Personality traits in musicians with different types of music performance anxiety.

Introduction: This study investigated the relationship between personality traits and MPA in the course of a specific performance.

Methods: For this purpose, symptoms of MPA, functional coping with MPA and performance-related self-efficacy of a sample of 393 musicians including 23% professional, 49% non-professional orchestra musicians and 28% singers in amateur choirs were categorized and then used to analyze differences in the personality traits. The questionnaires used were the NEO-FFI and the PQM.

Student motivation to study music and sport - a comparison between study subjects and study programs on intrinsic and extrinsic motivational aspects.

Instruction: In both subjects, music and sport, the engagement with the subject content - learning an instrument or training in a sports club - usually begins in early childhood. This makes these subjects special and similar. It is therefore of interest to examine the motivation for choosing music and sport as subjects for university study.

Ancillary and instrumental body movements during inhalation in clarinetists.

Background: Playing a musical instrument requires physical movements that are involved in sound production and movements with more expressive and communicative characteristics. Both movements co-occur during a performance; however, the interaction between the movements is still unclear.

Methods: Using motion capture technology, the movement patterns of clarinetists were analyzed at certain points in a performance to investigate how instrumental and ancillary movements interplay.

Dispositional and performance-specific music performance anxiety in young amateur musicians.

Introduction: Research on Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) among amateur musicians is of great interest due to inconsistent results in literature. In addition, amateur music represents an important part of musical culture in Germany. Accordingly, the performance experiences of young wind players represent a relevant issue for research and musical practice.

A coupled experimental and statistical approach for an assessment of SARS-CoV-2 infection risk at indoor event locations.

Indoor event locations are particularly affected by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. At large venues, only incomplete risk assessments exist, whereby no suitable measures can be derived. In this study, a physical and data-driven statistical model for a comprehensive infection risk assessment has been developed.

Differences of Electroglottographical Contact Quotients between Connected Speech and Sustained Phonation in Clinical Measurement of Voice.

Introduction: In clinical practice, sustained phonation is mostly used for acoustic voice measurements, while perceptual evaluation is based on connected speech. Since sustained phonation could be associated with the use of the singing voice, and since vocal registers are more relevant for singing rather than speech, it is unclear if vocal registers contribute to observable vocal fold contact differences between sustained phonation and speech.

Material And Methods: Sustained phonation (vowel [a] on comfortable pitch and loudness) and connected speech (German text: Der Nordwind und die Sonne) were analyzed for 1216 subjects (426 with and 790 without dysphonia) using the Laryngograph system (combining electroglottography and audio recordings).

Social contact, practice, organization and technical knowledge: Experiences of music students in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For music students, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact, forcing them to adapt to certain coronavirus regulations laid down by the state. In this study, the experiences of music students in three consecutive semesters under different coronavirus-related conditions are investigated. At the end of three semesters, the lockdown semester [SS (Summer Semester) 2020: April - July], a partially opened semester [WS (Winter Semester) 2020/21: October - February] and a mostly opened semester (SS 2021), a total of 152 music students at the University of Music Freiburg were asked to fill in an online survey.

Associations Between Ancillary Body Movements and Acoustic Parameters of Pitch, Dynamics and Timbre in Clarinet Playing.

When playing an instrument, there are two main categories of body movements: instrumental movements, which are necessary for the sound production, and ancillary movements, which are associated with individual musical intentions and expressions. In this study, the particular purpose of ancillary movements of clarinet player was investigated especially in respect to how these movements were related to the musical structure of the piece and to specific audio parameters. 3D motion capture data of 19 clarinet players performing the same piece were analyzed regarding common motion patterns during the performance and in accordance with acoustic features related to pitch, dynamics (RMS energy) and timbre (spectral centroid and flux).

Vocal Behavior of Teachers Reading with Raised Voice in a Noisy Environment.

(1) Objective: Teaching is a particularly voice-demanding occupation. Voice training provided during teachers' education is often insufficient and thus teachers are at risk of developing voice disorders. Vocal demands during teaching are not only characterized by speaking for long durations but also by speaking in noisy environments.

Coronavirus vaccination rates in cultural areas in Germany.

Vaccination is a significant preventive measure to contain the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Vaccination rates can provide useful information on the potential spread of infection in a given population. In this study, vaccination rates and attitudes towards vaccination in cultural sectors, specifically the music sector, have been investigated.

Live Music Performance: The Relationship Between Flow and Music Performance Anxiety.

Most studies exploring the relation between flow and Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) have focused on the disposition of generally experiencing flow and the occurrence of MPA. Little is known about the connection between experiencing flow and MPA as it relates to a specific performance. In this study, flow and MPA have been investigated in 363 orchestral musicians in relation to a particular live music performance.

Effects of a conservative in-patient voice treatment on the voice-related self-concept.

Purpose: Observational study to determine if the voice-related self-concept as measured via the Fragebogen zur Erfassung des Stimmlichen Selbstkonzepts FESS (questionnaire for the assessment of the voice self-concept) can be improved through in-patient voice therapy.

