Page 21 - How to Shine on Stage

achieved through absence of pathology (e.g. performance anxiety), but
also by shaping positive aspects of one’s own potentials (Cohen & Bod-
ner, 2019).
Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology, stresses that
optimal functioning in any area requires the development of methods and
skills for optimal functioning (Seligman, 2008; 2011). Thus it is also in mu-
sical performance that we can observe a shift from focusing on the patho-
logical aspect of musical performance, with studies concentrating mainly
on performance anxiety (for a review, see Kenny, 2011), to the study of fa- 19
cilitators of optimal musical performance, especially flow, with its first at-
tempts emerging in 2005 (Bakker, 2005; Smolej Fritz & Avsec, 2007) and
a surge of research since 2012 (Fullagar et al., 2012, 2013; Iușcă, 2015;
Kirchner et al., 2008; Lamont, 2012; Wrigley & Emmerson, 2013).
Before going into more detail on the factors of successful musical
performance, it is necessary to address the definition of musical perfor-
mance, since musical performance contains many elements which are Musical Performance Success
not present or are far less pronounced in other types of performances.

1.3.1 Exploration of Musical Performance Through Time
The first psychological research studies on musical performance can be
traced back to the late 1930s. Most of the studies were initially of a qual-
itative character, consisting of interviews and case studies, but gradual-
ly the need for more systematic data collection became apparent. The
psychology of musical performance has undergone a more noticeable
development in the last 30 years, which probably reflects the perfection-
ist tendencies of today’s society, which are also evident in music: it’s no
longer enough to be good, one has to be the best. The consequences of
this societal trend are also reflected in the fact that the age at which peo-
ple start to learn instruments is decreasing and that there appears to be
a need to acquire the skills of efficient instrument learning and efficient
performance.
The musical performance psychology is application-oriented. Un-
like music psychology, which is primarily a theoretical psychological dis-
cipline, it also explores issues that are relevant to music practice. It builds
on music pedagogy and music didactics. In recent years it has also begun
to increasingly rely on the findings of neuroscience.
The study of musical performance can be approached in various
ways. Most of the research to date has been performed on examples of
artificial Western tonal music, which is a definite barrier to generalizing
the findings of the performed research.