Examining Performance Anxiety and Co-Regulation in the Vocal Audition

performance-anxiety
heart-rate
co-regulation
MFA-2026
Mock audition paradigm with continuous heart rate monitoring of singers and faculty panelists. Explores the physiological gap between performer and evaluator.
Author

Brianna Meikle

Published

February 28, 2026

Abstract

This study examines performance anxiety in the vocal audition through continuous heart rate monitoring of both singers and faculty panelists. Five singer-participants performed two songs each — one prepared and one assigned 24 hours in advance — for a three-person faculty panel. All subjects wore Polar H10 heart rate monitors throughout the session.

Study Design

Participants:

  • 5 singers (3 female, 2 male)
  • 3 faculty panelists

Protocol:

Each singer performed a mock audition consisting of:

  1. Pre-singing phase — time between sync clap and first note
  2. Song 1 — prepared piece (singer’s choice)
  3. Inter-song gap — transition between songs
  4. Song 2 — assigned piece (given 24 hours prior)
  5. Post-session — after final note

Measures:

  • Continuous HR (Polar H10, 1 Hz export)
  • K-MPAI (Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory)
  • MAAQ (Music Audition Anxiety Questionnaire)
  • Post-performance Qualtrics surveys (separate singer/panelist versions)

Assigned pieces:

  • Female singers: “If You Knew My Story”
  • Male singers: “Shiksa Goddess”

Analysis Notebooks

Notebook Description
Heart Rate During the Mock Audition Per-session HR time series, phase summaries, and singer–panelist activation gaps

Explore the Data

explore.ipynb is an interactive notebook with dropdowns, sliders, and toggles for exploring the HR data yourself. Open it in Google Colab or Jupyter to use the widgets:

  • Session Explorer — pick a session, toggle subjects on/off, adjust smoothing, switch to activation gap mode
  • Phase Comparison — compare any combination of singers and phases, switch between mean HR / SD / min / max
  • Session Overlay — overlay multiple singers on one plot, normalize to baseline to compare reactivity shapes
  • Phase Summary Table — filter the full summary statistics by session and subject type

Key Findings (Preliminary)

  • Four of five singers showed HR elevations of 16–32 bpm above their pre-singing baseline during performance
  • The singer–panelist activation gap widens as sessions progress, reaching 56–80 bpm during the assigned song
  • One singer (S4) showed a flat HR profile resembling a panelist — her voice teacher was on the panel
  • The assigned piece (less rehearsed, given 24 hrs prior) did not consistently produce higher HR than the prepared piece, but recovery between songs was minimal

Data Note

HR data was exported from Polar Flow at 1 Hz (one BPM value per second). This is averaged data, not beat-to-beat RR intervals — standard HRV metrics (SDNN, RMSSD, etc.) cannot be computed. Analysis focuses on HR magnitude, reactivity, and interpersonal synchrony.