Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety among Professional Musicians during Covid-19

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the level of Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety among Professional Musicians in two groups including Music Teachers and Stage Performers, on online platforms during the pandemic, Covid-19. A sample of 104 Professional Musicians consisting of 52 Music Teachers and 52 Music Performers were chosen. The Warwick- Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS), The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ – Short Version) and Performance Anxiety Inventory (PAI) were administered on the Professional Musicians from Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai for this purpose. The data was analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0. The levels of Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety were compared using Independent Sample t test to see if there is any significant difference between Music Teachers and Music Performers. This study also used Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient to find out if there is any relationship between the Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety among Professional Musicians. It was observed that the three variables (Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety) were correlated with each other and there was no difference between Music Teachers and Performers in their Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety. Therefore, there was no major impact on the Professional Musicians on shifting to online platforms due to Covid-19 pandemic measures and restrictions.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

Covid-19 has led to a global pandemic with unprecedented effects. This sudden outbreak of the coronavirus forced the government to implement measures to reduce the spread of the infection, ranging from recommendations on an individual level (i.e., using a mask, washing hands frequently, avoiding public contact, maintaining a safe distance between people) to strict collective preventive measures such as Confinement Social Isolation and Distancing (Adhikari, Arefi and Poursadeqiyana, 2020).

 These measures have resulted in a shift of performing arts, from on-stage platforms to online platforms. With most of the work and activities going online, the work style, work ethics, productivity, outcome etc has changed and it seems like a new beginning for most of the sectors. From educational sector to cultural sector, people are bound to stay home and continue working from home.  This has largely affected the performing arts field including professional musicians who teach music or perform on stage. These professionals have come up with new teaching and performing styles, it has become difficult to achieve effectiveness and consistency in the progress of students. When it comes to stage performers, most of the venues have stopped hosting concerts and gigs due to Covid-19 norms. Artists are giving performances online where there is a constant fear and stress about connectivity issues, proper sound system, background disturbances, quality of audio and video, among others. Some venues hosting in-house concerts have limited their seating capacity due to which there is lesser number of audiences which in turn affects the payment and also social facilitation that keeps the performer encouraged. For some musicians, this is the main profession and the only source of income. The above-mentioned factors might lead to lesser satisfaction in their profession, decline in their mental health and increased anxiety during performance. Mental Health (MH) is a state of emotional, social and psychological well-being. A positive mental health involves the ability of self-management, coping, handling stress, maintaining interpersonal relationships, self-awareness and understanding of self and others. Having a good mental health means staying away from severe physical health problems like heart conditions, diabetes and stroke. There are a lot of factors that can affect mental health of a living being, like sudden change in environment, genes, excessive use of substance like alcohol, cannabis, nicotine etc, trauma, sexual abuse, physical abuse, domestic violence, divorce, loss and so on.

Job Satisfaction is defined as the level of contentment one experiences with their job on the basis of meeting the expectations, having good relations with colleagues and employer, good salary and high productivity. Work from home is challenging for the individuals as the work environment and culture is not the same at home. There is a lack of attention because of distractions like disruption of family members, work-life conflict, and imbalance of work-life faced by the personnel. Not many people have proper equipment and tools like laptops, mouse, scanners, internet connection, headphones, webcam, and most of all, a quiet place to work, leading to dissatisfaction in their jobs. They are not certain about their job security as well as their salary.

Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) is a sub-type of social anxiety which refers to a performance anxiety that is specific to musical performance in both solo as well as group presentations including any music instrument or vocals (Osório & Burin, 2017). People might experience Music Performance Anxiety either due to low self-confidence, disturbance by audience, discouragement from audience, lack of coordination with the team mates. Sometimes people can also get discouraged with the absence of an audience which leads them to think if anyone is attending to the performance at all. Musicians mostly mention three causes of MPA, that are, ‘pressure from self’, ‘excessive arousal’ and ‘inadequate preparation for performance’ (Kenny et al., 2014). 

