Open-access academic articles
Peer-reviewed overviews of performance anxiety and music performance anxiety.
Performance anxiety (topic overview)ScienceDirect TopicsAn overview of music performance anxiety: prevalence, the physiological, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions, and how it differs from general anxiety.Managing Psychological Disturbances in Performing ArtistsPerforming Arts Medicine (2019), ElsevierA chapter on anxiety in performing artists, including stage fright, stage terror, and evidence on who is most affected.Anxiety disorders in athletes: a clinical reviewAdvances in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health (2021), ElsevierHow competitive performance anxiety is distinguished from normal pre-competition arousal and anxiety disorders, with a practical comparison table.The Interface Between Sport Psychiatry and Sports MedicineClinics in Sports Medicine (2005), ElsevierPerformance anxiety across sport and music, including the "yips" and sudden unexplained loss of skilled performance.
Talks
Short, research-informed talks on stress, arousal, and performing under judgment.
How to make stress your friendTED (Kelly McGonigal)A psychologist argues that how you interpret stress and arousal changes how your body responds to it.The power of vulnerabilityTED (Brené Brown)On the fear of judgment and exposure that underlies performance anxiety, and what helps with it.Your body language may shape who you areTED (Amy Cuddy)Body-first techniques for the moments before you walk on: relevant to the muscle-release exercise.