Effect of Audience on Music Performance Anxiety

Abstract

We tested 27 male and female high school band members performing solos under three levels of audience presence. Participants performed alone in a practice room, in a practice room with one researcher present, and in the rehearsal room with all researchers, a peer group, and a tape recording being made. Dependent measures were an analog scale self-report of perceived anxiety, heart rate recorded during performance, judges' rating of the final performance, and an exit interview. Self-reported anxiety rose with each succeeding performance condition, and each reported increase was significant. Heart rate was steady across the first two performance conditions, but rose significantly at the third. Female participants presented better performances, reported significantly higher anxiety levels than did males in the third performance condition, and attained significantly higher heart rates than did males in the first and third conditions. Gender emerged as a significant predictor of heart rate during performance, with female performers attaining higher heart rates.