Typologies of Adolescent Musicians and Experiences of Performance Anxiety Among Instrumental Learners

Personality traits in musicians with different types of music performance anxiety

Introduction

This study investigated the relationship between personality traits and MPA in the course of a specific performance.

Methods

For this purpose, symptoms of MPA, functional coping with MPA and performance-related self-efficacy of a sample of 393 musicians including 23% professional, 49% non-professional orchestra musicians and 28% singers in amateur choirs were categorized and then used to analyze differences in the personality traits. The questionnaires used were the NEO-FFI and the PQM.

Results

The results showed that professional orchestra musicians had significantly higher openness and conscientiousness than non-professional orchestra musicians and amateur choir singers. Musicians who had few symptoms of MPA, positive coping with MPA and high self-efficacy across a specific performance (Type 1) have low neuroticism in their personality traits. Regarding MPA, the personality traits were correlated with all MPA scales after the performance but less with MPA scales before and during the performance.

Discussion

Results could indicate that personality traits play a particularly important role in the processing of performance experiences after the performance and suggest focusing on the situation after the performance in particular with professional orchestra musicians.

Exploring the relationships among music performance anxiety, teaching anxiety, and self-efficacy of Chinese preservice music teachers

This quantitative study aimed to explore the relationships among music performance anxiety (MPA), teacher anxiety (TA), and self-efficacy (SE) through a survey study of Chinese preservice music teachers (N = 237). We also examined gender, grade, primary instrument, secondary instrument, music learning time length, and time spent in four activities: peer teaching, practicum, internship, and private teaching as potential predictors of MPA, TA, and SE. Results indicated that the higher the self-efficacy, the lower music performance anxiety and teaching anxiety; Simultaneously, the increased music performance anxiety was associated with an increased teaching anxiety. Partial correlation results indicated a significant but negative correlation between TA and SE with MPA controlled. Teaching anxiety, followed by primary piano, was the strongest predictor of MPA. MPA, followed by SE and peer teaching, was the strongest predictor of TA. TA, followed by grade level, was the strongest predictor of SE. The results from the multivariate analysis of variance revealed that the SE of male preservice music teachers were significantly higher than their female counterparts. As a study implication, music teacher educators may consider interventions and support mechanisms that address both types of anxiety simultaneously to improve overall teacher preparedness.

Dispositional and performance-specific music performance anxiety in young amateur musicians

Introduction

Research on Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) among amateur musicians is of great interest due to inconsistent results in literature. In addition, amateur music represents an important part of musical culture in Germany. Accordingly, the performance experiences of young wind players represent a relevant issue for research and musical practice.

Methods

In the present study, 67 young amateur musicians of a brass choir were examined. Using two different questionnaires, both the dispositional MPA (K-MPAI) and the performance-specific MPA during a joint concert (Performance-specific Questionnaire for Musicians, PQM) were assessed. The PQM measures the symptoms of MPA, functional coping with MPA and self-efficacy before, during and after a specific performance. The PQM was completed by the musicians via an app directly after the concert.

Results

Results showed that about 90% of the young amateur musicians had a low dispositional MPA, but about 10% showed high values. For the concrete performance, however, musicians with high dispositional MPA also experienced a very moderate to low MPA in the concert. On average, the musicians were quite nervous before the performance. After the performance, they showed low levels of MPA. Three types of MPA found in previous studies could be confirmed among the amateur musicians, with three quarters being assigned to the positive type, showing low levels of symptoms associated with consistently high levels of self-efficacy and positive functional coping.

Discussion

The results provide a differentiated picture of different expressions of MPA in young amateur musicians. They also raise further questions about the correlation between dispositional and performance-specific assessment of MPA in musicians in general.

A Short Performance Anxiety Scale for Musicians

Given the prevalence of debilitating anxiety associated with music performance, there is a need for rapid, pinpointed assessment of the extent to which an individual experiences music performance anxiety (MPA). A short, five item scale, the Mazzarolo Music Performance Anxiety Scale (M-MPAS), was developed to capture retrospective self-reported estimates of the frequency, intensity and aversion tendency associated with performing music. 102 musicians completed the scale, as well as an established MPA inventory. The M-MPAS was found to be internally reliable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.894) with all items being statistically relevant to the overall scale. Furthermore, the M-MPAS was correlated with the relevant factors of an established MPA measure (r = 0.791), suggesting that the new scale exhibited good construct validity. M-MPAS is easy to score, with a scale range of 0-30. A score of 11 or above is suggested as the range in which a diagnosis of potential high MPA can be made, but more research into this and the psychometric robustness of the scale is called for. Nevertheless, the reliability and validity demonstrated in the present study, along with the brevity of the M-MPAS suggest that the newly proposed scale may offer considerable triaging benefits for pinpointed assessment of the extent to which an individual experiences MPA.