Between statistics and experiences: Women and Music Performance Anxiety in Western classical music

Abstract

Research Question/Problem

Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) is widely investigated and is often associated with individual factors such as personality traits, cognitive patterns, and individual predispositions (Valentine, 2002). A recurring finding in this body of research is the report of higher levels of MPA among women compared to men (Dempsey & Comeau, 2019; Fernholz et al., 2019; Iusca & Dafinoiu, 2012; Papageorgi, 2022; Thomas & Nettelbeck, 2014). Although this pattern has been consistently reported across different samples and contexts, the interpretations offered to explain these differences often prioritize dispositional perspectives, while paying comparatively less attention to the sociocultural dimensions that shape musical practice and performance experiences.

This gap becomes particularly relevant in the context of Western classical music, whose traditions, historically shaped by patriarchal gender hierarchies, contribute to the differential configuration of women’s performative trajectories (Rosário & Cunha, 2022; Santos, 2019). In this context, although statistical gender disparities in MPA levels are widely reported in the literature, the field has devoted comparatively little attention to understanding how these differences are experienced and interpreted by musicians in their practice and performance contexts.

Objectives

This study critically examines the relationship between gender and MPA, integrating quantitative and qualitative evidence to expand the understanding of how sociocultural contexts and situated performance experiences may influence how women experience and make meaning of MPA.

Method

The study integrates data from two empirical stages. The first consists of a quantitative survey conducted with 123 higher education music students, in which levels of Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) and gender differences were analyzed. The second stage involves a qualitative investigation based on semi-structured interviews with six female flutists, analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA; Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009), aiming to understand how participants narrate their experiences of anxiety, performance expectations, situations of performative exposure, and interactions within musical practice contexts..

Results and/or Main contributions

The quantitative data corroborate the widely reported trend in the literature of higher levels of Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) among women. The interview analysis reveals narratives that link experiences of anxiety to performance expectations, processes of social comparison, evaluative judgment, and institutional dynamics present in Western classical music contexts. By integrating quantitative and qualitative evidence, the study contributes to interpreting the gender differences observed in MPA in light of situated performance experiences and the interactional dynamics that characterize musical environments.

Conclusions and/or Implications

The findings suggest that the higher levels of Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) observed among women can be better understood when situated within the social and cultural contexts that structure performance experiences in Western classical music. By emphasizing the dynamics of exposure and interaction that permeate musical practice, the study highlights how women experience and interpret anxiety in performance contexts. Furthermore, it points to the limitations of approaches that treat gender exclusively in binary terms, indicating the need for future research that considers the diversity of identities and experiences in the study of MPA.