Arellano 1

Audrey Arellano

Professor Gardiakos

ENC1102

16 November 2022

Research Paper

Introduction

As a former violinist of 12 years, I have a good amount of experience to advocate for a

lot of the positive and negative aspects of working in an orchestral ensemble. In theory, the

individuals of an ensemble are supposed to come together and coordinate appropriately in order

to perform music in a certain or “right” way. Traditionally, everyone is given or presented with

sheet music that will straight up tell you what you are supposed to play, but any artist will know

that there are other crucial components that play an important part in having a fully functioning

orchestra. Performance involves a lot of technicality, devotion, communication, interpretation,

skill, and also basic ability towards your instrument. It is a mutual understanding that everyone

should be on the same page, but of course, naturally everyone operates differently and every

musician within the orchestra will not be able to keep up with the individuals that are more

proficient. This brings me into the topic of the effects of competitive hostility on a musician's

motivation and passion for their instrument.

Rivalry was a growing issue for me, especially as I started advancing within the industry

and starting gaining more performance and educational opportunities. Playing the violin

specifically, I saw how intense a lot of other kids were in their training so that they could also get

the same kind of recognition and spotlight. In the article “When Interpersonal Competition Helps

and When it Harms: An Integration via Challenge and Threat”, we are introduced to the concept
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of “interpersonal competition” where one reflects and acts upon their desires by comparison with

relative superiority. This applies greatly to the issue as everyone in the orchestra is constantly

judging themselves and each other. At first things were fine for me, there were times where I felt

like I was doing relatively better than most kids my age, and that had been something I had taken

pride in, however I really felt the struggle once I had joined more competitive communities such

as the audition based organization that is the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra. I had never felt

so much pressure when it came time to meet up with these groups for rehearsal because there

was such a high standard and friendly, unfriendly rival musicians sitting right next to you. A few

years with these people was enough to take a toll on my self esteem, motivation, and overall

passion towards music, which eventually led to me quitting it entirely. What interests me the

most was that I liked the rigorous environment at one point. For a good amount of time, I used

whatever friction as a drive to push me to try harder and practice more so that I can work to be at

another person’s level or maybe even try to be the best. However, this became mentally and

physically exhausting to the point where it wasn’t healthy enough for me to keep playing.

I am aware that not all young musicians will handle the competitive environment the

same way I did. Clearly, it is not the breaking barrier between leaving or staying as there are

many well accomplished artists of many ages that went through way more challenges than I did

to get to where they are today. I may have made a mess of my situation, but I want to see how

other musicians in young ensemble groups use their behaviors and validation to their advantage

or disadvantage and be able to answer the question, “How does rivalry and competition influence

the motivation of young musicians in high school?”

Research Synthesis
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Everyone handles conflict differently. In the case of competitive hostility, there are

definitely ways to avoid it and to allow these students to flourish with healthy competition, but

perhaps when it is done the right way. Developmental youth is heavily stressed in the journal

“Competitive Readiness” where a lot of the outcomes are affected by individual and social

support, as well as environmental factors. Of course, naturally, with positive surroundings and

communities full of encouragement, there is a greater chance the child will stay in that activity. I

found this interesting, because maybe it is not just the rigorous activity of being a musician, but

also the conditions of everything around them that is degrading their motivation. Controlling the

cognitive and physical maturation as the student progresses will have a lot to do with how they

learn to handle the pressure and struggles of a straining community. One’s capabilities will vary

from one to another, so it is important to nurture everyone into enhancing their abilities to the

fullest. Everyone’s mind (cognitive) and body (physical) matures at different rates, so at some

point, it may be up to the mentor to provide proper guidance.

Amongst the discourse, there is only one conductor instructing the ensemble.

Realistically, there is no room to look out for each performer and make sure they are on par with

the person next to them. This could leave room for others to stand out for better or for worse.