II. METHOD

A. Sample

To assess the relation of shifting to online platforms on Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety among Professional Musicians due to the Covid-19 restrictions, a total sample of 104 Professional Musicians, including vocalists and instrumentalists who have been in the field of music since the past 5 years at least and who are stage performers or music teachers from Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai were chosen (Music Teachers N=52 , Performers N=52) by using non-probability purposive sampling technique.

B. Tools

The Warwick- Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): The WEMWBS contains 14 items on a five-point Likert scale with responses from 1 to 5 (“none of the time” to “all of the time”) to give a score ranging from 14 to 70, with greater scores indicating greater well-being. The internal consistency of the WEMWBS was high in the 2020 sample (Cronbach α = 0.94).

The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire - The MSQ is offered in a long form, and a short form, which measure on a five-point Likert scale. The format of MSQ is a self-report inventory, which measures vocational needs and social values based on job satisfaction. The short version has 20 items with responses ranging from 1 to 5 (not satisfied to extremely satisfied).

Performance Anxiety Inventory - Performance Anxiety Inventory (PAI) measures cognitive, behavioural, and physiological factors (Hoffman & Hanrahan, 2012). The PAI was developed for musicians and is based on the State - Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) that assesses state and trait anxiety. The PAI has 20-items which are measured on a four-point scale that ranges from 1 to 4 (almost never to almost always). All scores are added together, with a numerical value of a minimum of 20 to a maximum of 80. A higher score indicates higher Music Performance Anxiety with 39 or lower being considered low-Music Performance Anxiety (Nagel et al., 1981). Internal consistency is 0.89 by Nagel et al. (1989)

C. Data Analysis

The collected data was analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0. Pearson’s Correlation was carried out to study the relationship between the Mental Health and Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety as well as Independent Sample t test, to study the difference between online music teachers and performers in terms of Job Satisfaction and Mental Health.

III. RESULT

Table 1

Pearson’s Correlation between Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety

Note. N = 104

**Correlation is significant at 0.01 level (2-tailed).

The Pearson Correlation Coefficient for Mental health and Job Satisfaction is found to be .536 with significance value <.001, showing strong positive correlation between the two groups. Thus, there is a significant relationship between Mental Health and Job Satisfaction among professional musicians.

The Pearson Correlation Coefficient for Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety is -.266 with .006, as the significance value, showing weaker negative correlation. Thus, there is a significant relationship between Job satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety among Professional Musicians.

The Pearson Correlation Coefficient for Music Performance Anxiety and Mental Health is -.335 with <.001, showing moderate negative correlation. Thus, there is a significant relationship between Music Performance Anxiety and Mental Health among Professional Musicians.

Table 2

Independent Sample t test for Mental Health among Music Teachers and Music Performers

Table 2 shows the difference of Mental Health between Music teachers and performers.

Music teachers obtained a mean score of 46.77 and SD of 9.09, and performers obtained a mean score of 45.90 and SD score of 8.69. They obtained a p value of .621. Thus, the p value is not significant under 0.05 level, indicating that there is no significant difference among Music teachers and performers with regard to their mental health. The mean scores of Mental Health among Music Teachers and Performers on online platforms during Covid-19 show average level.

Table 3

Independent Sample t test for Job Satisfaction among Music Teachers and Music Performers

Table 3 shows the difference of Job Satisfaction between Music Teachers and performers.

Music Teachers obtained a mean score of 57.87 and SD score of 10.902, and performers obtained a mean score of 56.29 and SD score of 10.315. They obtained p value of .450. Thus, the p value is not significant under 0.05 level, indicating that there is no significant difference among Music teachers and Performers in their Job Satisfaction. The levels of Job Satisfaction among both, Music Teachers and Performers on online platforms are average indicating that the two groups are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their particular jobs during Covid-19.

Table 4

Independent Sample t test for Music Performance Anxiety among Music Teachers and Music Performers

Table 4 shows the difference of Music Performance Anxiety between Music teachers and performers.

