The right to play wrong : qualitative study about group music therapy experience of young musicians dealing with music performance anxiety

Abstract

Few studies have looked or presented the meaning of music performance anxiety from the viewpoint of young musician´s. Whereas most of the studies conducted were quantitative, this study used qualitative approach of phenomenology. The aim of this study was to investigate the experience of young musicians dealing with higher amount of music performance anxiety in clinical music therapy group. The study addressed questions about the role of the group, shared experiences in music and the role of free discussions in therapy. Free-flow musical improvisation was the most frequently used clinical technique. Five young musicians took part of 12-weekly group therapy sessions during 5 month period. Based on participants shared experiences and personal insights, researcher used interpretative phenomenological analysis to reveal important themes for findings. Results showed that musicians shared very similar perceptions and concerns about the high stress level in everyday school life which in the worst case scenario had already turned into life disturbing anxiety. This study shares also 2 authentic individual stories which will give the reader an illustrative asset. Implications on these findings for music therapy clinical work and research were considered.