Page 46 - How to Shine on Stage

musician (self-esteem), specifically as a performer, and what they identi-
fy with in music significantly impacts the amount of their music success.
There is a crucial link between the self-evaluation of the performing mu-
sician and their experience of psychological well-being. This is illustrat-
ed by the occurrences of performers being very successful according to
external benchmarks, which place these performers among the top per-
formers; yet they remain deeply frustrated by the feeling of not being
good enough.
44 Most of the research on self-image and self-esteem has been con-

ducted among the general population (rather than musicians) subject-
ed to musical interventions (singing, playing an instrument) as part of
art therapy or music therapy with emphasized group musical activities.
How to Shine on Stage to higher self-esteem and a more positive self-image (Habe & Licardo,
Such studies have demonstrated that active engagement in music leads

2019).
A significant body of research reports positive effects of active en-
gagement in music on overall self-image (singing in a choir, playing in
a band/orchestra, learning an instrument) (Costa-Giomi, 2004; Ritchie
& Williamon, 2011a; 2011b). The effects of active engagement in music
usually become apparent only after a certain period of such activity (Vi-
touch et al., 2009, in Degé et al., 2014). Musically active individuals dis-
play better discipline, motivation, emotional sensitivity, and capacity for
teamwork (Rickard et al., 2012), all of which contribute to a better over-
all self-image. Learning music can change one’s approach to tasks and
thus affect learning self-image, especially because the activity resembles
school activities.
In the early 21st century, the construct of musical identity emerged
in music psychology (MacDonald et al., 2002), which was later followed
by the exploration of musical self-image (Spychiger, 2009). Most research
on musicians has been conducted in the context of performer self-effica-
cy (Ritchie & Williamon, 2011a; 2011b; 2012), which is the most concrete
and action-oriented concept of self-evaluation, and which I address in a
separate section in continuation.
Maria Spychiger (2017) states that musical self-image can be un-
derstood as a psychological structure shaping musical experiences
into musical identity. Building on Shavelson’s model (Shavelson et al.,
1976), she defines musical self-image as a multidimensional psycholog-
ical construct divided into a non-academic and an academic part. In
her non-hierarchical and multidimensional model of musical self-im-
age, she highlights the concept’s overall connection to general self-im-