Performance anxiety is a common problem for many musicians. Learning how to manage this anxiety and handle the stress that comes with a performance is difficult when there are not many opportunities to practice in front of an audience. When a musician gets the opportunity to play in a concert venue, the stakes are often too high to experiment with anxiety-reducing techniques. This results in musicians not being able to properly deal with performance anxiety.
Virtual environments have been shown to be an effective learning tool, offering the musician real-life experiences without negative consequences. Therefore, PEARL is working on a Performance Lab, in which music students of Codarts (university of the arts Rotterdam) can practice their performance or audition in front of a virtual audience. The development currently focusses on music students. However, PEARL aims to eventually develop the Performance Lab further, so that it can also be used for a broader target group, for example to practice public speaking.
This project is funded by Codarts Rotterdam. The first steps of this project were taken by the Royal College of Music.