David A. Williams expressed how difficult large performance groups can be because of lack of

control and organization. There is immense pressure and extremely high standards for orchestras

to live up to the music, especially with a group of its size; elements of quality and authenticity

are compromised due to lackluster behavior from the performers. Williams states, “The reason

that students leave are many, but the fact remains that we have a difficult time keeping students

interested in our programs, with many dropping out well before they reach any level of musical

maturity” (page 3). While this does not directly correlate with rivalry, these seem to be the
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beginning stages that play into one’s motivation in music. Going back to developmental youth,

first there is the initial interest in the activity, then there is the enjoyment. For most learning

students, enjoyment is found in personal success, happiness, and the response of those around

them. Putting the students in an orchestra will require little mental and physical preparation, it

might not be something that brings them happiness, therefore dropping out. If it is something

they choose to pursue, there is the next conflict of matching the musicians around you

(competition).

A big component of my research is understanding the mental strain that lies within this

situation. There is a recorded study of high cortisol levels in young children when putting on a

musical performance (Boucher and Ryan). Videotaped behavior and stress hormones were

considerably high and significant enough to showcase the underlying tension that comes with

performing by itself. Considering the problem for my research, musical students are already

going to have that type of stress present on top of the other many factors affecting their

motivation of being there in the first place. The anxious behaviors noted from the study was

serious enough as the experiment consisted of three and four year olds, who only had basic

music knowledge and skill set. If they are already experiencing that type of anxiety, how much

more for the premature professional teenagers that are put in the mix. They may be going

through more intense troubles.

Trying to unpack motivation itself is too broad and general. A breakdown of the concept

is needed in order to fully understand what is happening to these young musicians. Chapter three

of the book “Psychology for Musicians” by Andreas C. Lehmann, John A. Sloboda, and Robert

H. Woody, specifically focuses on two types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic is

defined as the motivation that “comes from the activity itself and the enjoyment experienced
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from engaging in it” (page 44). The motivation here is internal and has the most to do with the

musician’s actual passion or maybe lack of passion in the music. On the other hand, we have

extrinsic motivation, which is defined as the “secondary nonmusical rewards that come with

musical participation” (page 45). This type is going to have a lot to do with the emotional

support of the musician as well as the social validation of their peers, especially from those close

to them. I will be using these two ideas to organize the data I gather in my own research. The

authors of this article also bring up certain roles in musical society. Those listed include the

Listeners, Improvisers, and Composers, however for this topic, I will center my attention on the

Performers. My reason for this is because performers are unique in their style, in a way that they

present their strengths and weaknesses differently. Therefore, they must have different coping

mechanisms from each other due to varying developmental history. When everyone has their

own style, there is room for competition, and when there is internal and external motivation,

there is competition as well. The community fights with themselves and with others in order to

seek the goal to be their best self.

A similar article to my topic “From Dropping Out to Dropping In” has gathered results of

ex musicians to see if there was a pattern in dropping out. Results from a questionnaire show that

four of the main reasons that they have dropped music is because of (1) access and opportunity,

meaning that not everyone had the means to pursue, (2) activity experience, which mainly

focuses on the bad experiences, (3) obligations, where it feels more like a chore than something

fun, and (4) difficulty practicing. Having this firsthand evidence is good backup information

because it provides other reasons for losing interest that are less personal and more

environmental and out of your control. Even if it was personal, everyone is subject to their own

capabilities and you cannot rely on other people to stop or catch up to your pace. Similarly, there
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is not always going to be a negative outcome of a certain situation. The article “Competition in

Sport, Music, and Dance” by Bonnie E. Robinson, talks about how there is competition

regardless, and everyone is going to be affected differently. This is useful to me as even though I

personally had a negative experience with competing with other performers, not everyone is

going to quit music as easily as I did solely for that reason. You can definitely acknowledge the

possibilities, but you cannot define it with a single direct impact.

