Abstract

Many factors affect piano performance, including students’ self-confidence and self-efficacy about playing an instrument. This study assessed piano performance self-efficacy beliefs in pre-service music teachers studying at the music education department of education faculty of Uludag University to a certain relationships between the strength of their self-efficacy and music performance anxiety. For this purpose, the piano performance self-efficacy scale and ‘Kenny's musical performance anxiety inventory’ were used. The data obtained via the scales completed by 129 students were analysed using SPSS 16.0. Independent groups t-tests were used to test the significance of the difference between genders on the dependent variables. In the multiple comparisons, Anova was used for parametric distributions and the Mann Whitney-U test was used for non-parametric distributions. To test if the conflict resolution method scores differed according to the variables, the independent groups t-test was used. Male pre-service music teachers' piano performance self-efficacy (general scale score mean) was significantly higher than female students' general scale score mean; female students' music performance anxiety levels were higher than those of the male students; both the self-efficacy beliefs and the music performance anxiety levels of 3^rd year students have higher means than that of other grades; the general high school graduate pre-service music teachers had higher piano performance self-efficacy beliefs and musical performance anxiety levels compared with the fine arts high school graduate pre-service music teachers. There was a significantly negative relationship between the musical performance anxiety scale and the student teachers' piano performance self-efficacy beliefs. Finally, various suggestions were made to increase pre-service music teachers' piano performance self-efficacy beliefs and decrease their musical performance anxiety levels. 

Key words: Piano performance self efficacy, musical performance anxiety, music education, piano education, pre-service music teacher.