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Through close evaluation of three empirical studies, demonstrate what music psychology can
reveal about Music Performance Anxiey.

Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) has been a prevailing trait in musicians of all ages and levels
when they take to the stage. There are varying reasons for why MPA appears in performers and is not
solely due to underpinned trait anxiety within the nature of the performer. It manifests itself in
different bodily functions and is not easily defined or treated but can have distressing effects on the
performer. This essay will seek to uncover what music psychology can reveal about this musical
behaviour.
In Thomas and Nettelbeck’s (2013) study of Performance anxiety in adolescent musicians,
they investigated whether anxious dispositions underpin correlations between a higher MPA,
neuroticism, introversion and poorer coping strategies. Their study involved a survey for 90 secondary
school students studying Music, to test whether trait anxiety correlates highly with MPA and whether
it can be predicted by gender differences. Previously, Ryan (2005) has argued that gender differences
regarding MPA do not appear amongst younger samples until 9-10 years of age (cited in Thomas and
Nettelbeck, 2013, p. 625) but after this stage, females tend to report higher cases of MPA. Thomas
and Nettelbeck’s study supported this result as that female scores for the Music Performance Anxiety
Inventory for Adolescents (MPAI-A) differed from the males by three-fifths of the standard deviation.
The cause for this is thought to be due to a generic female trait to display greater fear of being on
display, causing a higher score for MPA. This study had successful findings within their results,
finding that MPA is negatively correlated with extraversion, due to natural confidence being
fundamental in a successful performance. Further to this neuroticism and trait anxiety were positively
correlated with MPA, one of the most significant findings, as it was revealed that having an anxious
disposition will significantly affect performance anxiety. However, the students were require to
answer scaled questions so were aware of the test that they were undergoing, so in this sense there
was low ecological validity. On the other hand, there are difficulties in assessing MPA, due to the
complex and varied nature of which the symptoms occur (Lehmann, Slaboda and Woody, 2007).
Important factors, such as understanding whether the age at which the adolescent started the
instrument affected the score of MPA were not measured, but has been investigated by Osborne and
Kenny (2008) finding that early exposure to competitive environments may be linked to higher MPA.
Other factors that could be included in future studies is the pressure that induced from parents and
teachers and how this affects the anxious disposition of adolescents. Furthermore, the hereditary links
to trait anxiety could be used in further studies, in order to see whether having parents with a tendency
for anxiety correlates with a higher performance anxiety.
Buma, Bakker and Oudejans (2015) investigated the thoughts and focuses of elite musicians
under pressure. The musicians were asked to report where their foci of attention became fixed, when
in situation of excruciating pressure, whether it is after making a mistake in a performance, or feeling
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isolated on stage as all eyes are on them. Often there can be an emotionally snowballing effect in
these moments and ‘the attention typically narrows to a focus on catastrophic cognitive statements
that disrupt concentration and performance’ (Kenny & Osborne, 2006, p. 104, cited in Buma et al,
2015). To discover the changes of attention under pressure, the method used was concept mapping, in
which the participants generated a statement of how pressure affected their performance, which were
then grouped into linked categories. The results of this study showed that of all the linked categories,
focus on physical aspects had the highest rankings for frequency and importance, followed by music-
related focus, showing that a direct focus on objects surrounding them and a reminder of their love of
music were the most helpful in maintaining a high quality performance. Logically, negative thoughts
during a pressurised performance were highly correlated with a poorer performance, although this
came back as the least frequently reported result, suggesting that at elite level, eradicating negative
thoughts becomes easier as performance is a normality in comparison with younger, amateur
musicians. However, there has been research suggesting that pre-performance anxiety can be a good
predictor of performance quality if it is at the optimal level (Turner and Raglin, 1991, cited in Hallam
et al, 2009), so further research would be necessary in order to find and maintain the optimal level of
arousal before performances. Having displaced these musicians from the true circumstances of a
pressurised performance, it is possible that this affected the generation of statements because it is
difficult to recall specific emotions and foci of attention when not in a separate situation. An
interesting investigation that would widen the range of this study is to evaluate how musicians on the
brink of a professional career are affected by these high-pressure situations and the responses they
find to maintain their flow of performance. Furthermore, investigating how calming activities such as
yoga and meditation affect performance could affect a musician’s response to performance anxiety
because the body experiences a more logical and centralised understanding of the evaluation they
receive. The study involving only professional musicians supports the claims that ‘it is fundamentally
unwarranted; that is, it does not stem from being untalented or unequipped to perform’ (Lehmann et
al, 2007, p. 146), and further supporting Thomas and Nettelbeck’s (2013) conclusion that trait anxiety
is highly correlated with MPA.
Nicholson, Cody and Beck (2014) investigated the underlying links between
generalised Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and MPA and the variants involved between MPA
affecting, practice, ensemble and solo performance. 130 professional musicians were assessed in the
aforementioned three performance settings using a Performance Anxiety Questionnaire to also
understand the measures of general anxiety within the musicians’ disposition. The survey could then
be passed onto other relevant individuals known as ‘snowball sampling’ in order to acquire a larger
test sample. The participants had to perform at least four times a year or were excluded from the
study, giving the study a more reliable outcome as it involves more frequent performers. Five specific
aspects of social anxiety measures were taken: Music performance anxiety measures, social anxiety
measures, cognitions during public speaking, social anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. Of these
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measures, significant links included fears of negative evaluation and negative self-statements during
public speaking and were apparent in all three performance settings, suggesting that lack of self-belief
will affect the anxiety levels in performance. Although the anxiety levels when practising were the
lowest, the results showed that there was indication that anxiety was present during a practice setting,
perhaps due to the likelihood of envisioning a performance circumstance. Unlike the three previous
studies, this study involved three separate performing circumstances, explaining that performance
anxiety manifests itself in three primary areas. From this study, the conclusions that were drawn
include recognising fear of negative evaluation as a significant predictor for MPA and that addressing
these concerns will help with treating and overcoming performance anxiety. However, of the
participants involved in this study, it is possible to conclude that musicians who have already
experienced or continually struggle with performance anxiety problems were more likely to reply, so
the sample was not completely representative of all professional musicians. Similar to Buma, Bakker
and Oudejan’s (2015) study, the difficulties that arise are within the artificial settings of which the
study is taken as the musicians cannot completely recall the anxiety felt in a real performance setting.
For the future of this study, it would be interesting to combine the study by Buma et al and Nicholson
et al to discover how the foci of attention varies under pressure within the three performance settings.

