Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) Administered by Singing Teachers as a Tool for Managing Music Performance Anxiety
Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) was used to help undergraduate voice majors manage Music Performance Anxiety (MPA). Participants (N=9) experienced six hours of ACT lead by a voice professor under the supervision of a clinical psychologist. Response to ACT was tracked with surveys including KMPAI, Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale, Musicians Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (MAAQ). Results showed a decrease in MPA symptoms, an increase in psychological flexibility, increased levels of acceptance, and decreased fusion with anxious thoughts post-ACT. Students shared that “Defining my values as a performer has helped me reorient myself, remind myself why I do this, and appreciate performing and learning music more, rather than focus on doing everything perfectly all the time.” These results are consistent with previous studies where psychologists administered ACT (Clarke et al., 2020; Juncos et al., 2017; Juncos & Markman, 2015), and studies where ACT was administered by singing teachers (Mahony et al., 2022; Shaw et al., 2020). These data lend evidence-based support to music educators who wish to incorporate ACT into individual lessons and group classes.