Stage Fright

by Ashley Powell

Imagine walking out onto a stage in front of 10,000 people waiting to hear you perform. While the sight of a large audience thrills and motivates many performing artists, this is not the case for all stars. The truth is that even some famous musicians who have amassed great fan support continue to suffer from performance anxiety, more commonly known as stage fright. This form of anxiety results in an increased state of physiological arousal, which actually impedes performance. The talented singer-songwriter Carly Simon struggled with performance anxiety for many years of her career, so much so that she would poke her hands with safety pins to distract herself. Before one performance, Simon had her  band’s entire horn section spank her as she awaited the rise of the curtain.

Of course, all artists get nervous sometimes.  Italian tenor Enrico Caruso said that artists who claim to never get nervous are not artists, or else they are liars or fools.   We have probably all suffered from this type of anxiety at some point in our lives while performing in front of people—whether it be singing, giving a presentation, or playing in an athletic competition. However, this “nervous energy” (which often translates into a positive means of motivation) differs from performance anxiety.

So what exactly is performance anxiety? And does is fade away with increased level of talent? Performance anxiety is a psychological disorder in which an individual’s performance skills are impaired through his or her resistance and apprehension in the face of a public crowd. It has nothing to do with one’s musical capacity or preparation time. According to the Yerkes-Dodson curve (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908), moderate levels of arousal improve performance, but high levels of arousal impair performance.   In the face of this increased state of arousal, well beyond the ideal point of the Yerkes-Dodson curve, the sympathetic nervous system is triggered, mobilizing the body’s “fight-or-flight” response to a threat (in this case, a crowd). Behavioral manifestations include trembling, muscle tension, and changes in posture. When epinephrine is released, heart rate increases and blood vessels constrict. As a result, blood pressure increases, causing overheating and sweating. In the case of singers, vocal chords tighten, which makes one’s voice sound shaky.

What causes this stage fright?  Sinden (1999) conducted a study on 138 student musicians at the university level using Frost’s Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Frost et al., 1990). Sinden found a strong correlation between perfectionism and performance anxiety. Many studies have been done since then, contributing to the growing evidence that many socially anxious people may be perfectionists (Alden, Ryder, & Mellings, 2002). Setting such high performance standards and concerning oneself with mistakes only contributes to further self-criticism and performance anxiety.

So, if you ever wonder if the stars still get stage fright, the answer is that some do.  Whether or not Carly Simon identifies as a perfectionist, she certainly exemplifies a star who does not like to shine in the limelight (rather, under the stage lights). While most stars live for the crowds, there are those who dread them despite being talented. But if you do suffer from performance anxiety, you can always try poking your hands with safety pins.

References

Enright, P. (2007, September 12).  Even stars get stage fright.  In msnbc.com. Retrieved April 10, 2012. from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20727420/ns/health-mental_health/t/even-stars-get-stage-fright/.

Kenny, D. T. (2011). The psychology of music performance anxiety. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wikipedia (n.d.). Carly Simon.   In Wikipedia. Retrieved 10 April, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carly_Simon

Wikipedia (n.d.). Enrico Caruso.   In Wikipedia. Retrieved 10 April, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrico_Caruso

Yerkes, R.M., & Dodson, J.D. (1908). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 18, 459-82.

Yoshie, M., Kudo, K., Murakoshi, T., & Ohtsuki, T. (2009). Music performance anxiety in skilled pianists: Effects of social-evaluative performance situation on subjective, autonomic, and electromyographic reactions. Experimental Brain Research, 199(2), 117-26. doi:10.1007/s00221-009-1979-y
 

Reaching the child with autism, through music

By Emma Schaeffer

Music Therapy With The Developmentally Handicapped (Folkways)

Conversation and music-making have a number of things in common—the rhythm of the words, the rise and fall of tone, the changing of pitch, the back and forth turn-taking.  Despite this, most of us would not choose to communicate with each other through singing and playing instruments rather than speaking.  Spoken conversation is what is most natural to us.  But for those suffering from autistic spectrum disorder, ordinary communication, or even verbal communication, may not be an option.

People suffering from autism are essentially characterized as being “shut-in” from the rest of the world.  They have difficulties with social communication and interaction, restrictions of imagination and social repertoire, and behavioral problems.  Lower functioning autistics may be speech impaired, or incapable of verbal communication.  Higher functioning autistics may have normal development aside from social issues, and even show advanced skill in an area such as mathematics or art.  However, in either of these cases, communication with others poses an issue. This is where music therapy may prove useful (Graham, 2001).

