Differences in the stress coping styles and social skills between classical and jazz musicians

Abstract

The musical milieu raises a number of challenges for artists. Coping with these depends not only on the level of musical abilities but also on a number of personal skills. The diverse styles of music education and the expectations set for musicians performing various music genres have inspired research exploring the differences between classical and jazz musicians. Of the psychological areas important for functioning effectively as a musician, stress management styles and social skills have been examined in this study. It was assumed that the genre of publicly performed music, and thus the different modes of music education in the field of classical and jazz music performance, can cause significant differences in the psychological functioning of musicians. Of the 73 musicians who participated in the study, 38 were classical musicians and 35 were jazz musicians. The jazz musicians revealed a significantly higher level of social competence in terms of social exposure compared to the classical musicians. There were no differences in the style of coping with stress between the two groups. The results of the study might inspire psychologists working with musi-cians to plan therapeutic programs aimed at psychological preparation for public performances, with the specificity of musical genres taken into account. Future research may investigate the extent temperament and personality of musicians representing different specialties influence their stress coping strategies and social skills.