Performance anxiety

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Chua Tung Khng Chua Natalie Alexandra Tse B-MU305 Dissertation 13 November 2014 1. INTRODUCTION Sitting for an examination, encountering a hostile grizzly in the forest, crossing a busy road and public speaking are instances where anxiety is present. Adrenaline heightens our senses and is released during this process of anxiety and fear, and as musicians we perform better when we are moderately stimulated (Klickstein, 135). However for the case of some performers, the level of excitement exceeds the healthy threshold and it hinders their performances. Some were successful in controlling their anxiety levels, some resort to medication, alcohol or even drugs, and some chose an alternate career path.

This dissertation aims to raise awareness amongst musicians that there are several methods available to help counter anxiety symptoms. It also works as a platform for musicians to identify and counter their anxiety symptoms. The methods to counter music performance anxiety presented in this dissertation are adapted from methods used by sports psychologists to increase performance. I will also discuss the similarities of the anxiety symptoms, thoughts and preparation procedures of an athlete and a musician, thus allowing the use of similar methods. I aim to substantiate my claim that methods employed by sports psychologists to improve performance can be used to alleviate symptoms of music performance anxiety, which in turn increases the musician’s confidence and level of performance.

2. METHODOLOGY Secondary research includes studies on terminology, definitions and case studies are obtained from books and academic journals. Proper preparation and performance habits for musicians

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to mental training for athletes, to an in-depth research on music performance anxiety are the main focus of some books I am using for reference. Music blogs and forums also provide interesting feedback and discussions from the public. Primary research will be conducted in the form of interviews and survey, with my classmates and lecturers as participants; many of whom are experienced performers. The participants’ specialisations range from classical to pop to jazz to contemporary music. From the information gathered I might be able to list down the possible situations that are more likely to give rise to anxiety and also some of the more common anxiety symptoms and attempted remedies.

3. CONTEXTUAL REVIEW The books that I have used in my research so far can be classified into 3 major subjects: 3.1

DEVELOPING PROPER PRACTICE AND PERFORMANCE HABITS From The Musician’s Way: A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness by Gerald Klickstein, The Art of Practicing by Madeline Bruser and Passionate Practice: The Musician’s Guide to Learning, Memorising and Performing by Margret Elson, they all speak of mental practice, meditation and performance anxiety. Anxiety, which in turn leads to memory lapses are what haunts performers the most. Orchestral musicians are not spared from these either, as they have to go through daunting auditions and constant pressure to perform well in front of audiences and colleagues. Some even resort to the use of alcohol and prescription drugs in an attempt to control their nerves before every performance (The Guardian, n.p.). More research can be done on meditation to study the benefits it has on our body and minds.

3.2

MUSIC PERFORMANCE PSYCHOLOGY

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From my studies, and also discussed in Kenny’s The Psychology of Music Performance Anxiety, there is no consensus regarding the definition of music performance anxiety. These descriptors vary in their relative severity and terms like ‘stage fright’, ‘performance anxiety’ and ‘music performance anxiety’ are used interchangeably. The accurate naming of a phenomenon is also the first and essential step in analysis and eventual understanding (Kenny, 55). I will attempt to define, according to primary sources and personal experiences, my interpretation of this term “Music Performance Anxiety”. 3.3

SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY It would not be startling to know that athletes are also hampered by thoughts that are similar to us musicians. Physical ability alone rarely translates into a superior on-field performance. Naturally gifted athletes performing to their total potential requires outstanding physical and mental strengths. ‘There is not much difference among the top 100 players. It’s a mental abilitity to handle the pressure, to play well at the right moments’ — Novak Djokovic, Professional Tennis Player. One of the critically acclaimed book The Champion’s Mind by Jim Afremow suggests a series of mental skills which are scientifically based; this includes: mental imagery (visualisation), mental toughness, confidence and personal affirmation.

