Addressing Music Performance Anxiety in College Musicians With Mindfulness,Entrainment,and Non-Sleep Deep Rest: A Literature Review

Abstract

The increasing percentage of college musicians living with mental illness and anxiety, specifically music performance anxiety (MPA), suggests the need for an anxiety reduction program to be instilled within university programs. Using entrainment as a grounding framework, the purpose of this literature review was to synthesize research on mindfulness, entrainment, and non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) to propose that such protocols could offer potential benefits for increasing focus and reducing MPA in college music students. I concluded with proposing that there may be potential for studying the effects of mindfulness, entrainment, and NSDR practices simultaneously.

Keywords

anxiety management education entrainment mindfulness music performance anxiety non-sleep deep rest

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Psychological Association. (2022). Anxiety. https://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety

Anxiety and Depression Association of America. (2021, September 21). Facts & statistics: Anxiety and depression association of America, ADAA. https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics

Auerbach

Delport

A. C.

(2018). Developing mindfulness in children through participation in music activities. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 8(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v8i1.519

Baer

R. A.

Smith

G. T.

Hopkins

Krietemeyer

Toney

(2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment (Odessa, Fla.), 13(1), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191105283504

Bauer

Sabourdy

Chatard

Rheims

Lachaux

J.-P.

Vidal

J. R.

Lutz

(2022). Neural dynamics of mindfulness meditation and hypnosis explored with intracranial EEG: A feasibility study. Neuroscience Letters, 766, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2021.136345

Berger

Turow

(2011). Music, science, and the rhythmic brain: Cultural and clinical implications. Routledge.

Bodak

Malhotra

Bernardi

N. F.

Cocchini

Stewart

(2014). Reducing chronic visuo-spatial neglect following right hemisphere stroke through instrument playing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00413

Brodbeck

Kuhn

von Wegner

Morzelewski

Tagliazucchi

Borisov

Michel

C. M.

Laufs

(2012). EEG microstates of wakefulness and NREM sleep. NeuroImage, 62(3), 2129–2139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.05.060

Brooker

(2021). A clinical study into the effects of cognitive hypnotherapy and EMDR on music performance anxiety. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 48, 19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eujim.2021.102008

10.

Burnell

L. E.

(1997). The effects of 50 beat per minute music to decrease anxiety and lower heart rates in a select group of college students [Master of Arts Theses]. Lindenwood University. https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/theses/482

11.

Burrai

Forton Magavern

Micheluzzi

Magnaghi

Apuzzo

Brioni

(2020). Effectiveness of music to improve anxiety in hemodialysis patients. Holistic Nursing Practice, 34(6), 324–333. https://doi.org/10.1097/hnp.0000000000000411

12.

Cameron

D. J.

Grahn

J. A.

(2016). The neuroscience of rhythm. In Hallam

Cross

Thaut

(Eds.), The Oxford handbook of music psychology (pp. 357–368). Oxford University Press.

13.

Chaudhury

Nag

T. C.

Jain

Wadhwa

(2013). Role of sound stimulation in reprogramming brain connectivity. Journal of Biosciences, 38(3), 605–614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-013-9341-8

14.

de Witte

Spruit

van Hooren

Moonen

Stams

G.-J

. (2019). Effects of music interventions on stress-related outcomes: A systematic review and two meta-analyses. Health Psychology Review, 14(2), 294–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2019.1627897

15.

Dhabhar

F. S.

(2014). Effects of stress on immune function: The good, the bad, and the beautiful. Immunologic Research, 58(2), 193–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-014-8517-0

16.

Diaz

F. M.

, The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance, Volume 2. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190058869.013.4

17.

Diaz

F. M.

(2018). Relationships among meditation, perfectionism, mindfulness, and performance anxiety among collegiate music students. Journal of Research in Music Education, 66(2), 150–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429418765447

18.

Diaz

F. M.

Silveira

J. M.

Strand

(2020). A neurophenomenological investigation of mindfulness among collegiate musicians. Journal of Research in Music Education, 68(3), 351–374. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429420921184

19.

Ferreira-Vorkapic

Borba-Pinheiro

Marchioro

Santana

(2018). The impact of yoga nidra and seated meditation on the mental health of college professors. International Journal of Yoga, 11(3), 215. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_57_17

20.

Ferrer

Lew

Jung

S. M.

Janeke

Garcia

Peng

Poon

Rathod

Beckwith

Tam

C. F.

(2014). Playing music to relieve stress in a college classroom environment. College Student Journal, 48(3), 481. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A387058977/CWI?u=bost84371&sid=CWI&xid=b836aa60

21.

Fink

J. E.

(2014). Flourishing: Exploring predictors of mental health within the college environment. Journal of American College Health, 62(6), 380–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2014.917647

22.

