Discuss psychological theories of how and why performance anxiety affects musicians, evaluating the effectiveness of different coping strategies, and suggesting ways in which future research might increase understanding of the experience of performing. Give concrete examples for the phenomena that you discuss wherever possible.
If you were to ask most people what makes them different from a computer, they would probably answer emotion - the ability to feel things. Human beings do not act like machines. However, not all our emotions are positive. Some like anger and fear can be quite destructive. They fill us with tensions -especially in the muscles. This tension is caused by an overload of Adrenalin, which enters the bloodstream whenever you face a stressful situation. It causes hyper-alertness. In part, this reaction is a survival response. It is known as the 'fight or flight reaction'.
Mostly we only use a small amount of our potential strength and energy to live, but during the 'fight or flight reaction', the body changes the way it operates physically in order to maximise the strength and energy. This reaction is a very powerful response that serves an important survival function, though it is not quite as helpful when we are faced with non-physical threats such as the fear of making mistakes and performing in public. Because these actions do not require physical action (such as running from a threat), we do not use nor absorb the energy the body has given us and we quickly become stressed. In a performing situation this build up of adrenalin causes symptoms like shaking, excessive sweating and hyperventilation, and interferes with the performance.
Unfortunately human pride can be so strong that fear of public humiliation or disgrace often produces the same degree of emotional panic as meeting a tiger. The general name given for this kind of physical state is arousal. Long-term arousal can affect our physical health. It is called stress and is one of the most studied areas of psychology because it affects so many different people in so very different ways. Long-term stress suppresses the body's immune system, makes us very jumpy and alert to potential threats. It also interferes with judgement so that we are less likely to make sensible, rational decisions or to appraise what is going on realistically. So what is anxiety or performance anxiety? How do we cope with it as performers and how can we help avoid anxiety? These are questions I will endeavour to answer in the course of this essay.
What is anxiety?
The feeling of anxiety is very common. Some people refer to it as nerves and everyone, musician or non-musician, has experienced anxiety at one time or another. The feeling of general uneasiness, a sense of foreboding and a feeling of tension is something that happens in our day-to-day lives.
Anxiety has both a physiological and a psychological aspect and it is the psychological aspect that affects the way we interpret sensations (Clarke et al 2000). We can become anxious in situations merely because we perceive a threat even where there is none. William James, an early psychologist, suggested that all human emotions actually come from our perception of the situation/condition we are in (Hayes 1999): we do not weep because we feel sorrow: we feel sorrow because we weep. Further studies (Schachter and Singer as cited in Hayes 1999) concluded that although it is our awareness of the situation that produces the emotion we actually feel, it is our physical condition which influences how strongly we actually feel it. In a performance situation, we don't feel anxious because of performing, the situation is anxious because of the way we feel. This describes Pathological anxiety mentioned presently.
Several types of clinical anxiety have been identified:
- Reactive anxiety results from inadequate preparation.
- Adaptive anxiety is when the body adapts to a threatening situation by increasing our state of arousal. This means that a certain amount of anxiety may in fact improve performance and I will look into this shortly.
- Maladaptive anxiety is where the anxiety takes over and has a negative effect.
- Pathological anxiety is when arousal occurs in situations where we can't identify what we are afraid of. Either that or we know we can't be harmed but still focus on feelings of anxiety.
So, what is performance Anxiety?
There are three qualities that a successful performer must have: a) a technical control of their instrument, b) good taste in using this technique musically and artistically and c) the courage to do this in front of an audience. There are few activities that can produce tension and anxiety as quickly and as thoroughly as performing in public.
Most performers have experienced performance anxiety in some form and to various degrees. This fear may be experienced while preparing for a performance, for days or even weeks before hand, and not just while performing. It can be experienced in the present (stage fright) as apprehension (fear of what could happen) and arousal (anticipation). Performance anxiety is no different from general anxiety. Feelings of fear and apprehension are accompanied by increased and prolonged physiological arousal. Severe anxiety is where the arousal is too high for optimal performance. This arousal may be normal and temporary, or abnormal and long lasting and symptoms can be cognitive, behavioural and physiological. Research (Steptoe 1989) shows that the processes underlying musical performance anxiety indicate that cognitive, behavioural and physiological factors are involved.
