Contributions to Music Education Vol. 44, pp. 167-184.

Jamey Kelley
University of North Texas

Alison Farley
University of Georgia

Self-Compassion Levels in Music

and Non-Music Students
Self-compassion is a relatively new construct that is viewed as an alternative to self-esteem.
Self-compassion can be described as how individuals view themselves when encounter-
ing failure or obstacles. The purpose of this study was to examine how college-age music
students report self-compassion in comparison to non-music students. We hypothesized
a difference in self-compassion levels between music students and non-music students as
there are reported differences in personality traits and anxiety between musicians and their
non-music peers. Self-compassion levels were evaluated in two data collections using the
26-item Self-Compassion Scale with an added self-report prompt examining frequency of
performance anxiety in the second study. Both studies revealed no significant difference
in self-compassion levels between groups, although a significant correlation was detected
between experiences of performance anxiety and a self-compassion subcomponent: over-
identification. While these results did not reveal a difference between groups, performance
anxiety in musicians may be related to perceived self-compassion.
Keywords: self-compassion, self-esteem, music study, performance anxiety

Introduction
Among music education practitioners, there is a widespread belief that music
study can help build healthy levels of self-esteem (Duerksen & Darrow, 1991;
Fisher, 1988). Self-esteem can be described as an individual’s sense of self-worth,
perceived value, or how much one likes oneself (Neff, 2003a). Among the many
findings on self-esteem since the early 1980s, researchers have identified a strong
relationship between self-esteem levels and mental health outcomes. For instance,
individuals who reported having low self-esteem were significantly more likely to
experience suicidal ideations, a lack of motivation, or depression (see Harter, 1999,

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for a review), while individuals identified as having high levels of self-esteem were
more likely to report higher satisfaction in life or general happiness (Baumeister,
Campbell, Krueger, & Vohs, 2003). Many programs, including educational and
arts interventions, have been developed to promote healthy levels of self-esteem
within young people.
Consequently, researchers in music education have investigated if music study
promotes healthy self-esteem in students, to mixed results. Early studies that first
explored the relationship between self-esteem and music study reported signifi-
cant relationships, although most of these results are qualified in some way. Nolin
and Vander Ark (1977) reported significant differences in self-esteem between
ninth-grade choral and band students and those who did not participate in mu-
sic; however, the researchers found multiple differences between the two observed
groups in addition to self-esteem, including socio-economic status and attitudes
toward music. Additionally, Duke, Flowers, and Wolfe (1997) surveyed a large
sample of piano students from various parts of the United States inquiring about
the participants’ parents, teachers, and experience as a piano student. Students,
parents, and teachers reported that piano study had a significant positive impact
on the piano students, including higher self-esteem and feelings of happiness. De-
spite these results, the relationship between music tuition and high self-esteem is
unclear due to many confounding variables, such as supportive parents or dispos-
able income, that may account for the relationship observed between self-esteem
and positive mental outcomes. More recently, Rickard et al. (2013) reported an in-
crease of self-esteem in elementary students when incorporating additional music
classes to their curriculum when compared to control groups; however, the same
increase in self-esteem was detected, as compared to control groups, in a group of
students that learned juggling instead of music classes, suggesting that collabora-
tive experiences may be the catalyst for changes in self-esteem. Thus, while there
is evidence of a relationship between self-esteem and musical study, the empirical
record is incomplete on the nature of that relationship and could be a result of
other important factors, like socio-economic status.
While some studies have reported a positive relationship of music study on
self-esteem, other researchers have found limited effects (Knox-Anderson &
Rickard, 2007; Lomen, 1970; Wamhoff, 1972) or no effects at all (Michel, 1971;
Michel & Farrell, 1973; Rickard, Bambrick, & Gill, 2012). In an effort to examine
the influence of piano study on self-esteem while controlling for socio-economic
factors, Costa-Giomi (2004) tracked the self-esteem of young people who were
randomly assigned to either a piano instruction group or a group that did not
receive formal music instruction; socio-economic status was controlled in the ran-

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dom assignment of participants. At the completion of the three-year study, there

