Reduction of performance anxiety in music students

Abstract

M any music students experience considerable anxiety when they perform. The present article describes a two-session hypnotherapeutic approach combining relaxation, positive suggestion, and symbolic success imagery designed to reduce this performance anxiety. The subjects of the study were 40 second-and third-year music students studying at a conservatoriurn of music who were paired on the basis of their Performance Anxiety Inventory scores. One member of each pair was allocated at ra.ndom to an experimental group and the other to a control group. Further administrations of the Performance Anxiety Inventory (PAl) took place immediately after conclusion of the two-session treatment and 6 months later. At the time of this followup, subjects completed an anecdotal report providing information on their performance over the previous 6 months. Results indicate that the method is likely to assist musicians in the reduction of their stage fright.

Anxiety-Induced Changes in Movement Behaviour during the Execution of a Complex whole-body task

“…These authors demonstrated differences in co-ordination patterns suggesting less efficient movements in high-anxiety conditions. Obviously, insight into the relation between anxiety and movement behaviour may have implications for designing techniques to control anxiety in order to optimize performance on perceptual-motor skills in several domains such as sports (e.g., Gould & Udry, 1994), dance (e.g., Wilson, 2002), making music (e.g., Stanton, 1994), police work (e.g., Anderson, Litzenberger, & Plecas, 2002;Le Scanff & Taugis, 2002), work of fire fighters (e.g., Ryan, Ployhart, Greguras, & Schmit, 1998), and armed forces (e.g., Arthur, Young, Jordan, & Shebilske, 1996).…”

The neuro-pianist

“…Those habitually comprise cognitive behavioral treatment (Kendrick et al, 1982; Harris, 1987; Nagel et al, 1989), various relaxation techniques (Sweeney and Horan, 1982; Niemann et al, 1993), pharmacological methods, such as beta blockers which reduce sympathetic activation by stress (Neftel et al, 1982; Nube and Musicobgy, 1991), or even hypnosis (Stanton, 1994). The efficacy of all these methods is debatable (Kenny, 2005).…”

Music performance anxiety: A clinical outcome study into the effects of cognitive hypnotherapy and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing in advanced pianists

“…The present study builds on the investigations of Feener (2005), Plummer (2007), and (Stanton, 1994). It tests MPA across three different domains -cognitive, physiological/somatic and behavioural -and draws on the three-systems model of Lang et al (1988) testing 46 advanced pianists pre, during and post solo performance focusing on cognitive anxiety.…”

“…Two pilot studies using hypnotherapy were conducted with musicians suffering from MPA (Plott, 1987;Stanton, 1993) and extended in a large-scale study when Stanton (1994) paired pianists according to their scores on the Performance Anxiety Inventory (PAI; Nagel, Himle, & Papsdorf, 1981). One of each pair was assigned either two sessions of hypnotherapy or to a non-treatment condition.…”

“…Although little research has been conducted into the effects of EMDR in the field, it was beneficial in reducing anxiety in singers regarding idiosyncrasies in the subjective vocal range (Feener, 2005). This research was extended when Plummer (2007) focused on maladaptive memories of situationalstates in brass players and found that EMDR was helpful in changing dysfunctional memories.The present study builds on the investigations of Feener (2005), Plummer (2007), and (Stanton, 1994). It tests MPA across three different domains -cognitive, physiological/somatic and behavioural -and draws on the three-systems model of Lang et al (1988) testing 46 advanced pianists pre, during and post solo performance focusing on cognitive anxiety.…”