I wanted to bring the concept of musical prodigies into the situation here, because they

are definitely amongst the ordinary crowd. “Musical Prodigies: interpretations from

Psychologies, Education, Musicology and Ethnomusicology” covers the physiological factors

that explain why musical prodigies behave the way they do. I found that their minor traumas lead

into major ones, which sounds common enough to generalize it to the rest of us. A section I

found particularly interesting was when Gary McPherson explains how most musical prodigies

will use their trauma as a developmental tool to boost their motivation. A dark turn, but it is in

fact practiced in today’s society. Prodigy behavior could definitely be a part of the crowd I

interview for my research so this is interesting to keep in mind.

Unfortunately, there is not enough research that is particularly targeted towards the

teenage age range I am studying, specifically the struggling young musicians, however there is

enough evidence about mental health, stress, motivation, and trauma regarding the greater group

of subjectively younger individuals out there to help guide me in my research. With everything I

have unfolded, I have a good base to help me interpret any anticipated and new information I

will come across.

Study Overview
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Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra is one of the most defined youth orchestra programs

around Central Florida and has been a significant establishment for young musicians to join and

explore the music performance industry for nearly a century. I will use this program to study

how high schoolers are affected by such an intense community. In order to conduct this research,

I plan on collecting primary research through one-on-one interviews with current members of the

Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra’s Symphonic Orchestra. Symphonic is the highest ensemble

these adolescents can audition into, meaning that this is a group composed of many talented and

capable musicians, maybe even prodigies. Overall, I will seek the answer to the main question,

all while incorporating other leading questions that will give me more information about this

topic. Throughout the interview, I will inquire about their mental health throughout their years in

FSYO, how long they have been playing, if this was something they still enjoy, do they like the

competitive atmosphere, and whether they plan on pursuing or quitting anytime soon and why.

Methods/Results

In order to conduct my analysis, I had to contact some of the existing members of

FSYO’s 2022-23 Symphonic Orchestra. I chose this ensemble because it is the top orchestra

amongst all four full orchestras (strings, winds, percussion), and for a competition based

organization, this is highly competitive. I decided to leave the band and percussion ensembles as

those discourses have different dynamics and sizes that would not be fair to compare with full

orchestras with the strings. Those that have made the Symphonic season have either started from

the bottom, with the younger, more beginner groups and grew into the program, or they started

later in their years, with enough talent to skip the scale. Meaning that amongst the hundreds of

applicants and auditions they filtered through, only the most experienced, capable, and

supposedly passionate musicians are able to play together.

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FSYO rehearsals take place once a week on Sundays, each ensemble meeting up at

designated times. Initially, I was working to make plans so I could conduct my interviews in

person, however I decided that would not be ideal, as I would be taking time away from practice

and there would not be enough privacy. It was best to reach out to volunteers and then proceed

through video call, that way, I can work with the subjects during times that fit their schedules

better, and they would have better incentive to answer honestly as they could be in their own

personal space. A one on one interview would be more intimate in a sense that they can feel

more comfortable being vulnerable when the question asks them to be.

After emailing and getting my request approved for access to this season’s roster, I

contacted a few musicians from each section to see if they were interested in being part of my

study. From a pool of willing individuals, I pulled two-three people from each section, trying to

include some first years and returning members. Interviewees were given the option to stay

anonymous and all of them gave consent to have their identification and information included in

my project. Those who were at least 18 made their own decisions, those under 18 got permission

from parents to be part of the interview. They were all asked the same questions in this order.

1) How many years have you been playing with FSYO?