Physiological reactions to stress and anxiety include difficulty concentrating, loss of appetite, increased heart rate, and shortness of breath, dizziness, butterflies, shaking knees, shaking hands and sweaty palms. Generally the physiological symptoms are part of the fight or flight reflex. Measurements taken during studies of performance anxiety also showed raised levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline in the urine and this causes the hyper-alertness mentioned previously. This indicates activation of the nervous system (Deutsch 1999) and these physiological reactions interfere with performing by making it difficult to control finger actions and breathing.
Cognitive symptoms of anxiety include fear of making mistakes and feelings of inadequacy and worrying about things happening. Behavioural symptoms are not being able to do things, which normally happen naturally.
The three components of performance anxiety (physiological, cognitive and behavioural as mentioned previously) are the same as in general anxiety and are not always co-related (Lehrer in Grindea 1995). Sometimes the symptoms of performance anxiety come from one group and at other times all three. Interestingly, performance anxiety seems to affect more females than males (Deutsch 1999). Abel et al (1990) puts this down to the theory that males are less able to express their feelings than females.
Levels of performance anxiety vary considerably between musicians, as do the effects that anxiety has on their performances. Age seems to be significant in the matter of performance anxiety suggesting that as they get older, professional musicians are more able to cope with stress (Clarke et al. 2000). The development of strategies for coping may increase with age and experience. Inability to communicate is usually not due to lack of desire or lack of ability or talent but is usually the result of physical tension, flawed mental attitudes and social pressures. The one thing that is not clear is whether physical tensions cause the flawed mental attitudes or do flawed mental attitudes cause the physical tensions? Further research may shed light on this.
The transactional model of stress suggests that anxiety occurs when an individual believes that they do not have the ability to handle the demands of a situation (Reactive anxiety). Studies have indicated that high levels of anxiety are related to low levels of confidence (Abel et al 1990). Mastery of task and anxiety are related. Research has found that if the task is simple or well learned so that the correct responses are dominant, then an audience enhances task performances (Zajonc as cited in Lloyd & Mayes 1999). If the task is poorly learned such that incorrect responses are likely to be dominant, then an audience inhibits task performance. Therefore the general effect of an audience is to enhance the likelihood of dominant responses. The argument therefore is that the presence of others increases drive and thereby enhances the performance of well-learned tasks and inhibits the performance of poorly learned tasks.
Picard (1999) states that literature on Performance Anxiety is contradictory. Some research stresses Performance Anxiety's detrimental effects while others deal with the positive effects but most research so far on the causes of anxiety, has focused on brain processes and psychological factors such as cognitive processes and learning processes. From the earliest work on anxiety, researchers have consistently reported a negative correlation between high levels of anxiety and achievement. The effects of anxiety on achievement are quite clear. Anxiety can be both the cause and effect of failure. Performers play badly because they are anxious and their poor performance increases their anxiety.
But it is suggested that some anxiety is good for us as performers (Adaptive anxiety). It may actually help us to perform better in some situations (Hallam 1998), and while anxiety can be negative, musicians tend to respond to anxiety rather than be affected by it - indeed many performers argue that they need to be aroused in order to perform well (Steptoe 1989) and the Yerkes-Dodson law (Eysenck 1998) states that performance is enhanced with mild levels of anxiety.
