Are we all anxious about the same thing? A comparison of lay definitions of music making and performance in the context of music participation

Adverse experiences toward making music can be found in both musicians (music performance anxiety) and non-musicians (avoidance of participating in musical experiences). Both anxiety and avoidance are driven by perceptions and attributions about particular stimuli, based on schemas developed via direct and indirect experiences. Most research within music psychology focuses on the views of professional or student musicians. However, little is known about music avoidance in the general population, or their perceptions of music and performance. This article proposes to address this gap by comparing Australian adults’ perceptions toward music making and performance. A total of 116 participants self-identified as musical/non-musical, a musician/non-musician, and a performer/non-performer, then defined various terms and phrases related to music making and performance. Logistic regressions indicated that those with exposure to the music education system were significantly more likely to self-identify as musical, a musician, and a performer. Tests of independence reveal a relationship between self-identification and perceptions of music making, performance, anxiety, and willingness to engage. Possible mechanisms underlying the results of this study are discussed and a conceptual expansion related to music performance anxiety (MPA) and music making is proposed.