Music therapy is designed to be very personalized, in order to promote one-on-one interaction and demonstrate a functioning two-person relationship.  It tends to focus on spontaneous improvisation—the idea is not to enhance musical ability; any musical talent that is acquired is merely a side effect (Bell, 2008).  The basic intent is to create an environment in which the client feels comfortable making their own contributions, mixing those contributions with those of the therapist (taking turns), and exploring.  This environment provides the client with a place in which they can connect and communicate on a more advanced level than they usually would, and works to improves their communication issues in everyday life.  Music is effective as a communication device on multiple levels.  Not only does it imitate social interactions, its patterned nature also appeals to the autistic mind, which tends to form patterns and gravitate towards patterns and structure in the external world.  For this reason, even patients with sound sensitivities may benefit from and enjoy music therapy (Gold, Wigram, & Elefant, 2006).

Music and Sexualization

by Pam Vogel

Music and Swimming Costumes by Violets and Handshakes

In the 1950s, parents around the world were weary of the dirty rock music invading the airwaves. They were concerned that the vulgar lyrics – yes, Elvis was considered vulgar – would inspire their children to grow into sex-crazed juvenile delinquents. As a nation, we have since developed a much higher tolerance for questionable artistic expression in pop music and now scoff at the modest social norms of the previous century, but new research suggests Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham from Happy Days may have been onto something, after all.

In a world where teenagers and adolescents are becoming sexualized beings at increasingly younger ages, it is important to understand the different sources for such a socially significant change. A February 2009 study from the University of Pittsburgh shows a strong correlation between listening to music with sexually degrading lyrics and sexual activity in teenagers. Ninth grade students that reported listening to over 14 hours of music per week containing degrading lyrics – the group with the highest exposure – were more than twice as likely to engage in sexual activity than their presumably more innocent counterparts were. While the contemporary lyrics students were exposed to were obviously more explicit than the lyrics of Jerry Lee Lewis, the results of this simple observational study indicate a much bigger correlation than one might think.

A more extensive study (Martino et al., 2006) indicates that routine exposure to contemporary popular music – of which 15% was determined to contain degrading lyrics – led to increased likelihood of initiating or progressing in levels of sexual activity among adolescents. The 2006 research also shows that these results are persistent despite the consideration of eighteen other factors that may contribute to sexualization. The study also distinguished between degradingly sexual lyrics and otherwise sexual lyrics, stating that the degrading nature was the cause of increased sexual behavior, whereas sexual lyrics that were not inadvertently offensive had little or no effect on young listeners.

Healing the brain through music

By  Jennifer Beckerman

Photo by foreversouls

Over the years, researchers have studied the various effects of music on human health, intelligence, and well-being, but more recently, researchers came to fascinating conclusions regarding music’s medicinal qualities.  Music’s various positive benefits reach diverse groups of people: adolescents involved with music perform better in school , music increases exercise endurance by up to 15%, music lowers stress levels, anxiety, and depression in pregnant women, and may be an inexpensive and enjoyable way to facilitate recovery in stroke patients -imagine that!

In order to fully comprehend music’s influence on stroke recovery, we must consider the mechanics.  A stroke occurs when blood supply to part of the brain is blocked, which prevents the admittance of oxygen and glucose.  Without oxygen, brain cells die.  This blockage results most commonly from the blockage of a small artery within the brain itself, but there are several other mechanisms for a stroke as well.  Some factors that lead to strokes and artery blockage include: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking.    Strokes are unexpected and dangerous incidences that remain the third leading cause of death in the United States behind heart disease and cancer. A Harvard Imaging technique reveals increased brain activity when people play or listen to music because more blood and oxygen flow to the brain, healing brain damage.