However performance begins to suffer if the anxiety becomes too great (Maladaptive anxiety). Experience of traumatic events producing anxiety has a long history in psychology. One bad experience of performing leads to another. The experience becomes internalised through a process of conditioning and so the fear is reproduced in later situations. Anxiety becomes a response to something that may happen and not a response to something that does happen. This is the Catastrophe Theory and it was originally a mathematical model (Hardy & Parfitt 1991). The 'vicious circle' becomes possible where the perception of mistakes leads to the increase of anxiety, leading to more mistakes until the performance collapses. Anxiety and stress may also affect the self-reflective capacity that we as human beings have (Gross 1995). This in turn may influence self-esteem and faith in one's ability, which may also increase the anxiety, felt, and increases the likelihood of pathological anxiety developing.
So, why is anxiety so common - particularly since it is an unpleasant experience? Like most psychological disorders, general anxiety tends to run in families. Torgerson (as cited in Eysenck 1998) found that anxiety states were around twice as common in close relatives. His evidence from twin studies suggested that there might be a genetic basis to general anxiety but it did not appear to be a strong influence. Kemp (1996) claims that performance anxiety is most likely to affect those who have a tendency to neuroticism and that musicians have more anxious, neurotic personalities than most of the general population. It is difficult though, to assess whether this is because a nervous disposition helps you become a musician or if musical performance leads to anxiety. So is anxiety a personality trait shared by those who become musicians or is there something about performing that leads to pathological anxiety? In other words is anxiety a 'trait' (due to personality) or is it a 'state' (due to the particular circumstance)?
This is a difficult question to answer. Steptoe, A. & Fidler, H. (1987) found that there was a direct correlation between performance anxiety and neuroticism (a personality 'trait') leading us to believe that there may be a connection between personality and performance anxiety. Eysenck (Robinson 2000) also proposed that personality was made up of many traits and that these traits give rise to tendencies to behave in particular ways, including being anxious. In addition, Kemp (1996) thinks that it is important to make a distinction between 'trait' anxiety, (your tendency to be anxious) and 'state' anxiety (Which is when a person's anxiety levels are affected by a situation.). However in reality the difference between 'state' and 'trait' is not as clear-cut. A person's tendency to anxiety will influence the level of response they give to a situation but in fact, the situation may be stressful and the performer will react to it and not their innate tendency to be anxious. Some performers are anxious in many situations while some situations are especially anxiety provoking. (State anxiety) Skinner's belief (Robinson 2000) was that our environment determined our behaviour and we should also be aware that the mere physical presence of some people could have an influence on thoughts, feelings and actions whether or not the person is involved with the performer as another group member.
Many researchers (e.g. Hamann & Sobaje 1983) believe that far from being a negative influence, 'State' anxiety (When a person's anxiety levels are affected by a situation) has motivational and drive properties that are of benefit to performance. Kemp (1996) also thinks anxiety can be motivational. Arousal can be enhanced by anxiety and therefore heightens the degrees of sensitivity and imagination. In other words, a small amount of anxiety is not only normal but also it is helpful and necessary to perform tasks more efficiently. Hamann and Sobaje (1983) showed that levels of 'state' anxiety could actually assist a performance. Clearly this correlates with research (Steptoe 1989 and Hallam 1998) and the Yerkes-Dodson law (Eysenck 1998) as mentioned before.
Hamann (1982) also managed to demonstrate a relationship between trait and state anxiety: performers with high trait anxiety experienced greater increases in state anxiety than those with lower trait anxiety. Moreover, Hamann found that students who had a high level of mastery on their instrument benefited more from the high levels of state anxiety then those who shared the same levels of trait anxiety but possessed low mastery. This confirms Zajonc's research (as cited in Lloyd & Mayes 1999) mentioned previously, but clearly there is still opportunity for more research.
So, the causes of anxiety can be many different things and the factors that may contribute to performance anxiety are many: too much practise, too little practise (Reactive anxiety) fear of illness, other people's expectations, the pursuit of technical perfection, performing ('state' and pathological anxiety) and a predisposed tendency to anxiety. (Trait anxiety and maladaptive anxiety) Identifying the cause of your anxiety is important and identifying which group your symptoms come from is significant in deciding which 'therapy' to pursue. Anxiety is an intrinsic part of human nature and a lot of research has been focused on how to harness stress and turn it into a positive force. If you learn why something happens, it usually becomes less frightening, (Jones 2000) but unfortunately tension plays a disproportionate part of everyday life for many performing artists and they have to find a way to cope.
