Anxiety can be experienced by people in any field, but its presence is especially well documented in performance-based disciplines. Musical performance is one such area. The distress that musicians can experience before or during a performance is commonly known as Musical Performance Anxiety (MPA). Because anxiety itself encompasses a wide range of symptoms, identifying all of the symptoms of MPA is challenging. (see footnote 1) Researchers and musicians have a variety of opinions as to what symptoms fall under the category of MPA, with some including any small indication of nerves (“butterflies,” sweaty palms, dry mouth, increased heart rate) to more significant cognitive and physical disruptions that do not necessarily reflect the musician’s training or level of preparation, yet can cause the impairment of a performance. (see footnote 2) Symptoms of these more severe disruptions can include the uncontrollable shaking of the hands or feet, the inability to concentrate or recall memorized selections, dizziness, or nausea. (see footnote 3)
Although performers have been aware of the effects of MPA on their minds and bodies for centuries, active study of the phenomenon and the development of strategies for coping with it are relatively recent. (see footnote 4) Many of the tools that have been developed for coping with MPA are designed to be used by adults who possess knowledge of basic life experiences and who have generally advanced cognitive abilities. Studies indicate that young children can and do suffer from MPA as well, but little has been done to provide these young children with age-appropriate, concrete strategies that can help them either prevent or cope with anxiety when they are in performance situations. (see footnote 5)
By drawing on critical work of psychologists, sport psychologists, musicians, and music educators, this series of articles will present strategies already developed by these professionals that can be adapted for use by private music teachers to help identify, prevent, and alleviate anxiety-related symptoms in their students, specifically children in the primary developmental stage of six-to-nine years old. Children in this age range are at a key developmental stage for a number of reasons, two of which are of importance for this article series: first, they are still predominantly concrete thinkers, thereby in need of concrete rather than abstract coping strategies; second, children in this age range are typically just beginning private musical instruction. (see footnote 6) Adapting already-established coping techniques will equip music teachers and young students alike with practical, age-appropriate tools for addressing MPA from the very first lesson.
Imagine the following scenario: the auditorium lights dim and the audience settles in for the year-end music recital. Backstage the participants engage in a variety of pre-concert rituals, but two students sit apart, heads down. One student mentally replays her last performance which was, in her mind, a disaster. Unable to remember a certain portion of her piece, she had stopped mid-way through and exited the stage feeling ashamed. And now as she waits in anxious anticipation of this next performance, she is overwhelmed by feelings of fear, failure, and premature defeat. As her hands shake, her pulse races, and her mouth goes dry, her mind is a whirlwind of “what if” scenarios. All too soon the time to perform arrives and she walks on stage in a cloud of emotions and anxiety. Unable to ignore the negative memories and physical symptoms, she muddles her way through the performance and walks off the stage, again awash in shame. The second student is also withdrawn before performing, sometimes sitting, sometimes quietly pacing backstage, alone in her own world. But she is not replaying moments of fear and failure. Instead, she is breathing deeply, quietly walking herself through a successful mental performance, feeding her mind positive information, clearly and calmly rehearsing each moment of her upcoming performance, and imagining the thoughts, sounds, and feelings that she will experience in a positive, productive way. When it is her turn to perform, she does so confidently and exits the stage pleased with her performance. This scenario plays out year after year in recitals across the globe. Why do some students struggle mentally and physically, experiencing poor performances, and how can teachers help them navigate these and other symptoms typical of MPA?
This series will address the following areas; Musical Performance Anxiety, typical developmental markers for children in the primary stage, key theories of anxiety, and how other professionals have addressed the issue of performance anxiety, and finally, it will conclude with a discussion of coping techniques accompanied by practical exercises and scripts I have developed based on the research presented in this paper, along with an annotated resource list available in the appendix for further study. These developed tools are intended for use by teachers in weekly lessons and by students in their daily practice. In order to understand how to successfully present coping strategies, a discussion of what MPA is, typical manifestations, and how teachers can recognize and address it with young students follows.
Continue reading Part 2.
—Written by Jessica Koebbe, published August 2020.
Read this article for a working definition of MPA in this series and explore cognitive and physical symptoms here.
1 Dianna Kenny, The Psychology of Music Performance Anxiety, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 68-71.
2 Ibid., 69-70.
3 Yu-Huei Su, Jerjunn Luh, Hsin-I Chen, Chao-Chen Lin, Miin-Jiun Liao, Heng-Shuen Chen “Effects of Using Relaxation Breathing Training to Reduce Music Performance Anxiety in 3rd to 6th Graders,” Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 25, no. 1 (2010): 81.
4 Dianna Kenny, The Psychology of Music Performance Anxiety, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 47.
5 Hélène Boucher and Charlene Ryan, “Performance Stress and the Very Young Musician,” Journal of Research in Music Education Vol 58:4, 2011.
6 John S. March, ed., Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents (New York: The Guilford Press, 1995), 98.