ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Performance Science

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1575591

This article is part of the Research TopicMusic Performance Anxiety - Volume IIView all 14 articles

Exploring Musical Self-Efficacy and Performance Anxiety in Young Violin Learners: Insights from Mainland China

Provisionally accepted
Jiayi  OuJiayi Ou1Chao  QinChao Qin2*
  • 1Department of Musicology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, NOVA University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal
  • 2Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Music self-efficacy (MSE) and music performance anxiety (MPA) are critical issues in music education. This study examines MSE, including both music learning self-efficacy (MLSE) and music performance self-efficacy (MPSE), as well as MPA, among undergraduate violin students in mainland China. Data were collected via an online survey distributed to students from 11 music conservatories, resulting in 254 valid responses. The results revealed moderate levels of MLSE and MPSE, with no significant gender differences. Differences were observed across academic years, with lower-year students reporting higher MLSE and MPSE than upper-year students. Conservatory level also influenced MLSE and MPSE, with A-level students scoring higher than B-and C-level students. MPA levels were generally high, but no gender or academic year differences were observed. However, a Ushaped pattern of MPA across conservatory levels was identified, with A-and C-level students experiencing higher anxiety than B-level students. Notably, MLSE was positively associated with MPA, while MPSE showed a negative association, suggesting that the two types of self-efficacy play divergent roles in MPA. These findings indicate that while MLSE and MPSE are moderately correlated, they differentially influence violin students' MPA.

Keywords: Music learning self-efficacy, Music performance self-Efficacy, Music anxiety, Violin undergraduates, Musical instrument education

Received: 12 Feb 2025; Accepted: 03 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Ou and Qin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Chao Qin, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, China

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