Hyperventilation complaints in music performance anxiety among classical music students

Abstract

Objective: Despite the importance of respiration and hyperventilation in anxiety disorders, research on breathing disturbances associated with hyperventilation is rare in the field of music performance anxiety (MPA, also known as stage fright). The only comparable study in this area reported a positive correlation between negative feelings of MPA and hyperventilation complaints during performance. The goals of this study were a) to extend these previous findings to the period before performance, b) to test whether a positive correlation also exists between hyperventilation complaints and the experience of stage fright as a problem, c) to investigate instrument-specific symptom reporting, and d) to confirm gender differences in negative feelings of MPA and hyperventilation complaints reported in other studies. Methods:We assessed 169 university students of classical music with a questionnaire comprising: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for negative feelings of MPA; the Nijmegen Questionnaire for hyperventilation complaints; and a single-item for the experience of stage fright as a problem. Results:We found a significant positive correlation between hyperventilation complaints and negative feelings of MPA before performance, and a significant positive correlation between hyperventilation complaints and the experience of stage fright as a problem. Wind musicians/singers reported a significantly higher frequency of respiratory symptoms than other musicians. Furthermore, women scored significantly higher on hyperventilation complaints and negative feelings of MPA. Conclusion:These results further the findings of previous reports by suggesting that breathing disturbances associated with hyperventilation may play a role in MPA prior to going on stage. Experimental studies are needed to confirm whether hyperventilation complaints associated with negative feelings of MPA manifest themselves at the physiological level.

Matter Over Mind: A Randomised-Controlled Trial of Single-Session Biofeedback Training on Performance Anxiety and Heart Rate Variability in Musicians

“…It may be the case that those who reported high anxiety in response to initial performance showed dysregulated breathing as found by Studer et al [11]. It may be that hyperventilation in anticipation of performance potentiates physiological anxiety and that either the abdominal breathing training or the slow paced breathing prevented this from occurring after intervention.…”

“…Performance anxiety (PA) has a disproportionate effect on musicians [5], with estimates of prevalence ranging from 15% to 59% [6]–[9]. Physiological symptoms such as tremors, raised heart rate (HR) [10], dry mouth and hyperventilation [11] and cognitive symptoms, including an inability to concentrate [3], interfere with a musician’s ability to perform to the highest possible standard [10] precisely when they need it the most [3]. Musicians work in a highly competitive environment, where negative evaluation by peers, reviewers and audience members is part of the vocation [12].…”

“…Disruption to habitual breathing patterns appear to have a bidirectional relationship with anxiety [47]. Studer et al [11] found that highly anxious individuals reported more hyperventilation prior to music performance. In contrast, slow, deep breathing can have remarkably beneficial effects, lowering blood pressure [48], increasing blood-oxygen concentration and perhaps altering baroreflex function [49], [50].…”

Hyperventilation in Anticipatory Music Performance Anxiety

“…Questionnaire studies yielded evidence that the negative affective dimension of MPA is positively correlated with hyperventilation complaints before a performance (6). Despite the association between anxiety and hyperventilation (7), no study has yet analyzed in detail the breathing behavior that might be associated with MPA by measuring time, volume, and flow parameters, as well as end-tidal CO 2 .…”

Gremlins in My Head: Predicting Stage Fright in Elite Actors

“…A lack of confidence has been linked to negative interpretations of performance situations, causing arousal and debilitative performance effects (Hanton, Mellalieu, & Hall, 2004). Finally, gender can also play a role; females are more likely to experience stage fright (Studer, Danuser, Hildebrandt, Arial, & Gomez, 2011;Wesner, Noyes, & Davis, 1990). In Wesner et al's (1990) study, females scored higher in anxiety in both performance and audition conditions; they also reported more physiological symptoms of stage fright than males, such as cold hands, feeling jittery, sweating hands, upset stomach, and a pounding heart.…”