Analyzing Music Performance Anxiety Within the Scope of Gender in Pianists

Abstract

Music performance anxiety, or MPA, is a condition experienced by many musicians in performance where performers are self-critical while performing music. Although previous research has established the need for a high level of specificity in researching this topic due to the wide range of factors that impact this condition, few studies have attempted this high level of specificity by combining the study of MPA with two factors: gender and instrument. Thus, this study sought to investigate how gender affected MPA in one instrumentalist group, pianists, paving the way for more effective solutions for MPA targeting the unique traits of the group investigated. A survey was conducted with a variety of participants across the United States in which varying number scales were utilized across four survey sections; these sections addressed a various number of common MPA symptoms, including both those concerning the physiological aspects of anxiety and the psychological. Findings revealed that the relationship between gender and MPA was significant in pianists across all aspects of anxiety, as females tended to have more anxiety symptoms overall. However, this relationship’s characteristics were only unique to pianists in the physiological aspect of MPA, as contrary to previous studies nonspecific to this instrumentalist group, female pianists were more likely to experience physiological symptoms of MPA. While results yielded about the psychological aspect of anxiety did show significance in the impact of gender, this relationship was similar to those found in other MPA studies nonspecific to pianists.