2) Were you excited when you got accepted into Symphonic?
3) How many years in Symphonic prior to this season?
4) (INTRINSIC/EXTRINSIC) Do you enjoy playing your instrument?
5) (EXTRINSIC) Is there a sense of fierceness amongst the other students playing with you
in Symphonic?
6) (INTRINSIC) Do you personally feel like there is competition between you and the
other members in your section?
7) Are you planning on pursuing your instrument/music?
8) Why?
- Followup question. Only after they have answered number 6.
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Due to the nature of my research question, I needed to be considerably personal and blunt

in order for the interviewees to understand the point. My interviewees are:

Name Instrument Years in FSYO New or Years in

Returning Symphonic

Frances Li Violin 3 Returning 1

Amanda Findlay Violin 4 Returning 2

William Curser Violin 10 Returning 5

Philip Wang Viola 6 Returning 3

Valeria Van Viola 4 New 0

Horn

Daniel Chen Cello 5 Returning 3

Miya Budlong Cello 3 New 0

Were you excited when you got accepted into Symphonic?

Frances - “Of course, to be able to make it a second time made me feel proud of myself,

especially as a violinist. There were other people who got turned away, so my ego was boosted.

Harsh but it’s the truth”

Amanda - “I was then, and still am now. It’s hard out here and I still feel like I have to fight for

a seat.”

William - “The first time, sure, now I feel like it’s kind of expected from me.”

Philip - “It’s exciting to see the face on my parents when I get to tell them I got in. For me, I

honestly feel nothing.”

Valeria - “I had never felt so excited before actually. I never get this kind of recognition at my

school orchestra.”
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Daniel - “Yes and no. It’s more exciting to see who I’m going to be stuck with for the next year,

but there’s just a small part of me that doesn’t look forward to the effort I’m going to have to

finess through.”

Miya - “Haha yes! It’s so hard to get into, I tried last year and failed. It was so exciting!”

From this question, I see signs of self-validation from Frances because she saw her worth

in herself, as well as Valeria and Miya, which seemed to make sense as those two are the first

years. Amanda displays this as well, but the tone showed signs of distress, much different than

the positive intrinsic reactions. Philip saw validation in family and William does the same, but

probably with more people and seemingly with more pressure as acceptance is “expected” from

him. William’s answer is interesting as it actually isn’t as boasting as it sounds. During the

interview, he almost sounded melancholic. I found that the more experienced, older musicians

were driven from extrinsic motivation and the younger, newer members were motivated

intrinsically.

Notable results from questions 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are simplified with each individual as

follows.

Frances (violinist) 3 years “The people here can get really intense, and
it’s almost snobby how cliquey they can get.
It’s like there’s a hierarchy.”

“It’s weird how it works, the type of

embarrassment you get both humbles and
motivates me.”

- Plans on staying in FSYO

Amanda (violinist) 4 years “Everyone here is talented, therefore I must be

talented too right? I still feel like I don’t
belong here, it’s a lot of pressure sometimes.”
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“I hate how sad some of these people make

me, but I just genuinely love music, so I keep
coming back.”

- Wants to study music, worried about

not being good enough for music
school

William (violinist) 10 years “Of course it’s extremely rewarding, but

sometimes I feel like the violin is my entire
personality and there are times where I loathe
it. It sucks because it’s not like I can just quit
it. I’m in too deep.”

“I feel like maybe people consider me as their

competition, but I personally can never beat
the same girl that claims the spot I feel like I
deserve.”

- Plans on quitting after senior year

Philip (violist) 6 years “It just feels like extracurricular for college
apps now. It’s not hard, but it’s not easy, but I
also find myself putting in less work
nowadays.”

- Plans on quitting after senior year

Valeria (violist) 4 years “It actually makes me feel like I should try
harder whenever I see everyone is playing so
diligently.”

“Viola is fun because I don’t have the same

pressure as violinists do haha”
- Plans on staying in FSYO

Daniel (cellist) 5 years “I hate the atmosphere here sometimes. It

sucks being in the middle of the spectrum
because you’re torn between being annoyed at
those who don’t try practicing the music and
feeling less than those who only ever practice
the music. It’s a weird medium that makes me
uncomfortable.”

- Will continue in FSYO, but since his

friends are slowly graduating and the
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motivation decreases, he is
reconsidering. It is up in the air

Miya (cellist) 3 years “As corny as it sounds, I need to be the

principal chair when I’m a senior.”

“Why would I quit now?”

