Musical performance anxiety (MPA) is a deleterious phenomenon that affects musicians of all ages and performance abilities. There are a number of musicians who experience great joy and exhilaration when performing, but for other musicians, performing can elicit feelings of dread, terror, or fright. In many cases, MPA can be so severe that symptoms noticeably disrupt performances, or end careers.
MPA is stimulated by performing or being in front of an audience, and results from anticipating a negative evaluation. MPA, in its most recent definition, is typically understood as resulting from a combination of three disparate, but interacting phenomena: psychological arousal, behavioral alterations, and fearful thoughts. Currently, there are three widely accepted treatment options available for those suffering from MPA. Although many of these techniques have been tested on individuals suffering from other performance anxieties such as: public speaking anxiety, sports performance anxiety, and test anxiety; interest in MPA has generated enough interest to explore the use of similar or identical techniques on stressed musicians. Behavioral therapies, cognitive therapies, drug-induced therapies, and alternative therapies all serve to address the three phenomena responsible for MPA, previously mentioned. Current research indicates that there is no clear-cut evidence which suggests the superiority of any one approach, or any benefit from combining treatments. Therefore, the aim of this paper will be to provide a thorough review of the literature currently present, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of current methodologies. Further directions and conclusions will also be discussed, allowing the general population to discern...
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There is a term for the anxiety that affects performance. Musical Performance Anxiety (MPA) has been defined by the PhD, Levy JJ. (PhD, MA & BA,2011). MPA is like stage fright. When a drum corps member is performing or they might be nervous, have butterflies in their stomach. These are the effect of anxiety during performance. A study by PhD, MA conducted on drum corps members showed the effects of anxiety and created the term MPA. The highest amount of MPA was found in color guard performers due the effect guard members have on the show appearance. The root cause for this in guard members and drum crop members is how the performers are treated during practice. The comments coaches make during practice effect the state anxiety in performers. These similar thought go through the performer in
This essay will explore the perspectives of music therapists including Julie Sutton and Gary Ansdell and research of Psychologists Paul Gilbert, Nigel Hunt and Sue Mchale.
Performing or public speaking of any kind is difficult, but that difficulty can help to build confidence. Fine arts gives students the ability to perform and build confidence with their own support team of people who do and love the same thing. Not having to perform alone and knowing that everything possible has been done to ensure a good performance helps performers be confident in themselves and in their abilities. “Puneet Jacob, former choristers and current assistant conductor, says kids are often afraid to perform because of fear of failure.” (Lefebvre) The more a person faces their fear, especially when they do well and the fear is disproved, the less afraid he or she will become. When students work on music or a play for months on end, they become much more confident in themselves and what they can do than they were when they first began.
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Music therapy works because of its three fundamentals: the application of systematic thinking through music theory, the creation of an individualized treatment plan, as well as the patie...
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Every performer, no matter how long they’ve been in the business will be effected by psychological setbacks. These effects can cause major upsets to the level of a performer’s performance, so something must be done to control these feelings. All performers have different techniques to cope with these symptoms, and in this next section I will provide some of these.
In order to understand why the use of music therapy is growing, one must know what exactly music therapy is. Music Therapy is an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. Music therapy also provides avenues for communicati...