Finn

Fancourt

. (2018). The biological impact of listening to music in clinical and nonclinical settings: A systematic review. Progress in Brain Research, 237, 173–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.03.007

23.

Fuson

J. K.

(2012). The use of music to reduce test anxiety in nursing students (Publication No. 1520139) [Doctoral dissertation, Gardner-Webb University School of Nursing]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

24.

Gardiner

J. C.

Thaut

M. H.

(2014). Musical executive function training (MEFT). In Thaut

M. H.

Hoemberg

(Eds.), Handbook of neurologic music therapy (pp. 279–293). Oxford University Press.

25.

Goldman

(2002). Healing sounds: The power of harmonics. Healing Arts Press.

26.

Harney

Johnson

Bailes

Havelka

(2023). Is music listening an effective intervention for reducing anxiety? A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies. Musicae Scientiae, 27(2), 278–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/10298649211046979

27.

Hartman

(2015). Exploring the experiences of women with complex trauma and the practice of iRest-Yoga Nidra (Publication No. 3712399) [Doctoral dissertation, California Institute of Integral Studies]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

28.

Helgeson

J. J.

(1999). The effects of hypnotherapy on musical performance anxiety (Order No.1409635). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. https://www.proquest.com/docview/230782903/fulltextPDF/2B73018BD1E74BDFPQ/1?accountid=9676&sourcetype=Dissertations%20&%20Theses

29.

Hick

S. F.

(2009). Mindfulness and social work: Paying attention to ourselves, our clients, and society. In Hick

S. F.

(Ed.), Mindfulness and social work (pp. 1–30). Lyceum Books.

30.

Hommel

Peres

Pollak

Memin

Besson

Gaio

J.-M.

Perret

(1990). Effects of passive tactile and auditory stimuli on left visual neglect. Archives of Neurology, 47(5), 573–576. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1990.00530050097018

31.

Hoye

Reddy

(2016). Yoga-nidra and hypnosis. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 54(3), 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2016.1142061

32.

Huberman

, (Host). (2021–present). Huberman lab podcast [Video podcast]. https://hubermanlab.com/category/podcast-episodes/

33.

Juslin

P. N.

Liljeström

(2010). How does music evoke emotions? Exploring the underlying mechanisms. In Juslin

P. N.

Sloboda

J. A.

(Eds.), Handbook of music and emotion: Theory, research, applications (pp. 605–642). Oxford University Press.

34.

Kabat-Zinn

(2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology, 10(2), 144–156. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bpg016

35.

Koelsch

(2005). Investigating emotion with music: Neuroscientific approaches. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1060(1), 412–418. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1360.034

36.

Koner

K. M.

Weaver

(2022). An exploratory case study of mindfulness techniques in a high school band program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 40(3), 71–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/87551233211050011

37.

Kraus

White-Schwoch

(2017). Neurobiology of everyday communication: What have we learned from music? The Neuroscientist, 23(3), 287–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073858416653593

38.

Lavallee

(2011). Cerebral dynamics characterizing normal and altered states of consciousness and cognition (Publication No. MR71885). ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

39.

Lester

Whipple

(1996). Music preference, depression, suicidal preoccupation, and personality: Comment on stack and Gundlach’s papers. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 26(1), 68–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-278x.1996.tb00257.x

40.

Mallik

Russo

F. A.

(2022). The effects of music & auditory beat stimulation on anxiety: A randomized clinical trial. PLOS ONE, 17(3), Article e0259312. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259312

41.

McGrath

Hendricks

K. S.

Smith

T. D.

(2017). Performance anxiety strategies: A musician’s guide to managing stage fright. Rowman & Littlefield.

42.

McMakin

C. R.

Oschman

J. L.

(2013). Visceral and somatic disorders: Tissue softening with frequency-specific microcurrent. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 19(2), 17–177. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2012.0384

43.

McMakin

C. R.

Oschman

J. L.

(2017). The resonance effect: How frequency specific microcurrent is changing medicine. North Atlantic Books.

44.

Newton

H. B.

(2015). The neurology of creativity: Focus on music. In Charyton

(Ed.), Creativity and innovation among science and art (pp. 3–52). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6624-5_2

45.

Nilsson

Kazemi

(2016). Reconciling and thematizing definitions of mindfulness: The big five of mindfulness. Review of General Psychology, 20(2), 183–193. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000074

46.

Overy

Molnar-Szakacs

(2009). Being together in time: Musical experience and the mirror neuron system. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 26(5), 489–504. https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2009.26.5.489

47.

Pandi-Perumal

S. R.

Spence

D. W.

Srivastava

Kanchibhotla

Kumar

Sharma

G. S.

Gupta

Batmanabane

(2022). The origin and clinical relevance of yoga nidra. Sleep and Vigilance, 6(1), 61–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41782-022-00202-7

48.