- Plans on staying in FSYO

There is innocence and naivety in the newer, younger members like Valeria and Miya.

They have the least experience, meaning they have yet to see both the highs and lows that come

with advancing. Frances seems to become more aware, but is still putting up with it, as there are

still benefits for her. Daniel and Philip do not seem to enjoy the art anymore, it is just

“extracurricular” to them. Daniel views rehearsal as a hangout and less practice as a musician.

Philip is only in it for the academic benefits now. The 7 I interviewed here all started with the

same amount of passion. From my results, it seems to be a trend where that passion seems to die

as they progress forward. They go from being proud of themselves, that intrinsic feeling, to

trying to please others, the extrinsic motivation, and then they just stretch that feeling until they

are ready to stop. Alongside the passion, is the decrease in happiness and mental health. Amanda

showed signs of insecurities and did not seem to see her self worth. William understood his

accomplishments, but he sounded tired of it. Someone so accomplished did not feel as lifted as

you would expect them too. This shows that pressure and routine is degrading and could lead to a

loss of motivation and will. The energy from the verbal answers during the interview decreased

from positivity to negativity amongst the same individuals.

The answer portion that covered the “rivalry” based questions showed some connection

with competition leading to negative reactions for the most part. Daniel and Amanda dislike it

and feel that it personally impacts their performance. Frances and William use their trauma to
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stimulate their success. This in particular is interesting because I can consider the prodigy

concept mentioned earlier where there is a slight sadistic drive component that plays into one’s

level of motivation. Philip does not care too much of it, which he clarified is because he is

confident with where he stands and the viola section itself is not as mentally challenging and

competitive. Valeria also mentioned this and if anything, Valeria and Miya enjoy the thrill, or do

not feel it entirely as of right now.

From here, I can deduce that there is a trend with awareness and competition in

decreasing the young musician’s motivation, but it is not the only source. It could be the base

concept, but it truly becomes the problem when it is a recurring burden they live through each

year. Since there were those who found no issue with the rivalry itself, it could also be the type

of rivalry. Wording is everything here because it is one thing for an orchestra to have

competitive clout, but it is another thing for it to have competitive hostility. The problem may lie

in the foundation of the peers and how the community promotes hard work. Majority in FSYO

have the capabilities, that is why they are there in the first place. From here it is human behavior

of ego, greed, and judgment that could be the source of the demeaning trends in this study.

Discussion and Implication

I believe that this research will be helpful towards other young musicians playing in a

certain field, and maybe even the parents of these students as this can reflect what keeps these

people or their kids involved in such extracurricular activity. A main base of this project is to dig

deeper into the mental impacts of the burdens and stress that comes with competition, so any

outcomes could greatly improve the mental health of a lot of young individuals. My study shows

that even prestigious organizations have flaws and will not always allow the student to thrive in

their work.
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A conclusion that I have reached was the fact that routine can be tiring and mentally

exhausting. People overlook highschoolers’ mental state, and think they are doing them a favor

by teaching them harshly as they grow older. This isn’t always the case as they are still

incredibly young still, and need to be treated less like unemotional robots. Forcing students to

out-do each other as performers risks their passion, relationship, and future in music because it

may not be something they enjoy anymore. Especially, since a greater amount could be partaking

in music to explore their interests, it is best to make sure they have a wonderful experience as it

could contribute a new member into the musical industry.

I feel that this should be promoted within musical programs in schools, to create a

healthier environment as students are growing and developing their character, self-esteem, and

well-being. Competition itself is not a bad thing, only when it is taken advantage of by those who

do not know their limits. There is a socially acceptable spectrum and the whole “rivalry” practice

should only be used in moderation. It is saddening to watch people learn to turn away from their

passions, because sometimes it is not even their fault. The main thing I would want others to take

away from this study is the awareness of the situation and to help encourage positivity into other

peoples’ interests.
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Competitive readiness: Developmental considerations to promote positive youth

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