Flow Among Musicians

Abstract

“Flow” is a highly coveted yet elusive state of mind that is characterized by complete absorption in the task at hand as well as by enhanced skilled performance. Unfortunately, because most measures of this construct have been developed in physical activity and sport settings, little is known about the applicability of flow scales to the experiences of performers in other domains such as music. To fill this gap in the research literature, the present study had two objectives. First, we investigated the psychometric adequacy of the Dispositional Flow Scale–2 (DFS-2) for a large sample ( n = 205) of musicians. In addition, we examined the experience of flow among amateur and elite music students. Results indicated that the DFS-2 is a generally reliable and factorially-sound measure of flow and that flow states are experienced quite frequently by music students. Nevertheless, the results also raise questions about the validity of certain subscales of this test (e.g., merging of action and awareness, loss of self-consciousness). The theoretical and practical significance of these findings is discussed and suggestions are provided for future research on flow.