4. PERFORMANCE ANXIETY This chapter will aim to define and differentiate the terms ‘music performance anxiety’, ‘performance anxiety’ and ‘stage fright’. This first chapter will aim to identify the symptoms and causes, which is the first step to fight performance anxiety.

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4.1

DEFINING MUSIC PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

Anxiety is a natural response to a perceived threat which stems from the drive for self-preservation (Klickstein, 134). It is a warning signal, triggered by a conscious or unconscious perception of danger that is experienced both physically and psychologically (Anxiety Disorders, n.p.). Music Performance Anxiety is a persistent anxious apprehension (Kenny, 433) related to musical performance that does not necessarily impair performance and may be unrelated to actual musical accomplishments, but it can be enduring, and experienced in different music performance settings (Thomas and Nettelbeck, 624).

4.2

SYMPTOMS AND EFFECTS OF MUSIC PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

Professor Klickstein has classified anxiety effects into three major categories, which might disturb or upset us as different phases of our performance. Pre-performance effects occur in the weeks leading up to the event, and include: obsessive practice (which may lead to injuries), headaches, insomnia and difficulty focusing. At-performance effects might surface backstage, during performance or anytime when the thought of performance crosses their minds. The main culprit is the fight-or-flight response. Physical effects include racing heart, physical tension or profuse sweating. Mental and emotional effects include fear, memory lapses and panic. Post-performance Effects happens during the evaluation stage after a concert. These effects include: avoidance of practice, substance abuse, depression and academic decline. 4.3

CAUSES OF PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

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In Psychology for Performing Artists, Glenn Wilson traces the roots of performance anxiety to three sources (Wilson, 188): 4.3.1 PERSONAL CAUSES People have personalities or histories that make them more prone to anxiety. Some fear evaluation and view them as threatening, which triggers the fight-orflight overdrive. Performers with history of stage nerves might have anxious habits that follow them from one performance to the next. 4.3.2 TASK-RELATED CAUSES The more challenging the repertoire, the more stressful it will be when presenting the material in public. These causes include insufficient practice (preperformance anxiety), and weak practice and performance skills. 4.3.3 SITUATIONAL CAUSES Performance situations may be unexpected, and may make the performance more demanding. Situations may include an out-of-town audition, public scrutiny from a rapt audience and most commonly: a high degree of concern for the outcome of a performance, e.g. audition or competition results.

5. MISTAKES Mistakes are always present during a performance, and usually becomes a noticeable problem when one is afflicted with performance anxiety. This chapter will discuss about the different types of mistakes, managing them and benefitting from them. The sources for this chapter include books and journals that focus on athletic mistakes and performances, and from that I will attempt give my own perception as a musician. 5.1

PERFECTION

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Perfection is by definition, anything that is flawless and complete (Dictionary.com, n.p.). A perfect performance is one that includes some flaws, but we perceive to be perfect. Instead of struggling to eliminate mistakes, we should aim to minimise our mistakes and learn to control our responses to such mistakes. Mistakes management is an important part of stage craft, when we are able to recover from a slip or lapses during a live performance. 5.2

EVALUATING MISTAKES As musicians we need to evaluate our mistakes and judge if they are detracting us from our performances, before working on a solution. In a good performance, mistakes are just less-than-wonderful-but-still-marvellous parts, whereas mistakes are more obvious in a bad performance (Halden-Brown, 17). Such mistakes can be classified under 4 main levels (Halden-Brown, 20). Micro-mistakes are elite-level errors, which are so minute can only be identified with a camera and high-fidelity recording. These are only apparent to the most sensitive of musicians. Mini-mistakes are a size up from micro-mistakes; they are common, natural and have a chance to go unnoticed during performances. The are errors that really matter, Maxi-mistakes intrude unpleasantly on our efforts, and are clear indications of trouble. However we can use them to identify the areas that require more attention, and alter our practice habits accordingly. Mega-mistakes do not compromise a performance — they usually conclude it. They could be accumulated by ignoring the mini-mistakes, and eventually snowballing into a calamity.

