Performance anxiety is a common problem for musicians. Although empirical research on adult musicians is growing, child musicians have largely been overlooked. This study examined the experience of performance anxiety in 173 children. Participants in Grades 3-7 completed the State form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (C. D. Spielberger, D. C. Edwards, R. E. Lushene, J. Montuori, & D. Platzek, 1973) at 2 points in time: during a regular school day and on the day of a major school concert. Trait anxiety was also measured on the 1st occasion. It was found that state anxiety was significantly higher on the day of the school concert and was related to children's level of trait anxiety. No differences were found for type of music class. Gender differences were apparent in upper elementary grades.
The purpose of this study was to examine musical performance anxiety in children, with a focus on potential gender differences. Twenty-six sixth-grade students performing in a piano recital were monitored continuously on measures of heart rate and behaviour. Participants were interviewed in the months prior to the recital and they completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children immediately after performing. It was found that girls’ heart rates rose through each recital stage (before playing and during playing). Boys’ heart rates rose minimally prior to performing but exceeded the girls’ while performing. Significantly more anxious behaviours were displayed by boys both prior to and while performing. Three sets of correlation and regression analyses (all children, girls-only, boys-only) were run on all anxiety measures. Several significant relationships in the ‘all children’ group seemed to be driven by a strong relationship in a single gender that was not apparent in the other gender.
The purpose of this study was to examine the performance experiences of choral singers with respect to music performance anxiety. Members of seven semiprofessional choirs ( N = 201) completed questionnaires pertaining to their experience of performance anxiety in the context of their performance history, their experience with conductors, and their use of coping mechanisms. Results indicated that performance anxiety was a common experience for these choral singers. Solo performances were reported to be more anxiety inducing than ensemble experiences, but performing in instrumental ensembles induced greater anxiety than choral ensembles. Participants with college music training reported less frequent, although not less severe, episodes of performance anxiety than those without. The conductor emerged as one of the primary factors in choral singers' experience of performance anxiety.
Performance anxiety is a common experience among musicians. Recent studies have found it to be an issue not only for adult performers but also for developing musicians as early as third grade. The question as to its developed or innate nature led to the present inquiry pertaining to young children’s responses to performance situations. Sixty-six 3- and 4-year-olds taking group music lessons that culminated in two concerts served as participants. Self-report of anticipatory anxiety, cortisol secretion, and observation of anxious behaviors were the primary measures. Results indicated that young children did experience anxiety with respect to music performances and that responses seemed to have both innate and developed components. Children with prior performing experience reported less anticipatory anxiety, but had higher cortisol levels, than those without prior experience. Additionally, performance location seemed to play a role in children’s anxiety responses. Those who were familiar with their performance environment responded with less anxiety than those who were not. Overall, second performances within a short time frame elicited much lower anxiety responses than initial performances. Findings pertaining to performance location and second performances appear to have direct pedagogical implications, which may help to reduce performance stress in young children.
We investigated how the attractiveness bias that influences the judgment of a variety of characteristics and behaviors in infants, children, and adults affects the evaluation of young pianists' performances. The assumption was that both the visual and the audio components of a videotaped musical performance influence the viewer's perception of performance quality. We asked children, musicians, and nonmusicians (n = 75) to rate the quality of 10 piano performances from audiotapes (sound only) and from videotapes (sound and image). Additionally, the participants rated the attractiveness of the performers from brief videos of the performers getting ready to play. Results show that evaluations of audiovisual recordings of musical performances are judged more reliably than are audio recordings but also suggest that they may be affected by an attractiveness bias. The bias was found to favor the more attractive pianists among the female performers and among the best players, and the less attractive pianists among the male performers. The decision to use more reliable means of evaluation (videotapes or DVDs) at the expense offavoring a particular group of performers would have to be taken carefully depending on the outcomes of the situation.
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