have been proposed in line with the wider emotion literature. However, attempts to replicate experimental findings and provide converging evidence for music-evoked emotions through physiological changes, overt expression, and subjective measures have had mixed success. This may be due to issues in stimulus and participant selection. Therefore, the aim of Experiment 1 was to select musical stimuli that were controlled for instrumentation, musical form, style, and familiarity. We collected a wide range of subjective responses from 30 highly trained musicians to music varying along the affective dimensions of arousal and valence. Experiment 2 examined a set of psychophysiological correlates of emotion in 20 different musicians by measuring heart rate, skin conductance, and facial electromyography during listening without requiring behavioral reports. [...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychophysiological Indices of Music-Evoked Emotions in Musicians

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In a study examining flow state in three performance pianists, flow state was positively correlated with HRV markers of sympathetic arousal ( 18 ). On the other hand, Harmat et al observed a pronounced response in HRV indices of parasympathetic activity among three professional pianists during cognitively demanding performances ( 19 ). Therefore, while non-invasive monitoring of HRV has provided initial insights into autonomic-cardiac functioning during musical performance, there are limited and conflicting findings regarding the relationship between psychological flow and the autonomic-cardiovascular activity in musicians.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Getting Into the Zone: A Pilot Study of Autonomic-Cardiac Modulation and Flow State During Piano Performance

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundMusic performance anxiety is a common experience among elite and professional musicians and impedes performers from achieving flow state, or a state of focused, sustained engagement that promotes optimal performance.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to use heart rate variability (HRV) to determine the psychophysiological underpinnings of optimal music performance.MethodsWe assessed HRV to study how autonomic-cardiac modulation was associated with flow during piano performance. Twenty-two pianists (15–22 years) with at least a Grade 8 Royal Conservatory of Music certification prepared two standardized pieces and a self-selected piece. Performer heart rate data were measured with a Polar 800 watch in 5-min periods immediately before performances, during performances and post-performance. HRV was employed to assess autonomic modulation of cardiac intervals. HRV indices of sympathetic and parasympathetic modulation of the heart were analyzed in 2.5-min segments to monitor short-term autonomic adjustments using the Kubios HRV Software. Flow state was measured using the 36-item Flow State Scale (FSS). Relationships were analyzed using zero-order correlations and multiple linear regressions.ResultsOur sample consisted of 22 RCM Grade 8 certified pianists. Participants achieved the highest level of flow during performance of the Bach piece. Decreased HRV was observed during performance, as indicated by a significant drop in total power. Flow state was positively associated with High Frequency (HF) power during the pre-performance phase, and inversely associated with Low Frequency (LF) power during performance.ConclusionInverse association of flow with LF-HRV during performance affirms the importance of vagal-HR modulation for achievement of flow state. Increased HF-HRV and reduced LF-HRV immediately prior to performance suggests that flow state may be shaped as much by physiological preparation during pre-performance as it is by physiologic responses during performance. Further research is required to validate the correlation between autonomic modulation of the heart and flow state. Evidence of this correlation between autonomic modulation of the heart and achievement of flow state may pave the way for further research on enhancing musical performance and targeting MPA through HRV-based interventions.

show abstract

“…They found increased HR and supressed HRV in the high-stress condition, but contrary to findings from previous research [6], LF power was significantly lower in high stress. Harmat et al [17] examined HR and HRV in expert pianists while playing a familiar piece and while sight-reading a technically demanding unfamiliar piece. They found significantly higher LF power in the latter condition, which corresponded to a more cognitively demanding and (by implication) more stressful task.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity of physiological responses decreases in high-stress musical performance

Williamon

Aufegger

Wasley

et al. 2013

J. R. Soc. Interface.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For musicians, performing in front of an audience can cause considerable apprehension; indeed, performance anxiety is felt throughout the profession, with wide ranging symptoms arising irrespective of age, skill level and amount of practice. A key indicator of stress is frequency-specific fluctuations in the dynamics of heart rate known as heart rate variability (HRV). Recent developments in sensor technology have made possible the measurement of physiological parameters reflecting HRV non-invasively and outside of the laboratory, opening research avenues for real-time performer feedback to help improve stress management. However, the study of stress using standard algorithms has led to conflicting and inconsistent results. Here, we present an innovative and rigorous approach which combines: (i) a controlled and repeatable experiment in which the physiological response of an expert musician was evaluated in a low-stress performance and a high-stress recital for an audience of 400 people, (ii) a piece of music with varying physical and cognitive demands, and (iii) dynamic stress level assessment with standard and state-of-the-art HRV analysis algorithms such as those within the domain of complexity science which account for higher order stress signatures. We show that this offers new scope for interpreting the autonomic nervous system response to stress in real-world scenarios, with the evolution of stress levels being consistent with the difficulty of the music being played, superimposed on the stress caused by performing in front of an audience. For an emerging class of algorithms that can analyse HRV independent of absolute data scaling, it is shown that complexity science performs a more accurate assessment of average stress levels, thus providing greater insight into the degree of physiological change experienced by musicians when performing in public.

show abstract

Heart Rate Variability During Piano Playing: A Case Study of Three Professional Solo Pianists Playing a Self-Selected and a Difficult Prima Vista Piece

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Psychophysiological Indices of Music-Evoked Emotions in Musicians

Psychophysiological Indices of Music-Evoked Emotions in Musicians

Getting Into the Zone: A Pilot Study of Autonomic-Cardiac Modulation and Flow State During Piano Performance

Complexity of physiological responses decreases in high-stress musical performance

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About