Methods: 234 female and 80 male patients that underwent an intensive 3- to 4-week in-patient voice treatment due to varying types of dysphonia. After imputation of missing items but not missing questionnaires, 255 patients were eligible for FESS evaluation, 313 for VHI-12 evaluation.

Musical Practice in Music Students During COVID-19 Lockdown.

The pandemic situation has forced students in higher education to use alternative learning routines due to reduced activities at universities and educational facilities. Especially music students needed to adapt their musical learning to this particular situation. Mostly affected by the lockdown was the musical practicing behavior, especially when practicing at the University of Music was not possible.

Classifying Different Types of Music Performance Anxiety.

Music performance anxiety (MPA) is a commonly present topic among musicians. Most studies on MPA investigated effects of a more general occurrence of MPA on performances. Less is known about individual variations of MPA within a performance, more specifically at the times before, during, and after the performance.

Comparison of Postural Stability and Balance Between Musicians and Non-musicians.

Good postural stability and balance provide a basis for optimal movement. For instrumental musicians, particular postures are demanded during long periods of playing and practicing. These postures can potentially also affect the postural control system even in situations when the musician is not playing the instrument.

The impact of a standardized vocal loading test on vocal fold oscillations.

Introduction: Vocal loading capacity is an important aspect of vocal health and is measured using standardized vocal loading tests. However, it remains unclear how vocal fold oscillation patterns are influenced by a standardized vocal loading task.

Methods: 21 (10 male, 11 female) vocally healthy subjects were analyzed concerning the dysphonia severity index (DSI) and high speed videolaryngoscopy (HSV) on the vowel /i/ at a comfortable pitch and loudness before and after a standardized vocal loading test (10 min standardized text reading, at a level higher than 80 dB (A) measured at 30 cm from the mouth).

Long-Term Effects of a Voice Training Program for Teachers on Vocal and Mental Health.

Objectives: The voice is an important occupational tool for teachers. Voice training programs have been shown to help strengthen the voice health and endurance. However, longitudinal studies on voice trainings are sparse.

Vocal Health, Voice Self-concept and Quality of Life in German School Teachers.

Objectives: For school teachers, the voice is a mandatory occupational tool during teaching. Several studies, however, proved that teachers are at high risk of developing voice disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the voice health, voice self-concept, and quality of life in German teachers.

[An across-scales analysis of the voice self-concept questionnaire (FESS)].

Background: The questionnaire for the assessment of the voice selfconcept (FESS) contains three sub-scales indicating the personal relation with the own voice. The scales address the relationship with one's own voice, the awareness of the use of one's own voice, and the perception of the connection between voice and emotional changes. A comprehensive approach across the three scales supporting a simplified interpretation of the results was still missing.

Analysing the vocal behaviour of teachers during classroom teaching using a portable voice accumulator.

Purpose: Teachers are at a considerable risk of developing vocal health problems due to intensive voice use during teaching. This study investigated factors related to the teacher's voice during a teaching situation.

Methods: Overall, 113 teachers were recorded during a typical class lesson, lasting on average 48 min.

The use of narrow band imaging for the detection of benign lesions of the larynx.

In the cases of uncertainty, even if the patient has no complaints about his voice quality, sometimes, benign vocal fold mass lesions are removed to exclude malignancy with the risk of resultant dysphonia. Narrow Band Imaging (NBI) enables a specific visualization of vessel structures in the superficial tissue. Benign lesions of the larynx are frequently characterized by abnormal vessel configuration or an absence of vessels in the area of the lesion.

Effectiveness of a Voice Training Program for Student Teachers on Vocal Health.

Objectives: The effectiveness of a preventive training program on vocal health for German student teachers was investigated on specific vocal parameters.

Methods: The voice quality as described by the Dysphonia Severity Index of 204 student teachers (training group: n = 123; control group: n = 81) was measured at the beginning and at the end of the student teachers training period (duration 1.5 years).

Narrow Band Imaging: A Tool for Endoscopic Examination of Patients With Laryngeal Papillomatosis.

Objectives: Narrow band imaging (NBI) is supposed to be a technique for a better visualization of vessel structures in superficial tissue as it selects the wavelengths of hemoglobin. It was hypothesized that, in the regular follow-up examination of patients with recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis, NBI enables a better detection of laryngeal papillomatosis in contrast to normal white light endoscopy.

Methods: Eleven patients, 10 with a known recurrent papillomatosis (8 with a relapse, 2 without) and 1 with a primary diagnosis of papillomatosis, were examined with normal white light and NBI endoscopy.

Music performance anxiety in young musicians: comparison of playing classical or popular music.

Objectives: Music performance anxiety (MPA) is an issue frequently experienced by musicians. It occurs not only in experienced musicians but also in children and adolescents. Furthermore, most research on MPA has been done with musicians who specialized in classical music.

Fundamental frequency, sound pressure level and vocal dose of a vocal loading test in comparison to a real teaching situation.

Vocal loading capacity is an important aspect of vocal health, especially for people in vocally demanding occupations such as teaching. To analyze vocal loading, vocal loading tests (VLTs) or portable voice devices such as accelerometers have been used. However, it remains unclear how much a VLT in a clinical setup reflects the vocal effort of a real situation, in particular for teachers in a given classroom lesson.