Coping Strategies
The obvious cure is avoidance of what gives you anxiety. This is not an option for most musicians and luckily there are countless ways of coping with the stress of performing. Sometimes advice on how to cope with stress seems far removed from the special nature of the situations musicians are in. But in fact the physical and mental manifestations of nerves and anxiety are the same for everyone no matter what activity they are involved in. The problem for music performers is that anxiety is usually counter-productive to the task at hand. There are several 'coping strategies' that can be employed in an attempt to control performance anxiety. For instance there are relaxation techniques and alternative medicines as well as self-help (such as diet), medication, counselling, therapy and use of combinations of treatments.
Folk-culture suggests changes in diet as a means of calming anxiety prior to a performance. It is believed, for example, that bananas act as a natural beta-blocker. Others suggest medication and advocate the use of drugs like tranquillisers, beta-blockers and corticosteroids. These are more likely to help the physiological symptoms because Beta-blockers block the body's response to adrenaline and corticosteroids work by reducing inflammation through suppression of the immune responses (Dr. Sarah Smith, personal communication). As mentioned previously, Adrenalin enters the bloodstream whenever you face a stressful situation. It causes hyper-alertness, which can add to performance (as already discussed) but if present in too great amounts can cause all the symptoms mentioned previously with regard to performance anxiety. Drugs stop this from happening. While it is true that drugs can be effective in the treatment of performance anxiety, it can only ever be a short-term solution to the problem due to the addictive nature of the drugs involved - even though they are commonly prescribed for performance anxiety. For the same reasons, alcohol is not the answer either.
Psychologists make a distinction between two basic types of coping strategy - problem focused strategy and emotion focused strategy (Robinson 2000) Problem focused strategy attempts to deal with those aspects of the environment that are responsible for the stress and anxiety experienced. (That is, dealing directly with the stressful situation.) Emotion focused strategy attempts to change the way a person thinks about a stressful situation. Sufferers would try to deal with the emotional consequences of the stress rather than try to change the situation. Often an active problem focused strategy is more effective in dealing with anxiety (Robinson 2000) probably because changing the perception of the situation changes the way a person thinks anyway.
It is thought that performance anxiety represents a particularly appropriate therapeutic target for cognitive-behavioural therapy (Kendrick et al 1982). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a major approach involved in the treatment of anxiety. It draws on methods from both behavioural and cognitive approaches.
Behavioural therapies assume that anxiety is a learned or conditioned response to a particular situation and the therapy used attempts to break the link between the situation and response. A sufferer may be exposed to the feared situation in increasing amounts while employing a relaxation technique. Behaviour therapy however, is frowned upon within the world of psychotherapists because, despite being useful, it is seen as manipulative and humiliating (Gross 1995).
Cognitive therapies assume that distortions in a person's thoughts and beliefs can lead to a number of problems including anxiety. Becoming aware of negative thoughts and trying to substitute them with more positive thoughts is part of the treatment used in cognitive-behavioural therapy (Steptoe & Fidler 1987). Mentally picturing the situation helps some people overcome their anxiety. Coping imagery can be useful too. If you can anticipate what might go wrong and come up with scenarios where you cope then you are less likely to feel apprehensive. Imagination is a powerful tool and must not be underestimated.
Combining both these methods, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has proved more effective than behavioural or cognitive methods alone (Kendrick et al 1982). Changing both the view of the performing situation and giving positive experiences of performing can reduce anxiety. Sweeney and Horan (1982) also investigated the use of combinations of different strategies. Their experiment compared cue-controlled relaxation and cognitive restructuring and a combination of the two against a control condition. The combined treatment showed most benefits corroborating other research.
