Proceedings, Oxford, UK (2002) - World Federation of Music Therapy

Musicians And Anxiety - A Music Therapy Perspective - A
musical psychologycal approach to musicians’ tension, anxiety
and stress
Cartocci, Alessandra
Pianist, dip. Mt, Laurea cum laude in Lettere
Introduction
The profession of music carries with it a number of troubles. Tension,
stress, competition, stage fright, sense of judgement, the concept of
performance itself, are all elements that put a terrible pressure on the
artist and may even drive musicians away from music.
The number of artists, especially musicians, suffering from more or less
serious forms of neurosis is increasing at a worrying level.
Coping with this situation often requires a huge amount of energy. In
some situations there is so much pressure that some musicians are forced
to stop performing for a period of time. Even in less extreme situations,
maintaining a good level of well-being in making music as a profession
isn’t always an easy task.
In my experience as concert pianist, piano teacher and music therapist,
I’ve had the chance to experiment with the problem from different
perspectives. I’ve experienced the problem myself while performing.
I’ve seen other colleagues suffering terribly from stress and stage fright.
I’ve seen young students already suffering because of a performance
instead of enjoying it.
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