Music Performance Anxiety

Question 1

List some symptoms or signs of music performance anxiety (MPA)

Answer 1

Butterflies in stomach; sweaty palms; negative self-talk; stomach pain; dry mouth; excessive swallowing; shortness of breath; fuzzy thinking; avoidance; giving up

Question 2

What can a little bit of stress do?

Answer 2

Improve your game, motivating you to practice so you’re sufficiently prepared; rush of adrenaline can sharpen performance

Question 3

Describe some repercussions of MPA

Answer 3

Feels unfair after all the hard work has been thwarted by fear/discomfort; can limit ability to develop talent & performance charisma; may wonder whether to pursue public performance at all; some decide to play in ensembles rather than solo; some become music educators

Question 4

What are some of the disciplines interested in MPA?

Answer 4

Sciences (biology, physiology); humanities (literature, history, philosophy); social sciences (sociology, anthropology, psychology)

Question 5

What general stresses are most performers affected by?

Answer 5

Having to perform under conditions of high adrenalin flow, anxiety, fatigue, social pressure & financial insecurity

Question 6

Name some famous performers who suffered from MPA

Answer 6

Chopin, Challas, George Harrison, Barabara Streisand & Cat Power

Question 7

Why are there wide discrepancies (from 16-96%) about the prevalence of MPA?

Answer 7

Definition of MPA; culture in orchestras (don’t want to give competitors psychological advantage); don’t want to show weakness to coaches/instructors; denial

Question 8

A recent Australian survey asked 357 musicians from all 8 premier state orchestras about their levels of MPA using a 40 item questionnaire. What was reported?

Answer 8

Muscle tension (44%); heart rate pounding in chest (42%); confident they would perform well (43%); level of worry interfered with focus & concentration (37%)

Question 9

How can MPA be defined?

Answer 9

Experience of marked & persistent anxious apprehension related to musical performance that had arisen through underlying biological &/or psychological vulnerabilities &/or specific anxiety conditioning experiences

Question 10

What’s a feature of MPA that distinguishes it from other forms of performance anxiety?;
What can create a disastrous positive feedback loop that is common to MPA?

Answer 10

Level of ego-investment involved - training often begins at an early age over many years; process involves a great deal of time in practice & introspection;
Compound anxiety (fear of fear)

Question 11

What is the most commonly cited definition of MPA by Salmon?

Answer 11

The experience of persisting, distressful apprehension about &/or actual impairment of performance skills in a public context, to a degree unwarranted given the individual’s musical aptitude, training & level of preparation

Question 12

How are symptoms characterised?;

How can MPA worsen?

Answer 12

Autonomic (sweating, racing heart); Psychological (cognitive, emotional); Behavioural (musical timidity, performance avoidance, loss of memory/technical ability);
As the musician experiences, remembers, or imagines the disastrous effects of MPA on quality of performance

Question 13

According to Dianna Kenny, MPA may be focal (focused only on music performance) or what?

Answer 13

Occur comorbidly with other anxiety disorders, in particular, social phobia

Question 14

What milestone has occurred in the development of MPA research?

Answer 14

Addition of a new specifier for Social Anxiety Disorder (replacing social phobia) in DSM-5; doesn’t mention MPA specifically but lists musicians among those who suffer from performance anxiety

Question 15

Low levels of MPA are generally manageable with what?;
The more high risk the performance, the what?;
What has chronic levels of MPA been found to lead to?

Answer 15

Healthy lifestyle (exercise, fresh air, good nutrition, sufficient sleep) & adequate preparation;
Higher levels of MPA are likely to occur;
Unhealthy coping methods

Question 16

In Kenny’s emotion-based Model of MPA development, what are the first 2 aspects that account for the development of MPA?;
What can the combination of both result in?

Answer 16

Generalised biological/heritable vulnerability (genetic contribution to temperament; high anxiety sensitivity); Generalised psychological vulnerability (sense that life is unpredictable/uncontrollable; negative affect; develops early);
The development of anxious apprehension; sufficient to produce generalised anxiety

Question 17

What’s the 3rd aspect that accounts for the development of MPA according to Kenny’s model?;
Once anxiety has been triggered, what can happen?

Answer 17

Specific life experiences that establish psychological vulnerabilities (exposure to evaluations in competitive environments; can trigger conscious/unconscious anxiety producing experiences/somatic sensations);
Person moves into a self-evaluative attention state (perceived inadequate coping strategies; catastrophic self statements that disrupt concentration/performance)

Question 18

In the 3rd stage of Kenny’s model, specific environmental experiences become conditioned in specific situations. This is necessary for what?

