Higher music education students’ experiences and management of performance anxiety: A qualitative study

Abstract

This study was undertaken with the intent of exploring three overarching research questions concerning music performance anxiety (MPA). The first objective was to collect descriptive accounts of the everyday experiences of MPA in educational settings. The second objective was to investigate the adaptive coping strategies students utilized to manage their MPA, which were distilled from the data in light of the self-regulated learning framework. Finally, the perceived institutional support around MPA was investigated. A semi-structured interview approach was used as the main data collection method ( n = 10). All students interviewed perceived themselves as experiencing MPA to some extent; however, the intensity of these experiences varied. The most common MPA coping strategies mentioned were increasing individual practice time, and mental skill practices. All students mentioned the importance of preparation, which was associated with self-confidence, leading to higher self-efficacy beliefs, which in return had a positive impact on their management of MPA. Teachers and peers were identified as integral to sustaining students’ well-being and MPA regulation efforts. A positive teacher attitude toward the management of MPA appeared to encourage students’ help-seeking efforts.

Teachers' approaches to music performance anxiety management: a systematic review

“…Perhaps accordingly, a distinction has been made between focusing on technique and mastery, and addressing the affective aspects of being a musician; thus, Tahirbegi ( 2019 ) found a divergence between students who shared experiences of MPA with their instrumental tutors, and those who did not. Some students reported feeling comfortable discussing MPA with their teachers as they felt their teachers could meet them at an emotional level, while others said that their teachers could not offer help in MPA management or the emotional aspects of music, but were more focused on assisting them with technical and musical skills.…”

“…Due to the prevalence of MPA among musicians across varying points of their musical studies and career, research has focused on how to alleviate this issue. Studies have shown that social support can play a significant role in managing MPA, particularly from instrumental teachers and peer support within institutional settings (Tahirbegi, 2019 ). Social support includes various types of psychological assistance, often provided by significant people within the learner's environment such as family, teachers, and peers (Orejudo et al, 2021 ).…”

“…This might make it difficult for educators to be aware of a student suffering MPA, and to identify the need for support. For educators to recognize instances of MPA within their students and to assist in the management of MPA, there must be an understanding of how musicians themselves experience it and their coping tendencies (Tahirbegi, 2019 ).…”

“If We Don’t Have a Good Relationship, We Won’t Deliver Anything Good”: Emotion Regulation in Small Music Ensembles, Insights from Higher Music Education

“…Academic emotions are those that are directly tied to learning, instruction, and achievement (e.g., anxiety, pride, boredom, Boekaerts & Pekrun, 2015;Pekrun et al, 2014). Although emotions are relatively short-term events (Rosenberg, 1998), they are motivationally important in learning as they incite operations that influence students' attention, problem solving, and interactions with others (Järvenoja et al, 2017;Linnenbrink-Garcia & Pekrun, 2014;Lobczowski et al, 2020;Tahirbegi, 2022).…”

On "Teaching" and "Learning" of Music Education in Senior High School

“…As the saying goes, if you are touching your heart, don't be sentimental first. If the relationship between teachers and students is good and psychologically compatible, students -93-will transfer teachers' concern to the courses taught by teachers, resulting in the psychological effect of "being close to their teachers and believing in their ways" [7].…”