Music Students' Health Problems and Health-promoting Behaviours

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11
Author(s):  
Gunter Kreutz ◽  
Jane Ginsborg ◽  
Aaron Williamon
Keyword(s):  
Music Performance ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Performance Quality ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Reported Health ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk

The reported health problems of music performance students at two conservatoires in the UK were investigated, with specific attention to musculoskeletal and nonmusculoskeletal problems in relation to the students' instrumental specialty and their health-promoting behaviours. Students from the Royal Northern College of Music (n = 199) and the Royal College of Music (n = 74) were surveyed using server-based inventories over the internet. They provided 246 usable data sets for this study. Results reveal that musculoskeletal pain as well as nonmusculoskeletal problems were common among students, affecting about half of the sample, with similar patterns between groups of instruments. Regression analysis showed that musculoskeletal and nonmusculoskeletal symptoms reliably predicted perceived practice and performance quality, such that fewer symptoms predicted better quality; the strongest predictors were pain along the spine and fatigue. These results suggest that significant proportions of health problems among music performance students emerge from general dispositions, such as posture and fatigue, and thus are not specific to the instrument played. Healthy lifestyles appear not to affect perceived practice and performance quality.

scholarly journals A preliminary comparison study of burnout and engagement in performance students in Australia, Poland and the UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 366-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Zabuska ◽  
Jane Ginsborg ◽  
David Wasley
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Comparison Study ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Cross National

While there is a growing body of research concerning the well-being of music students, burnout and engagement remain largely unexplored. Likewise, cross-national variations in approaches to music education, and different educational experiences of men and women may influence burnout and engagement. This preliminary study aimed to inform further research by establishing the levels of, and exploring cross-national and sex differences in burnout and engagement in music performance students at conservatoires in Australia, Poland and the UK ( n = 331). Self-reported levels of burnout were, typically, low to moderate. Nevertheless, one in ten students reported symptoms such that they could be classified as burned out. Australian and UK students displayed more burnout than students in Poland, although Australian students reported lower levels of reduced sense of accomplishment than Polish and UK students. Self-reported engagement was, typically, moderate to high. Students in Poland reported higher levels of engagement than those in the UK. Women displayed higher levels of global burnout and emotional/physical exhaustion, while men reported lower levels of reduced sense of accomplishment. Further research on burnout and engagement could build on this investigation to gain a better understanding of their impact and the influence of the educational experience on students’ music-related well-being.

Development and evaluation of two brief group interventions for music performance anxiety in community musicians

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianna T. Kenny ◽  
Naomi Halls
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Sensitivity ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Behavioural Therapy ◽  
Group Interventions ◽  
Empirically Supported Treatment ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
Performance Quality ◽  
And Performance

This study presents the development, administration and evaluation of two brief group interventions for music performance anxiety (MPA) aimed at reducing anxiety and improving performance quality. A cognitive behavioural therapy intervention was developed based on an existing empirically-supported treatment Chilled (Rapee et al., 2006), focusing on cognitive, physiological and behavioural symptoms. The second treatment, anxiety sensitivity reduction, targeted primarily physiological symptoms and included relaxation strategies. Interventions were administered in a workshop format over one day with four intervention sessions, preceded by a pedagogic practice skills session that functioned as a control/placebo intervention. A quasi-experimental group randomization design compared the interventions in a heterogeneous sample of community musicians. Sixty-eight participants completed measures of trait anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, depression, and MPA. Participants performed four times (pre- and post-placebo, post-treatment and follow-up) and were assessed for state anxiety and performance quality at each performance. Results indicated that both interventions offered moderately significant gains for the musicians: anxiety was reduced and performance quality improved after each intervention and changes were maintained at follow-up. Anxiety sensitivity reduction showed a trend to exceed the CBT-based interventions, but a larger, higher-powered study is needed to confirm this advantage.

Playing-Related Health Problems Among Instrumental Music Students at a University in Malaysia

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Lonsdale ◽  
Ong Kuan Boon
Keyword(s):  
Instrumental Music ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Physical Problems ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Wide Range

Musicians from a wide range of backgrounds experience playing-related health problems including musculoskeletal disorders, hearing loss, and performance anxiety. Few studies have focused specifically on the health concerns of musicians in Malaysia. AIMS: This study aimed to investigate playing-related health problems among student musicians at a university in Malaysia as well as their knowledge and awareness of playing-related health problems. METHODS: Instrumental music students enrolled in undergraduate and post-graduate university music courses (n=98) participated in a self-report online survey which addressed aspects such as educational background, playing experience, knowledge and awareness of musicians’ health issues, history of physical problems, lifestyle factors, and prevention and management strategies. RESULTS: Of the total participants, 28.9% reported that they were currently experiencing playing-related pain in a body part, and 46.4% had experienced playing-related pain at some time. More than half (56.7%) felt that they have not received enough information or advice on playing-related health during their current studies. Musicians who experienced playing-related pain, tension, and discomfort reported the main problem sites to be the fingers and hands, arms, neck, and shoulders. CONCLUSIONS: The study results demonstrate that Malaysian university music students are affected by similar types of playing-related physical problems as their counterparts around the world. A greater awareness and knowledge of injury prevention and management strategies is needed so that these music students can sustain healthy playing careers.

scholarly journals Music performance anxiety in classical musicians – what we know about what works

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raluca Matei ◽  
Jane Ginsborg
Keyword(s):  
Musical Training ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
Performance Quality ◽  
What Works ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Research Resources

When pursued professionally, the demands of musical training and performance can interfere with musicians' well-being and health. Music performance anxiety, while energising at optimal levels, impairs performance quality when excessive. A range of interventions has been explored to address it. However, the poor methodological quality of such studies and the complexity of this issue should mobilise further research resources in this direction.

