Managing performance anxiety and improving mental skills in conservatoire students through performance psychology training: a pilot study

Students with a strong sense of competence in musical skills and control over their physical and psychological well-being enhance their capacity to exceed their average level of performance and achieve an optimal or peak performance. Musicians transferring from the rehearsal studio to a concert performance demonstrate significant increases in heart rate and physical tension, which may or may not have a detrimental effect on their performance depending on whether they interpret those physiological symptoms as facilitating or debilitating to their performance. Negative, catastrophic interpretations feed debilitating performance anxiety, which is a significant occupational health issue for a high proportion of professional musicians as well as those training for a professional career in music performance. In early 2013, music students at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music participated in two lectures and a master class in performance psychology techniques to achieve performance success, supplemented by a workbook of 11 strategies for audition and performance success for musicians. Topics included channeling performance energy, developing confidence, improving self-talk, learning and memorizing music, mental rehearsal, building courage, recovering from mistakes, dealing with adversity, and becoming mentally tough. Pre-post analyses on data from 31 students demonstrates that students can significantly reduce self-reported music performance anxiety, and significantly improve performance preparation, confidence, courage, focus, concentration, and performance resilience as a result of implementing these techniques. This pilot study is the first empirical evaluation of a performance psychology skills training package developed from elite occupational and sports performance domains, and translated into the musician’s training and performance preparation process. The pedagogical implications of the results support the inclusion of performance psychology skills training in undergraduate music performance programs, which may support the wellbeing of emerging performing artists into their future careers.