Musical Performance Anxiety - Essay Example

We did an analysis of the Mozart effect, Bausch’s Bluebeard, effects of anxiety in athletes, and the various studies conducted on the reliability and veracity of the different phenomena associated with performance anxiety.An important idea in an article that we want to pursue and carry out as one of the main points for this paper is Andrew Steptoe’s ideas and results of his studies on the musician’s negative emotions and the problem of performance anxiety.Steptoe (2001:291) says that the musician is focused in his music, to express the words he wants to relay, the meaning and content, his emotions, and everything in that music – all these dominate his mind.

Performance becomes threatened when his thoughts are over-intrusive, or interfere with concentration and become tinged with anxiety. The musician’s thoughts become a part of the exacerbating anxiety. The musician is faced with ‘threats’ such as appearing in public, the unfamiliarity of the hall, other technical sides that need to be fixed, travel arrangements, temperature, the size and the attitude of the audience, financial difficulties and lack of confidence on other participants.

The musician also worries about forgetting the lines or the songs, fears of disapproval from friends, teachers or critics, and other anxieties. The musician’s mind is occupied with negative emotions during practice and actual performance. These emotions form the musician’s behavioral problems.Performance anxiety is a great concern for the musician. His career is threatened once he prepares for a performance.