Beethoven and Butterflies
Performance Anxiety Survey Results
This project was completed by Jill Waguespack in May 2000 as part of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music.
Introduction
Performance anxiety is a subject very near, but not so dear, to my heart. I have suffered from it for several years and have finally found successful ways of managing it for my own situations. My purpose in conducting this study was twofold. First, I sought to understand the reasons why people get performance anxiety. Second, I wanted to survey professional and student musicians to discover the most common traits of this "condition" and what the most popular solutions are. For the second section, I must admit that my results are not completely scientific and not in any way meant to represent "musical society" as a whole. I do, however, think that a general trend can be seen even in my small sampling of survey respondents. It is my hope that the readers of this paper will gain a little more insight into their own experiences with performance anxiety and maybe even find a new solution.
Are you neurotic?
Fear and anxiety are normal, yet distinct, human emotions. The difference between the two is that the object of fear can be identified and removed, at least theoretically. If a person is afraid of the dark, he or she can simply turn on the lights. An anxiety, however, is distinguished by objectifying an abstract or unknown threat; therefore, it is much more difficult to remove. Anxiety can be further differentiated into two types, existential and neurotic. Existential anxiety is the normal or natural type experienced as a result of the self-preservation instinct; its objects include natural disaster, sickness, and death. Neurotic anxiety is characterized by a fear disproportionate to the object involved. The threat is abstract or unknown, and the responses to the threat are produced by a person's own interpretation rather than the threat itself; these responses are considered by society to be out of proportion to the actual danger. Performance anxiety is an example of a neurotic anxiety.
Fight or Flight?
The human body is equipped with a nervous system which responds automatically to a threat, permitting the person to fight or flee the situation as appropriate. Unfortunately, the brain does not distinguish between a physical and a psychological threat, so this fight or flight instinct is called into action regardless of whether the threat is a shark attack or a concert performance. When a person feels threatened, a chain of physiological responses takes place very quickly to prepare the body for action. The heart begins to beat faster and harder, allowing more blood to flow to the major muscle areas, such as the legs, arms, back, and shoulders; this in turn causes coldness in the extremities. Sweating helps cool the body and prepares it for a speedy flight from the threat. Faster breathing provides more oxygen for the muscles and the heart to work harder, but this often also leads to a drier mouth. Nausea and loss of appetite may occur in order to divert energy from digestive functions to the skeletal muscles. As more blood flows to all these muscles in preparation for battle or retreat, they begin to contract more. This combination of responses would certainly have been advantageous in prehistoric times when a common threat was a wild animal attack, but the result is usually disastrous for a musical performance.
"I am not fitted to give concerts. The audience intimidates me, I feel choked by its breath, paralyzed by it curious glances, struck dumb by all those strange faces." (Roland 1998)
-- Frederic Chopin
How much is too much?
Most performers agree that complete elimination of performance anxiety would not be the best answer; some amount of anxiety is necessary in order to give the performance excitement. "If you're not nervous, you're dead" (Roland1998). Effectiveness increases with a rise in anxiety, but there is obviously a breaking point where the level of anxiety will begin to hinder a performance (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. From David Roland's The Confident Performer, p.6
So if a performer finds that his or her anxiety level usually surpasses the point of contributing to an exciting performance, what can be done? There are several popular remedies which can be used to counteract the physical symptoms, such as using breathing exercises to alleviate shortness of breath or drinking water to help dry mouth. Since caffeine and sugar increase adrenaline, avoiding these substances may help reduce a performer's anxiety level. Eating foods like turkey and bananas, which contain the chemical tryptophan, can serve as a relaxant before a performance. Herbal remedies such as Kava Kava can also be used to calm nerves. If a person's performance anxiety is at an unusually high level, he or she may consider taking prescription drugs called beta blockers, which are also used to treat more serious medical conditions such as high blood pressure, angina pectoris, and hyperthyroidism.
