RESUMO
Music performance anxiety (MPA) manifests itself at mental, physiological, and behavioral levels. The present study investigated how the experience of the three levels of symptoms changes over time, and how musicians cope with these temporal changes in MPA symptoms. To this end, we conducted a questionnaire survey in which 38 student musicians freely commented on their experiences of mental and physical changes, as well as their coping strategies for these changes. This was examined during five different time periods around public performance, extending from the beginning of the preparation for a public performance until shortly before the next public performance. The free-text comments obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed thematically and classified into different response themes. We then examined the temporal changes in the frequency of comments on each response theme. We further conducted a semi-structured interview involving eight musicians to explore the responses to the questionnaire in greater detail. We analyzed the contents of the free-text comments obtained from the questionnaire and the interview for each response theme, focusing on the most frequently mentioned sub-themes. The results indicate that musicians started to experience mental MPA symptoms (e.g., negative feelings) as soon as they began to prepare for public performance. To cope with mental symptoms, musicians employed mental strategies such as positive thinking/self-talk and concentration both before and during public performance. The experience of physiological MPA symptoms (e.g., increased heart rate) peaked shortly before public performance and remained throughout performance. To cope with a variety of physiological symptoms, musicians employed physical strategies, especially deep breathing and exercise, shortly before public performance. In contrast, behavioral MPA symptoms (e.g., tremor) were experienced mostly during public performance. Some musicians also reported experiencing the actual impairment of performance quality. To avoid this, musicians employed a variety of practicing techniques (e.g., playing at a slower tempo) during the preparation for public performance and performing techniques (e.g., paying attention to expressions) during public performance. Together, the present findings indicate that mental, physiological, and behavioral symptoms of MPA exhibit differential timelines and that musicians effectively utilize different coping strategies according to the temporal changes in MPA symptoms.
RESUMO
In common with other professional musicians, self-evaluation of practise and performance is an integral part of a pianist's professional life. They will also have opportunities to listen to and evaluate the performances of others based on their own criteria. These self-constructed perspectives towards to a piano performance will have an influence on both self-evaluation and external evaluation, but whether differently or similarly is not known. Consequently, this research study aimed to explore how judgements on the perceived quality of a performance are undertaken by professional standard pianists and what criteria are applied, both with regards their own performances as well as the performance of others. Participants were six professional pianists (3 men, 3 women) who were based in the United Kingdom (Mean age = 31.5 years old. SD = 5.1). They were asked to play individually six trials of a piece of R. Schumann's "Träumerei" Op. 15 No. 7 in a hired hall for recordings. Then, within 2 months, each participant was asked to come to a self-evaluation session to listen to and evaluate their own six recordings, using a Triadic method as a Repertory Grid. For the external evaluation focused session, the participants were asked to return again to evaluate a further six recordings made up of 'best' recordings as selected by each participant from their own individual self-evaluations. Analyses of the resultant data suggest that there was no significant difference between the participants in their overall ratings in the external phase, but that self-evaluation showed significant individual differences amongst several participants. The performance criteria in both self-evaluation and external evaluation predominately overlapped with each other in terms of musical factors, such as tone quality, phrasing, and pedalling. The ranking of the performances was highly correlated with perceptions of overall flow, tone quality and pedalling. It appears that pianists apply similar criteria to decide performance quality when evaluating their own performances as well as others.