Through these three studies, music psychology has revealed that Music Performance Anxiety
is a behavioural trait that affects the amateur and professional musician in any performing
circumstance. Although not all the studies took randomly selected samples it was clear that trait
anxiety and Social Anxiety Disorders often underpin the causes for these cases of MPA within the
tested performing situations. The symptoms that are involved in this kind of anxiety differ
subjectively but the overriding cause comes through a fear of negative evaluation and being aware of
judgement during performance. Being difficult to fully evaluate, MPA still has a lot of potential to
uncover further variants and causes that underpin the prevalence of this anxiety disorder, including the
effect of parents and teachers and performance qualities for adolescent musicians and when in group
and practice circumstances.
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References

Buma, L. A, Bakker F. C., and Oudejans R.R.D. (2015). Exploring the thoughts and focus of elite
musicians under pressure, Psychology of Music, 43.4, 459-472.

Kenny, D.T. and Ackermann, B. (2008). Oxford handbook of Music Psychology. Optimising physical
and pyshological health in performing musicians. (pp. 390-401). Oxford: Oxford University Press

Lehmann, A.C., Slaboda, J.A and Woody, R.H. (2007). Psychology for Musicians. Managing
Performance Anxiety (pp. 145-162). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Nicholson, R. D, Cody, M. W and Beck, J.G. (2014). Anxiety in musicians: On and off stage,
Psychology of Muisc, 43.3, 1-12.

Thomas, J.P. and Nettelbeck, T. (2014). Performance anxiety in adolescent musicians, Psychology of
Music, 42.4, 624-634.