Book Description

The purpose of this study was to investigate college piano students' pre-existing awareness of performance anxiety and to present deep breathing, deep muscle relaxation, and visualization as self-regulating techniques that might be potentially effective in alleviating physiological and psychological symptoms relating to performance anxiety. These techniques were presented in a performance anxiety workshop setting in which the participants were guided through a series of exercises in deep breathing, deep muscle relaxation, and visualization. Information obtained from the surveys revealed that pianists who performed more often, whether in solo or collaborative settings, experienced lower levels of anxiety than those who performed less frequently. The results also showed that the symptoms experienced by most participants did not imply that those symptoms were severe. A high percentage of participants indicated that they used deep breathing and positive thinking as coping techniques and found them to be effective. Following the workshop, participants rated the three self-regulating techniques presented in the workshop as potentially effective strategies in coping with performance anxiety.