Answer 18

The development of non-generalised & specific phobias (i.e. MPA)

Question 19

Explain how panic attacks are not the same as generalised anxiety

Answer 19

They require the experience of a specific psychological vulnerability when the anxiety becomes associated with internal stimuli (somatic sensations/internal thoughts) or environmental stimuli (social evaluation) - & these stimuli have become associated with heightened threat or danger through conditioning

Question 20

80% of people with a panic disorder can recall what?;

Name 2 risk factors associated with panic attacks

Answer 20

A negative live event preceding their first panic attack (this can trigger false alarms);
High anxiety sensitivity (biological vulnerability); negative affect (psychological vulnerability)

Question 21

In the case example of an oboe player, who had completed studies with distinction & began auditions for national/international orchestras, the audition process was impersonal, short in duration with no feedback. What were some of the features of severe MPA that developed?

Answer 21

Sense of unpredictability (anxiety) & uncontrollability (depression); physiological arousal (dry mouth); anxiety evoking situational cues (impersonal assessment & no feedback); attentional shift (away from performance to self); fear of negative evaluation & failure

Question 22

What are 2 primary approaches to the treatment of MPA?;
What kind of therapy might a psychodynamic therapist formulate for an MPA client?;
What might the focus be on for a cognitive-behavioural therapist?

Answer 22

Management of physical tension & management of maladaptive thoughts;
In terms of a diagnosis of neuroticism, involving features such as perfectionism, self-doubt & a tendency to anticipate negative results;
Based on DSM-V, with emphasis on attention redirection training, relaxation, anxiety management & systematic desensitisation

Question 23

According to Margaret Osbourne, when does MPA peak in adolescence?;
When does anxiety enhance performance?;
What are some characteristics of success-oriented students?

Answer 23

Around age 15 (associated with poor performance & educational outcomes in music);
When individual skill level matches performance demands of situation; when anxiety is interpreted positively (success-oriented);
Optimistic, proactive & positively orientated to tasks; respond to setbacks & failure with optimism & energy

Question 24

In Osbourne’s study, 55 girls aged 13.8 learned an instrument for average of 3.9 yrs. What tools were used?;
What was the procedure?

Answer 24

15 item measure of MPA for adolescents & a 44 item measure of motivation & engagement for music learning & performance activities across 6 adaptive & 6 maladaptive cognitive & behavioural dimensions;
Experimental group (n=27) undertook program during term 3; control group (n-28) was waitlisted to term 4; 1 hr 15 min sessions weekly for 8 wks after school

Question 25

What did Osbourne’s sessions include in the program?;

Immediately after the program what was reported?

Answer 25

Peak performance/personal strengths; goal setting & motivation; self-talk; performance routines & preparation; mental rehearsal; stress management & wellbeing; focus & flow; dealing with setbacks
Significantly reduced MPA

Question 26

After a 2 month follow up what was found in the students?;

Students were also less likely to what?

Answer 26

More optimistic about learning & performance; stronger beliefs about musical abilities; more persistent in the face of difficulty; planned tasks more effectively; felt more in control & autonomous;
Avoid performances due to fear of failure; self-sabotage such as ineffective preparation & procrastination

Question 27

According to Yerkes-Dodson Law, optimal performance involves what?;
Emotional arousal is no longer considered what?;
List some different types of arousal

Answer 27

Optimal level of arousal;
Unidimensional;
Sympathetic (automatic); attentional; electro-cortical; behavioural activation; distinct emotions each with own distinct arousal pattern

Question 28

Hanouch & Vitouch argue that panic is adaptive in what way?;
An optimal performance is determined by a complex interaction between what?;
When all these aspects occur at an optimal level, the performance is said to be what?

Answer 28

It restricts the allocation of attention to essential information (evolutionary perspective);
A person’s characteristics, task characteristic & performance demands & setting;
“In the zone”, or to have a achieved a state of “flow”

Question 29

How can Flow be defined?;

When does it occur?

Answer 29

A state of complete focus & immersion in an activity; culmination of discipline, dedicated practice, concentration & perseverance;
When the challenges are matched with the necessary underlying skill & the honing of those skills to achieve mastery

Question 30

What is IZO?;

The challenge is to discover the IZO for each individual performer based on what?

Answer 30

Individualised zone of optimal functioning; performer has achieved the optimal level of pre-performance anxiety that creates excitement & enhances mental focus & alertness;
The complex interactions of temperament, skill level, performance experience & physiology