were no significant differences between the control and experimental group in self-
esteem on any given year of the study. In a recent randomized study examining the
social development of Venezuelan students in el Sistema programs, researchers re-
ported no significant differences in self-esteem between program participants and
nonparticipants after one or two years of musical training (Alemán et al., 2017).
Despite the large number of articles in music pedagogical or advocacy publica-
tions extolling the extra-musical benefits of musical engagement, the relationship
between music and self-esteem is, at best, inconclusive.
Regardless of the positive mental health outcomes associated with high levels
of self-esteem, social psychologists have identified that the pursuit of self-esteem
can have detrimental consequences (for a review, see Crocker & Park, 2004). Since
the 1980s, self-esteem levels have been steadily increasing in the United States,
in both children and adults; incidence of anxiety has also risen during that same
time period (Twenge, 2000; Twenge & Campbell, 2001). While previous studies
reported that people with higher self-esteem experienced lower levels of anxiety,
some individuals may experience higher incidences of anxiety on their quest for
increasing or maintaining self-esteem, as they may internalize feelings of inad-
equacy when receiving negative feedback in their pursuit of self-esteem (Neff &
Vonk, 2009).
For most people, high self-esteem may be an indicator of good mental health;
for others, the continual maintenance of self-esteem could be the cause of psy-
chological problems, as the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and narcissism has
also grown over the past several decades (Smith & Elliott, 2001; Twenge, 2000).
For example, incidence of anxiety was significantly higher in a sample of average
American children in the 1980s when compared to child psychiatric patients in
the 1950s (Twenge, 2000). Today, teenagers report ten times more incidences of
depression than teenagers from a generation ago and suicide rates have tripled
among this age group (Smith & Elliott, 2001). As such, social psychologists have
determined that pursuits of self-esteem or self-esteem maintenance may have un-
intended consequences and have explored other ways for identifying indicators of
healthy mental wellbeing.
One of the promising new indicators of positive mental health is self-com-
passion (Neff, 2003a). Self-compassion is an alternative construct for evaluating
the self and psychological well-being (Neff, 2003b) and can be described as how
an individual treats their self in the presence of failure or obstacles. While this line
of research is a relatively new trend in understanding social psychology, emerging
self-compassion research is consistent with work in the self-in-relation model of

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humanistic psychology and emotion regulation (Neff, 2003a). Social psychologists

have reported that self-compassion is predictive of more stable feelings of self-
worth than global self-esteem while fostering the positive benefits of high global
self-esteem without the negative outcomes (e.g., narcissism) that sometimes ac-
company it (Neff & Vonk, 2009).
In one study, researchers reported that levels of self-compassion correlated
positively with self-reported measures of happiness, optimism and personal initia-
tive (Neff, Rude, & Kirkpatrick, 2007). Furthermore, in a laboratory setting, it
was reported that high levels of self-compassion served as a buffer against anxi-
ety during episodes of ego-threat (Neff, et al., 2007). Self-compassion levels have
moderate negative correlations with social comparison, public self-consciousness,
self-rumination, anger, and need for cognitive closure (Neff & Vonk, 2009). Thus,
self-compassion may be a better indicator for mental well-being than the construct
of global self-esteem.
The construct of self-compassion has been partitioned into three different
facets: self-kindness, common-humanity, and mindfulness (Neff & Vonk, 2009).
Self-kindness is defined as treating yourself in a manner that you treat others with
the same failures. As an example, if one was to console a peer after a mediocre per-
formance, one might emphasize the positive aspects of the performance with gen-
tle suggestions for improvements; for a person with high levels of self-kindness,
she would console herself in the same manner for a similar performance and not
blame the errors on immutable personal traits. Common humanity is described
as understanding that all people experience times of hardship and failure. In un-
derstanding this, lived negative experiences would be viewed as typical for most
people rather than being unique. Finally, mindfulness is being cognizant of the
present surroundings, including the environment, the actions of others, as well as
the positive elements of one’s life. A mindful individual is one who is able to focus
on the current happenings surrounding the individual, rather than concentrating
on the inner monologue of processing emotions within one’s head.
Each of these facets has a negative correlate: self-judgment is the negative
correlate to self-kindness, isolation is in contrast to common humanity, and over-
identification is in opposition to mindfulness. Each component, both positive and
negative, is measured separately through Neff ’s Self-Compassion Scale (2003b),
but theoretically, the components are considered within the three previously men-
tioned categories. The three major components of self-compassion are concep-
tually distinct and experienced differently by the individual; however, they also
interact to enhance and stimulate one another (Neff, 2003b). The development
of the construct of self-compassion mirrors much of the work of social scientists