Other therapies are used in very similar ways. Systematic desensitisation aims to gradually replace the response of fear and anxiety with an alternative response. This was found to be a successful treatment for musicians (Deutsch 1999). Another is behaviour modification, which is specifically aimed at changing behaviour, and therefore behavioural symptoms, but it is not concerned with the person's thoughts and feelings. You are more likely to see positive behaviour if it is rewarded with positive reinforcement. As stated before, anxiety is accompanied by increased and prolonged physiological arousal. Basically by inducing people to reattribute their 'arousal' from a threatening source to a neutral or less threatening one, they can be helped to function more effectively in settings which induce their anxiety.
As you can see, understanding that your mind and body are linked is common to most therapies used to overcome performance anxiety. Psychodynamic is a term that encompasses those areas in psychology, which assume we are driven by the content in our minds. An important idea in the psychodynamic approach is the view that our childhood experiences have a considerable influence on our behaviour as adults. This would imply that the reason behind some incidences of performance anxiety might be some bad experience of performing in the informative years.
This method also implies that teachers can help on the 'shop floor' by not allowing anxiety to become an issue. This is also in line with Bandura's social learning theory, which encourages positive observation. Students performing to each other in informal gatherings can be helpful and will benefit those with signs of performance anxiety provided that favourable concepts of audiences are fostered. The younger this is done, the better. Picard (1999) thinks that music educators should bring students face to face with their fears. Nearly all players, amateur and professional, suffer from anxiety and there is no need to be ashamed of it. Other than in an exam scenario, in music performing there is no pass or fail, only performing as well as you can on the day. Joanna Macgregor (Jones 2000) believes that the pressure of competition and judgement causes a lot of anxiety. She was told, "When you perform, it's the most important thing in the world to you and at the same time it is not important at all. People are not going to die, the world isn't going to stop turning." If as a performer you can grasp this, it gives things a sense of proportion.
Another possible treatment is hypnotherapy. Usually this would consist of sessions of relaxation, suggestions including breathing, visual imagery and verbal suggestions linking these images to increased mental control. Hypnotherapy does appear to help performance anxiety (Stanton 1993) but further research is needed to compare the effectiveness of hypnotherapy to other therapies normally used to treat performance anxiety to truly evaluate its usefulness.
Alexander Technique has been shown to have some benefits in coping with performance anxiety (Valentine et al 1995). Many performers also use Yoga, massage, reflexology, t’ai chi or aikido to help them relax, although complete relaxation is neither possible nor musically appropriate (Gellrich 1991). Other performers advocate homeopathy, either consulting a Homeopath or using remedies that other performers have recommended.
Some performers also practise in extreme conditions to simulate the performance situation. For example, playing after you have run up and down the stairs simulates breathlessness and playing in really hot conditions can simulate conditions caused by excessive sweating. The theory behind this bizarre 'practice' based therapy is that having experienced these extremes you will be more able to cope with them when they occur in a performance situation.
So that they do not feel anxious because of under-preparation, there are also various things a performer can do at the first signs of performance anxiety to stop the process spiralling till they need professional help. For example, it is not a good idea for performers to play pieces in public if they have doubts about their ability to play them. It may seem like common sense, but making sure that they like the music on their programme may help. Starting the programme with an easier piece also gives a chance to warm up properly.
Practical, logical advice is often overlooked: Feeling comfortable is important so performers should avoid wearing clothes or shoes that are uncomfortable. Thinking about why you play music is helpful. Musicians must try to communicate and not think about their egos, which sometimes contribute to anxiety! (Trait anxiety)
On the night, they should allow lots of time to get to the venue and be relaxed as possible. They must take time once on stage to make sure that everything is as they want it to be. They must prepare well in advance - mentally and physically, practise with and without the accompanist as much as possible. They should get to know their fellow ensemble players. If they are comfortable with them, then they are less likely to feel nervous of them or of the situation. They must try going back to basics and remember that performing is what making music is about. It's nothing 'big' simply part of their life. The more importance they give it, the more likely they are to feel anxious about it. This is basically cognitive therapy and behavioural modification all rolled into one - the performer is in control of the situation.