Park

Gutyrchik

Welker

Carl

Pöppel

Zaytseva

Meindl

Blautzik

Reiser

Bao

(2014). Sadness is unique: Neural processing of emotions in speech prosody in musicians and non-musicians. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.01049

49.

Parker

(2019). Training attention for conscious non-REM sleep: The yogic practice of yoga-nidrā and its implications for neuroscience research. Progress in Brain Research, 244, 255–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.10.016

50.

Payne

P. D.

Lewis

McCaskill

(2020). Looking within: An investigation of music education majors and mental health. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 29(3), 50–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083720927748

51.

Pérez

Carreiras

Duñabeitia

J. A.

(2017). Brain-to-brain entrainment: EEG interbrain synchronization while speaking and listening. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04464-4

52.

Pretorius

(2017). A metaphysical and neuropsychological assessment of musical tones to affect the brain, relax the mind and heal the body. Verbum Et Ecclesia, 38(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v38i1.1719

53.

Roy

Mailhot

J.-P.

Gosselin

Paquette

Peretz

(2009). Modulation of the startle reflex by pleasant and unpleasant music. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 71(1), 37–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2008.07.010

54.

Russell

Turow

(2011). Rhythmic sensory stimulation of the brain. In Berger

Turow

(Eds.), Music, science, and the rhythmic brain: Cultural and clinical implications (pp. 154–201). Routledge.

55.

Salmon

P. G.

(1990). A psychological perspective on musical performance anxiety: A review of the literature. Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 5(1), 2–11. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45440271

56.

Schmidt

(2004). Mindfulness and healing intention: Concepts, practice, and research evaluation. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 10(1), 7–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/1075553042245917

57.

Shafron

G. R.

Karno

M. P.

(2013). Heavy metal music and emotional dysphoria among listeners. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 2(2), 74–85. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031722

58.

Sieger

(2017). Music performance anxiety. In instrumental music students. Contributions to Music Education, 42, 35–52. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1900107114?accountid=9676&pq-origsite=primo

59.

Soto

Funes

M. J.

Guzmán-García

Warbrick

Rotshtein

Humphreys

G. W.

(2009). Pleasant Music overcomes the loss of awareness in patients with visual neglect. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(14), 6011–6016. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0811681106

60.

Srivastava

Rani

Tiwari

Singh

(2012). Yoga nidra as a complementary treatment of anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with menstrual disorder. International Journal of Yoga, 5(1), 52–56. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-6131.91715

61.

Summers

Hoffman

Neff

E. J.

Hanson

Pierce

(1990). The effects of 60 beats per minute music on test taking anxiety among nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 29(2), 66–70. https://doi.org/10.3928/0148-4834-19900201-06

62.

Sung

Chang

A. M.

Lee

(2010). A preferred music listening intervention to reduce anxiety in older adults with dementia in nursing homes. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19(7–8), 1056–1064. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2009.03016.x

63.

Sutoo

Akiyama

(2004). Music improves dopaminergic neurotransmission: Demonstration based on the effect of music on blood pressure regulation. Brain Research, 1016(2), 255–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2004.05.018

64.

Thaut

M. H.

(2015). The discovery of human auditory–motor entrainment and its role in the development of Neurologic Music Therapy. Progress in Brain Research, 217, 253–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2014.11.030

65.

Thaut

M. H.

McIntosh

G. C.

Hoemberg

(2015). Neurobiological foundations of neurologic music therapy: Rhythmic entrainment and the motor system. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1185–1185. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01185

66.

Trost

Frühholz

Schön

Labbé

Pichon

Grandjean

Vuilleumier

(2014). Getting the beat: Entrainment of brain activity by musical rhythm and pleasantness. NeuroImage, 103, 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.09.009

67.

Trost

W. J.

Labbé

Grandjean

(2017). Rhythmic entrainment as a musical affect induction mechanism. Neuropsychologia, 96, 96–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.01.004

68.

Udo

Makeig

(2011). EEG research methodology and brainwave entrainment. In Berger

Turow

(Eds.), Music, science, and the rhythmic brain: Cultural and clinical implications (pp. 86–107). Routledge.

69.

Vuilleumier

Trost

(2015). Music and emotions: From enchantment to entrainment. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1337(1), 212–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.12676

70.

Walsh

A. M.

(2003). The resonant body (Publication No. NQ78336) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

71.

Wolf

Faerber

K. A.

Rummel

Halsband

Campus

(2022). Functional changes in brain activity using hypnosis: A systematic review. Brain Sciences, 12(1), 108. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12010108

72.

Wong

P. C. M.

Skoe

Russo

N. M.

Dees

Kraus

(2007). Musical experiences shapes human brainstem encoding of linguistic pitch patterns. Nature Neuroscience, 10(4), 420–422. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1872

73.

Yehuda

(2011). Music and stress. Journal of Adult Development, 18, 85–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-010-9117-4