5.3

MANAGING MISTAKES

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This subchapter discusses about general recovery strategies for use after mistakes in both practice and performance situations. Principles of mistake management include: facing the mistake instead of ignoring them, developing recovery strategies for different types of mistakes during a performance situation and learning to accept mistakes as part of our performance. Recovery, refocus and retry (omitted if during a performance situation) are the suggested procedures after stumbling upon a mistake (Halden-Brown, 124). With practice, these steps should take a split second to execute especially during a performance situation. 6. SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY Sports psychology emphasises on mental and emotional aspects, and it aims to enhance sport experience and developing of oneself through sport (Hill, vii). This chapter serves to inform the reader about how sports psychology has become increasing popular over the past few decades. Mentality separates to top few from the many in sport, as physical ability alone rarely translates into a superior on-field performance (Afremow, 6). I will also compare similarities between sports and music, which allows the application of sports psychology methods to our music playing. Sports psychology methods discussed in this chapter will be further elaborated in the next chapter, as they are adapted for use in music performance. Examples of mental skills used in sports include: Achieving specific and measurable goals set, mental imagery, positive self-talk, focus, and enjoyment. 7. APPLYING SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY METHODS TO MUSIC PERFORMANCE Here I will discuss about methods that are adapted from sports psychology to improve performance. It will include instructions and benefits, coupled with my personal opinions and judgement. As with technical etudes, these methods are skills, techniques that develop with practice.

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7.1

CENTERING Centering quiets the body, mind and spirit. When we project our presence, the audience becomes attentive and relaxed. It also enhances our energy, focus and competence under pressure. It also helps us to regain focus should we be distracted during a performance.

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MENTAL IMAGERY This method suggests performers to imagine playing at the performance venue, as part of routine practice. The imagery should be as auditory, visual and physical as possible, in an attempt to replicate the actual performance situation. It also increases motivation by allowing us to see ourselves give our best effort and reaching our goals (Taylor et. al, 173). Studies have also shown that mental practice is useful for transferring skills from practice situations to performance situations. In the case where the athlete must rest due to injury, mental practice can be employed to reduce loss of skill resulting from lack of physical practice (Hill, 85). An account from late pianist Władysław Szpilman in his memoir The Pianist, mentioned that he was able to resume his musical career despite not practising for 6 years, which he credited to his frequent mental practice.

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POSITIVE PROCESS CUES Process cues (positive self-talk mentioned in the previous chapter) are words or phrases that represents what we do when we are performing at our best, or what we think about in order to do well. Musicians should hence focus on positive cues like ‘I will communicate and sing with my instrument’ instead of ‘I hope I don’t crash in the coda’, which induces negativity. 8. CONCLUSION

negativity

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Afremow, James A. The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive. New York: Rodale, 2013. Print. "Anxiety Disorders." Anxiety Disorders. University of California, Santa Cruz, n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2014. "Drink and Drug Addictions 'blighting Lives of Classical Musicians'" The Guardian. The Guardian, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. Garratt, Ted. Sporting Excellence: Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. Carmarthan, Wales: Crown House, 2002. Print. Halden-Brown, Susan. Mistakes worth Making: How to Turn Sports Errors into Athletic Excellence. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2003. Print. Hill, Karen Lee. Frameworks for Sport Psychologists: Enhancing Sport Performance. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2001. Print. Kenny, Dianna T. The Psychology of Music Performance Anxiety. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011. Print. Klickstein, Gerald. The Musician's Way a Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. Print. Szpilman, Władysław, and Wilm Hosenfeld. The Pianist: The Extraordinary Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-45. New York: Picador USA, 1999. Print. Taylor, Jim, and Terri Schneider. The Triathlete's Guide to Mental Training. Boulder, CO: VeloPress, 2005. Print. Thomas, Jason P., and Ted Nettelbeck. "Performance Anxiety in Adolescent Musicians." Psychology of Music 42.4 (2013): 624-34. Print.