Alexander Technique classes for tertiary music students: Student and teacher evaluations of pre- and post-test audiovisual recordings

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-207
Author(s):  
Janet Davies
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Muscle Tension ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Alexander Technique ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Performance Quality ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Post Test ◽  
And Performance

Tertiary music students show patterns of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) similar to professionals, indicating the need for effective education in management and prevention during student years. When problems occur, music students are most likely to seek advice from their instrumental teachers; therefore, it is important for teachers to be involved in ensuring education programs are relevant to the occupational and artistic needs of both student and professional musicians. Musicians have previously reported improvements in outcomes associated with PRMDs and performance quality following Alexander Technique (AT) classes. In this study, 12 university music students and eight of their teachers evaluated video-recordings filmed before and after a semester of weekly, purpose-designed AT classes. Positive changes were observed in muscle tension, posture, tonal resonance, breathing, instrumental technique, and movement quality. Noted improvements were consistent with student participants’ subjective experiences, reported previously from questionnaire data. The results suggest that AT training at the instrument may have a direct positive impact on key factors associated with PRMDs as well as playing quality. Use of video assessments as a component of controlled, mixed-method studies with larger populations is recommended to establish the potential value of AT for inclusion in music training.

scholarly journals The relationship between music performance anxiety, subjective performance quality and post-event rumination among music students

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole Nielsen ◽  
Regina K. Studer ◽  
Horst Hildebrandt ◽  
Urs M. Nater ◽  
Pascal Wild ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
Performance Quality ◽  
Social Events ◽  
High Anxious ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Levels

According to cognitive models, the negative perception of one’s performance and the post-event rumination (PER) occurring after stressful social events maintain social anxiety. These aspects have hardly been studied in music performance anxiety (MPA), a specific form of social anxiety. The first aim of this study was to analyze the development of negative and positive PER over two days following a soloist concert, depending on the usual MPA level. The second aim was to investigate if subjective performance quality serves as mediator between MPA and PER. Negative and positive PER were assessed 10 minutes, one day and two days after a concert in 72 music students with different levels of usual MPA. Subjective performance quality was measured 10 minutes after the study concert. An increasing usual MPA level was associated with more negative and less positive PER. Both decreased over time. Negative PER decreased less rapidly in high-anxious than in low-anxious musicians and positive PER decreased more rapidly in low-anxious than in high-anxious musicians. Subjective performance quality mediated the relationship between MPA and PER. These findings extend previous knowledge in social anxiety to the field of MPA and have implications for interventions aiming at reducing MPA.

Relationships Among Meditation, Perfectionism, Mindfulness, and Performance Anxiety Among Collegiate Music Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank M. Diaz
Keyword(s):  
Music Performance ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Trait Mindfulness ◽  
Music Performance Anxiety ◽  
Lower Performance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Socially Prescribed Perfectionism ◽  
Collegiate Level ◽  
And Performance

I examined the use of meditation practices among collegiate-level musicians ( N = 255), along with the degree to which these practices contributed to music performance anxiety (MPA) when controlling for trait perfectionism and trait mindfulness. Findings indicated that approximately 48% of the participants sampled had engaged in meditation during the past 6 months and that, holding mindfulness and perfectionist traits constant, participants who meditated at least weekly tended to report less MPA. Additionally, higher trait mindfulness predicted lower performance anxiety, whereas higher self-oriented as well as socially prescribed perfectionism predicted higher MPA scores. The type of meditation participants engaged in did not seem to significantly affect performance anxiety.

Health Attitudes, Preventive Behavior, and Playing-related Health Problems among Music Students

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Spahn ◽  
Bernhard Richter ◽  
Ina Zschocke
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Preventive Behavior ◽  
Health Attitudes ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Professional Help ◽  
Health Consciousness ◽  
Physical Problems ◽  
Health Promoting

The goal of the present study was to survey music students regarding their health attitudes, their use of body-oriented training as a measure of preventive behavior, and their playing-related symptoms and consultation for these symptoms with health professionals. In the framework of a cross-sectional study, the music students at the Freiburg Conservatory were investigated by means of questionnaires. One hundred ninety-seven students participated and were evaluated. It was shown that more students believe that health can be actively influenced by one’s own behavior than have a fatalistic, passive attitude toward their health. One third of the music students use body-oriented training--increasingly during their studies. The close connection of this phenomenon with the presence of playing-related problems, and the fact that only a very small number of music students indicating no physical problems use a body-oriented training method, suggests that body-oriented training was not practiced for preventive reasons, but was motivated by a need for therapy. Two thirds of the music students stated that they had suffered at least once from playing-related problems; half of the music students felt psychologically affected by such difficulties. Half of the musicians had sought professional help due to playing-related health problems. All in all, it must be concluded that there is minimal consciousness regarding questions of health problems, so that few music students have taken preventive measures up to the present time. Therefore, preventive courses should be offered in order to inculcate health consciousness that would enhance the music students’ motivation for proactive health-promoting behavior.

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