Projects
MUS-A - Music Performance Anxiety in Adolescents
Team
Sofia Serra (coordination, INET-md, Universidade de Aveiro)
Pedro Dias (Universidade dos Açores, CEDH – Faculdade de Educação e Psicologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa)
Lurdes Veríssimo (Universidade dos Açores, CEDH – Faculdade de Educação e Psicologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa)
Patrícia Oliveira-Silva (CEDH – Faculdade de Educação e Psicologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa)
Helena Marinho (INET-md, Universidade de Aveiro)
Nádia Moura (CEIS20, Universidade de Coimbra)
Karina Schelde (Soul Voice International)
Gary McPherson (Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.)
Dianna T. Kenny( University of Sidney)
Viria Romagnoli (Soul Voice International)
Anke De Jong (Soul Voice International)
Nery Borges (INET-md, Universidade de Aveiro)
Institutions involved (in collaboration or partnership)
INET-md
Universidade de Aveiro
Universidade dos Açores
CEDH – Faculdade de Educação e Psicologia.
Universidade Católica Portuguesa
CEIS20,
Universidade de Coimbra
Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
University of Sidney
Soul Voice International
Period
01/3/2023 to 28/2/2026
Funding
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) | 2022.05771.PTDC
Abstract
Having gained access to the highly competitive field of classical music training does not mean that the unique challenge for young musicians is to tame the complexity of instrument-specific motor skills. All the demands on the route to pursue professionally, or at least to a reasonable level, through the journey within a music conservatory, may have a pervasive impact on their functioning in both personal and professional domains. Both professional musicians and music students have one of the activities most likely to be affected by harmful levels of anxiety. Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) may affect up to half of the music students aging between 12 and 15 students [1], many of which do not get the opportunity to self-perceive their limitations or access therapies, to acknowledge and overcome the harmful effects of MPA, leading to the abandonment of a music path. MPA has a wide reach at the psychological, cognitive, emotional and behavioral levels, and is therefore difficult to define. One of the most consensual definitions is that of Kenny [2], according to which, music performance anxiety is the experience of marked and persistent anxious apprehension related to musical performance that has arisen through specific anxiety conditioning experiences. Although still neglected in current treatment approaches, psychological disorders have a critical basis in neurobiological mechanisms. Concerning MPA, most of the approaches either neglect the biological aspects or focus only on psychological or pharmacological treatment. This study approaches the MPA issue by diagnosing and
characterizing the levels of anxiety within a group of 430 music students aged 12 to 14 years old within music conservatoires. Furthermore, this project addresses the need for an extensive therapeutical intervention using traditional and innovative protocols of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Neurobiological feedback and the validation of its effects on the participants’ musical performance. This project gathers institutions and researchers from complementary areas: Music Psychology, Music Performance, Clinical Psychology, Educational Psychology, and Neurosciences. The common purpose is to articulate knowledge and know-how from different disciplines to design, implement, and validate an innovative intervention useful for music students and teachers at an early stage of music development.
characterizing the levels of anxiety within a group of 430 music students aged 12 to 14 years old within music conservatoires. Furthermore, this project addresses the need for an extensive therapeutical intervention using traditional and innovative protocols of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Neurobiological feedback and the validation of its effects on the participants’ musical performance. This project gathers institutions and researchers from complementary areas: Music Psychology, Music Performance, Clinical Psychology, Educational Psychology, and Neurosciences. The common purpose is to articulate knowledge and know-how from different disciplines to design, implement, and validate an innovative intervention useful for music students and teachers at an early stage of music development.
[1] StGeorge, J. (2005). The Musical Dropout: a new perspective Australian Association for Research in Music Education: proceedings of the XXVIIth Annual Conference, 13-27 sep 2005, Carlton Crest [edited by Peter de Vries], pp. 01-09.
[2]. Kenny, D.T. (2009). Negative emotions in music making. Performance anxiety. In P. Juslin, & J. Sloboda, (Eds). Handbook of Music and Emotion: Theory, Research, Applications, pp. 425-451. Oxford University Press.
Keywords
Musical Performance Anxiety; Children and Adolescents, Intervention; F NIRS - Neurofeedback