Music teachers obtained a mean score of 36.98 and SD of 10.87, and performers obtained a mean score of 40.25 and SD score of 10.90. They obtained a p value of .129. Thus, the p value is not significant under 0.05 level, indicating that there is no significant difference among Music teachers and performers in their Music Performance Anxiety. Since the levels of Music Performance Anxiety among both, Music Teachers and Performers are low, which means shifting to online platforms during Covid-19 has had a positive impact on the two groups.

IV. DISCUSSION

The findings of the present study suggests that there is a relationship between the three variables, i.e., Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety, a strong positive correlation found between Mental health and Job Satisfaction. Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety showed a weaker negative correlation and Music Performance Anxiety and Mental health had a moderate negative correlation.

This could be because of the fact that if individuals are given perks in their jobs, with good salary, good employee – employer relationship, good interpersonal relationship with colleagues, they’ll be satisfied with their jobs, leading to a positive mental health. It is shown that Pit musicians experienced greater severity of MPA as well as bullying and lower job satisfaction than compared to other types of orchestra musicians who experienced relatively lower severity of MPA and higher job satisfaction than pit musicians, indicating negative correlation between MPA and Job Satisfaction (Dianna T Kenny et al., 2016).

The results states that there is no difference between Music Teachers and Performers with regard to their Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety. both the groups showed average levels of positive Mental Health and Job Satisfaction but low levels of Music Performance Anxiety.  The government has imposed restrictions due to Covid-19 which involves social distancing and shutting down of venues, so there are not many opportunities for Musicians to perform on stage, whereas Music teachers have a fixed numbers of students who are learning from them. The professional performing artists described that the lockdown had negative effects for health and well-being, including anxiety, low mood, worsening, or new symptoms of depression, unstable or fluctuating moods, and poor sleep (Spiro et al., 2021). The levels of Job Satisfaction among both, Music Teachers and Performers on online platforms are average indicating that the two groups are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their particular jobs during Covid-19. On an average, artists experience higher job satisfaction than other employees, mainly due to more independence. (Bille, Fjællegaard, Frey & Steiner, 2013). Performers have slightly higher performance anxiety than Music Teachers, but not significant. This shows that the music performance anxiety among music teachers and performers are at a mild level of severity. With more than 5 years of experience in music, the musicians have faced technical difficulties even during live performances, which might have reduced the level of anxiety caused before and during the performance. The online platform has opened many opportunities for creative and innovative ways for the Artists to reach the audience, having little to no impact on the Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety.

V. LIMITATIONS AND SCOPE

The results cannot be generalized to the larger population due to a smaller sample size. The age range taken for the study was vast. This study can be further continued in order to compare the upcoming conditions where the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have been lifted. A Qualitative approach can also give us more insight into the Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety and their factors or themes as to why Musicians have high, low or average levels of Satisfaction or Performance Anxiety. An Indian version of the tool can be constructed to study the Music Performance Anxiety and Job Satisfaction of Professional Musicians on online platforms.

VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank my department and the Head Department of Psychology, Kristu Jayanti College (Autonomous), Bengaluru, Dr. Molly Joy for giving me this opportunity. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my guide Dr. Deepthi Vijayan, Faculty of department of Psychology, Kristu Jayanti College (Autonomous), Bengaluru, for her constant guidance and support throughout the project on the topic “Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety among Professional Musicians during Covid-19” which not only helped me complete my project work, but also gain deeper understanding for the same.

I would like to thank my parents, Mr. Pradeep Pallavi and Mrs. Roopashree Pallavi, my sister, Dr. Kriti Pallavi and my friends who have been constantly supporting me throughout my project which helped me complete it in a limited frame of time.

The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest

Conclusion

In conclusion, the present study established that in spite of facing new and unprecedented challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, shifting to online platforms has not caused much negative effects on the Mental Health, Job Satisfaction as well as Music Performance Anxiety among Professional Musicians. However, it was observed that there is a significant relationship between Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety and it was also observed that there was no significant difference between Music Teachers and Performers in terms of Mental Health, Job Satisfaction and Music Performance Anxiety. Therefore, there was no major difference on the Professional Musicians on shifting to online platforms due to Covid-19 pandemic measures and restrictions.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2022 Khushi Pallavi, Dr. Deepthi Vijayan. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.