Confidence and a sense of achievement are the best substitutes for fear or anxiety. It is worth assessing just what the sufferer thinks music making is supposed to be about. Remember the three Cs and the three Es. The 3 Cs - Concentrate, Competence and Confidence. If you concentrate when you practise, this will lead to competence and confidence. The 3 Es - Enthusiasm, Enjoyment and Entertainment. Your audience want to enjoy the performance. If they sense the performer is having a good time then that will encourage them to believe in what the performer is doing.
Some approaches attempt to help the physiological symptoms of performance anxiety while others concentrate on the cognitive or behavioural symptoms. Nagel et al (1989) believed that an approach using combinations of therapies that targeted all symptoms should be used for the treatment of Performance Anxiety. They showed in a case study of a pianist that desensitisation, cognitive restructuring and in vivo performance practice resulted in lower levels of anxiety. This corroborates the evidence found by Kendrick et al (1982) and Sweeney and Horan (1982). It would appear that the most successful treatments are those that combine relaxation training with developing realistic expectations.
Ways in which future research might increase understanding
Unfortunately a lot of statements about performance anxiety are based on speculation and biased assessment rather than on research results (Hamann 1982). But from a review of the literature, it would appear that apart from Kemp (1996) there has only been a little research on the possible correlation between personality types and performance anxiety. Further research may help music educators to help all pupils with this aspect of performance and to identify the pupils who need the most help in this area. Additional research would be helpful to therapists, psychologists, musicians and educators so that problems could be identified earlier on by these groups and hence the problem would not spiral out of control.
There also there seems little research on the advantage or disadvantage of age and experience over performance anxiety. As mentioned before, as they get older, professional musicians are more able to cope with stress. (Clarke et al. 2000) But this could be for a variety of reasons: excessive anxiety may cause people to leave the profession, (And therefore not be included in statistics) or the development of strategies for coping may increase with age and experience. There is clearly potential for research in this area, investigating the roles of age, experience and confidence.
It is important that self-reported anxiety be studied alongside the physiological and behavioural components of performance anxiety. Research (Dews & Williams 1989) suggested that emotional and psychological issues needed more research. For Example:
- The connection between self-esteem and the anxiety of performance.
- The role of the parent and educator.
- The possible role of certain stresses and specialised counselling.
- The role of educational institutions in stress and coping.
Most studies have been involved with reducing anxiety. In these studies researchers assumed that anxiety decreased the quality of performance. But in reality it was found that performers with high amounts of formal training performed in a superior manner in anxious situations. Is there a significant relationship between performance environment and the performers training? It would be both interesting and useful to pursue more study in this area. Comparing all the different therapies may be useful (As suggested by Wilson in Hargreaves and North 1997). It would help identify the most useful strategies for certain personalities.
Summary
There is much fascination with the study of performance anxiety. Performers feel a need to understand this phenomenon if they are to be in control of their body and instrument in performance situations. Musicians agree that performing in public stimulates performance anxiety but how musicians respond varies and that anxiety can help or hinder depending on the intensity of anxiety felt. Anxiety should be seen as a helpful warning that alerts us to possible danger and will allow us to take steps to avoid that which we feel anxious about. Errors made in practice should be viewed simply as ways not to play and not as mistakes. Everything must be kept in context. Patience, persistence, self-awareness and the attitude of self-searching will all help in the control of performance anxiety (Havas in Grindea 1995).
With emphasis on relaxation, preparation and self-discovery, anxiety can be controlled. Handling performance anxiety is as much about your attitude of mind as it is about practical solutions. There is no more potent cure for performance anxiety than the knowledge that you can do it. Learning to control our feelings and anxiety through various techniques of relaxation, therapy and the all-important preparation of practise can help us as performers to triumph over performance anxiety.
References
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