Jamshed Bharucha comes to Vassar

by Daniel Gordon

As a longtime musician, it is natural to wonder why it is that listening to music sparks strong responses in people; it seems to have the ability to kindle emotion like few other mediums of expression. On Thursday, February 20, 2008, Professor Jamshed Bharucha of Tufts University came to Vassar College to give a lecture. His work tries to answer this question and others. While Bharucha covered many topics in his Vassar presentation, one worth focusing on is the subconscious knowledge of music. According to Bharucha, the vast majority of one’s musical knowledge is subconscious. This type of knowledge is known as implicit memory, meaning that it is encoded as procedural information rather than declarative information. Even those who consider themselves musically inept have a large amount of implicit musical information. Just to recognize a tune, a large quantity of this information had to be acquired over one’s lifetime. An example of this is the brains response to modulations or key changes in a piece of music. Peaks in electrical activity in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain are recorded during key changes in a piece of music.
One of the main variables in one’s implicit knowledge of music is the differences in the culture in which one is raised. The ability to recognize musical aspects of a tune depends on the culture which a person is exposed to. For example, a person musically conditioned to Western music will be better able to recognize a tune in a Western structure, which is usually within the framework of a seven-note major or minor scale. According to some of Bharucha’s current research, response to a musical structure of a different culture is very different than that of one’s own. In this case, the recognition of familiar Western simple melodies was compared to the recognition of simple melodies based off the Indian rag Bhairav. Regardless of which melody the subject was listening to, the subject was always quicker to identify notes that fell outside a typical Western musical structure rather than the Indian structure. This experiment is a piece of the large picture of understanding the implicit knowledge of music.

Alternatives for cerebral palsy patients

by Alex Crocker

Would you rather ride in a wheelchair or ride a horse? Speak with a voice synthesizer, or make music? For many children with cerebral palsy, alternative therapies such as therapeutic riding and music therapy are providing alternatives to traditional medicine. Because cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage to the motor cortex before or shortly after birth, therapies that begin early in life can take advantage of the plasticity of the young brain to remap damaged areas and restore full mobility.

In Exeter, UK, Erzsebet Gordon teaches a therapeutic music class in which young cerebral palsy patients “use rhythm to strengthen their muscles.” Research shows that targeted exercises can enhance connections between neurons in the brain, which can lead to improved muscular control (Holloway, 2003). Patients undergoing music therapy are encouraged to complete the exercises needed for remapping in ways that are safer and more enjoyable than traditional therapies like drugs and surgery.

Similarly, therapeutic riding helps cerebral palsy patients regain sensory and motor skills, especially those used for walking. In a study published in the Pediatric Physical Therapy Journal, in which the mobility of 10 children with cerebral palsy was determined before and after 10 weeks of treatment, it was determined that therapeutic riding “has a positive effect on functional movement in children with cerebral palsy.”

According to Pia Tillberg, this improvement can be explained by the rhythmic motions of the horse at the walk and trot, which correspond to the “repeated movement [of the] human walking motion.” By stimulating the motor areas that control the muscles used for walking, therapeutic riding encourages neuron growth, in a sense “teaching” the brain—and thus the body—how to walk. Repetitive-movement based treatments like music therapy and therapeutic riding can help many patients build the strength and control that their muscles need for normal functioning.
While there is no “cure” for cerebral palsy, alternative therapies like music and therapeutic riding are providing hope for patients with cerebral palsy and other brain injuries.

Reference

Holloway, M. (2003). The Mutable Brain. Scientific American, 289 (3), 78-86.

Music and Language

by Bren Cavallo

As a music student I hear my teachers constantly making analogies between music and language to improve my playing and discuss musical ideas. Even further, when I play music I try to read chords as if they were words and improvise as if I’m speaking in sentences. Not that I’m as coherent in these abilities as a more serious music student or professional, but I always try to imagine that I’m telling a verbal
story in my musical improvisations and compositions. After the class on language I started to wonder if there is a genetic musical instinct like the one we discussed about for language and if one could discuss music in psychologically in a similar way to language.

In a study done in 1998, researchers found that there is a corresponding part of the right hemisphere of the brain to Broca’s Area in the left hemisphere that is activated when a person interprets written musical notes and passages like Broca’s Area does for letters and words. They also found that music activates many parts of the brain, including the cerebellum which mainly has to do with movement, even when the listener is not moving. In an article on the musician and neuroscientist Mark Tramo, Tramo indicates that, “If you’re just thinking about tapping out a rhythm, parts of the motor system in your brain light up.” On the topic of if humans have a genetic disposition to music like they do for language Tramo comments,

“Music is in our genes…Many researchers like myself are trying to
understand melody, harmony, rhythm, and the feelings they produce, at
the level of individual brain cells. At this level, there may be a
universal set of rules that governs how a limited number of sounds can
be combined in an infinite number of ways.”