Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between anxiety responses and performance level on the situation of musical performance anxiety in piano testing. HR was measured as a physiological index of anxiety and ratings of subjective tension as psychological one. Main findings were as follows. (1) As results of factor analysis, 2 factors in HR and 1 factor in tension ratings were extracted as the time sequential pattern of anxiety. The second factor in HR was similar to Epstein (1967)'s time sequential pattern of net anxiety. (2) Multiple regression analysis, using anxiety indices and amount of practice as predictores, indicated that objective performance level was significantly related with patterns of HR and tension. Subjective performance level rated by subject, on the other hand, related with tension level and practice. These findings suggest that the inhibitory process of anxiety, observed in the second factor in HR, could be considered as a important factor for the good objective performance.