"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world." (Roland 1998)
-- Buddha
Mind games
Some performers are not bothered by cold hands, dry mouth, or shortness of breath; instead, they choose to sabotage their performances mentally. Fear of failure can be a powerful mental motivator for performance anxiety, and this often leads to self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy. The performer is also often overly concerned with the audience's opinion, which can only distract attention away from the performance itself.
Several performers cope with the mental stress of performance anxiety by practicing yoga or Alexander technique; others may resort to psychotherapy or even hypnotism. A quick Internet search or browse through a bookstore will reveal hundreds of valuable sources prescribed for winning the battle of mind games over performance anxiety. A great example is an article written by classical guitarist David Leisner, in which he gives "Six Golden Rules for Conquering Performance Anxiety:"
- You have practiced to the best of your ability. Trust your automatic pilot to do most of your work for you.
- Do not judge what just happened or will happen. Only motivate and observe (non-verbally).
- Do not second-guess any audience member's reaction to your playing, as your perception will probably be inaccurate. Please yourself only.
- Be in the music, in the moment. Be on stage, not in the audience. Be in the giving mode, not the receiving one.
- Single out one aspect of your playing that is the top priority among things you need to be reminded of at this time.
- Enjoy! Let your emotions for the music be present. Let your excitement for the music be present. (From "Six Golden Rules for Conquering Performance Anxiety," http://www.musicforbrass.com/golden.html.)
The Survey
Through electronic mail, I sent out over one hundred messages linked to the website containing my performance anxiety survey. My survey consisted of nine questions related to the recipients' experiences with performance anxiety as professional or student musicians. As of May 2, 2000, I had received a total of thirty-two responses, sixteen from students and sixteen from professionals.
Notable results
The first survey question refers to the frequency of performance anxiety which is experienced by the respondent. Not surprisingly, students experience anxiety more often than the professionals. One reason for this may be that performing often can help a person become more comfortable with the experience and usually begin to alleviate nerves over a period of time.
The second question involves the different situations in which a person may experience performance anxiety. Student and professional responses were closer in this category, with solo performances having the highest total number, but students experience anxiety in rehearsals more frequently than professionals.
The trend of more anxiety for the students continues with the next three questions; students experience anxiety for more audience types, and their anxiety begins earlier and lasts longer. Students also experience a higher number of physical and psychological symptoms than professionals; no professional respondents reported experiencing nausea, negative attitude, or depression.
The solutions the two groups reported using to alleviate anxiety was variable, but what I found most surprising is that no one apparently uses beta blockers. Perhaps because the survey responses were not anonymous, people may not have wanted to admit that they use them; I have found that their use for performance anxiety is often stigmatized as if it were the music world's "dirty little secret." Two common other solutions used by both groups of respondents are exercise and praying. Not surprisingly, students reported higher levels of detriment by performance anxiety than professionals. None of the students found anxiety to never be detrimental to their performance, but three professionals did; three students found anxiety to always be detrimental, but no professionals felt this way.
Conclusion
As I stated earlier, performance anxiety has affected my life for many years. As a result of conducting this independent study, I have learned many things which I believe will help me gain even further control over this issue in my performance. Perhaps most important is the knowledge that the physical symptoms I experience are an instinctual part of my nervous system. If I can begin to see performance as less of a threat, then my body can begin to act in a less threatened way, and I can enjoy the experience instead of dreading it.
"The first thing in life to do is to do with purpose what one proposes to do." (Roland 1998)
-- Pablo Casals
Bibliography
"Coping with Performance Anxiety: Miscellaneous Suggestions." http://www.engr.unl.edu/ee/eeshop/anxiety.html.
Leisner, David. "Six Golden Rules for Conquering Performance Anxiety." http://www.musicforbrass.com/golden.html.
Reubart, Dale. Anxiety and Musical Performance: On Playing the Piano from Memory. New York: Da Capo Press, 1985.
Roland, David. The Confident Performer. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1998.
Werner, Kenny. Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within. New Albany, IN: Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Inc., 1996.