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that have examined mindfulness, but researchers have noted that Neff ’s theoreti-
cal conceptualization of self-compassion is more robust in predicting depression,
anxiety, and quality of life than other instruments that examine mindfulness (Van
Dam, Sheppard, Forsyth, & Earleywine, 2011).
In the emerging literature about self-compassion in social psychology, there
are reported differences in self-compassion based on group characteristics. Ado-
lescents generally exhibit lower levels of self-compassion than older people (Neff,
2003a). While the relationship between gender and self-compassion levels is still
unclear, slight differences have been reported between gender groups (with wom-
en reporting lower self-compassion than their male counterparts); however, the
differences in self-compassion between gender groups dissipates as participant
samples increase in age (Yarnell, Stafford, Neff, Reilly, Knox, & Mullarkey, 2015).
Cultural distinctions also seem to inform an individual’s experience with self-
compassion. For instance, college students in cultures where Buddhism is preva-
lent were found to have significantly higher levels of self-compassion as compared
to college students in more individualistic societies (Neff, 2003b), although dif-
ferences in self-compassion levels among other types of cultures has not been
detected (Birkett, 2014).
To date, there is no existing study examining self-compassion in relation
to music study. While there are no reported differences between musicians and
non-musicians in relation to self-compassion, several researchers have provided
evidence that musicians have significantly different personality traits than indi-
viduals from the general population. Kemp (1996) reported several differences
between the personalities of professional musicians and the general population.
Musicians, on average, are more introverted than the general population. This
inward-looking trait can be characterized as a disconnection from social groups
and a reticence to share feelings or emotions.
Neuroticism is another personality trait that has been identified as being over-
represented among musicians in comparison to the general population (Kemp,
1996). This trait of emotional instability can be typified by regular experiences
of heightened emotions as well as volatility in personal relationships and social
groups. In a study on popular musicians, Cooper and Wills (1989) found that
popular musicians also reported higher levels of neuroticism than the general pub-
lic. Kemp (1996) has also reported that musicians had higher identification with
independence when compared to control groups, a trait which is characterized by
dominance, competitiveness, and decisiveness.
In addition to personality differences, researchers have reported higher in-
cidence of anxiety in musicians when compared to general populations. Many

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musicians experience anxiety as part of their performing duties: 59% of orchestral

members reported performance anxiety in the past (Van Kemenade, Van Son, &
Van Heech, 1995). Music performance anxiety is an anxiety disorder, specifically
a social phobia, that is experienced to varying degrees by musicians and is expe-
rienced by physiological symptoms that can include nausea, trembling, excessive
sweating, and loss of concentration (Kemp, 2004; Lehmann, Sloboda, & Woody,
2007). Researchers have also reported musicians as being more likely to have trait
anxiety; other trait characteristics such as introversion and neuroticism have been
correlated with performance anxiety (Kemp, 1996; Steptoe & Fidler, 1987). Per-
fectionism (unrealistic high expectations for oneself ) has also been identified as a
possible catalyst for performance anxiety (Kenny, Davis, & Oates, 2004; Mor, Day,
Flett, & Hewitt, 1995; Stoeber & Eissman, 2007). While perfectionism may help
musicians achieve certain positive outcomes in their performing careers, perfec-
tionist cognitions may directly affect performance anxiety (Kobori, Yoshie, Kudo,
& Ohtsuki, 2011).
The higher incidence of anxiety issues and personality traits like neuroticism
and introversion in musicians could indicate differences in levels of self-compas-
sion in musicians when compared to the general public. Moreover, if musicians
experience self-compassion differently from the general population, interventions
of self-compassionate techniques could be utilized to treat the maladaptive symp-
toms experienced by musicians. The purpose of this study was to examine how
music students report self-compassion in comparison to non-music students. Our
guiding research question was: Do music students and non-music students experi-
ence similar levels of self-compassion? It was our hypothesis that there may be a
detectable difference in self-compassion levels between music majors and non-
music majors as there are reported differences in personality traits and anxiety
between musicians and their non-music peers.

Study One
Method
Participants
Adult students were surveyed at a large university in the Pacific Northwest
of the United States. “Music students” were operationally defined as undergradu-
ate or graduate students whose studies focused on music study (i.e., majoring in
music); this definition was agreed upon by the researchers and a consulting team
from a university research group that included researchers in music education,
nursing, and neurobiology, as well as students. The rationale for this definition is

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that students who pursue a music degree have a qualitatively different experience
in music study than students who pursue music as a hobby (e.g., participation in
marching band).
Participants included 49 music majors and 52 non-music majors (N = 101;
56% female). Music majors were recruited from classes found in the core curricu-
lum of a music degree (e.g., music theory, performance ensembles) while non-ma-
jors were recruited from music-focused classes that were populated with students
not pursuing a music degree (i.e., music appreciation, history of rock ’n roll, etc.).
Participants volunteered to stay after class to complete a questionnaire provided
by the researchers. Prior to collecting data, the researchers acquired Institutional
Review Board approval.
Instruments
Participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003b), a 26-item
questionnaire developed to measure levels of self-compassion. The questionnaire
was presented in-person and completed in a paper/pencil format. Participants
were presented with statements reflecting the three positive and three negative (six
total) components of self-compassion: Self-judgment (e.g., “I’m disapproving and
judgmental about my own flaws and inadequacies.”), Self-kindness (e.g., “I try to
be loving towards myself when I’m feeling emotional pain.”), Over-identification
(e.g., “When I’m feeling down I tend to obsess and fixate on everything that’s
wrong.”), Mindfulness (e.g., “When something upsets me I try to keep my emo-
tions in balance.”), Isolation (e.g., “When I think about my inadequacies, it tends
to make me feel more separate and cut off from the rest of the world.”) and Com-
mon Humanity (e.g., “When things are going badly for me, I see the difficulties as
part of life that everyone goes through.”).
Participants were asked to respond to each of these statements on a five-point
Likert-type scale (1 – almost never; 5 – almost always). Cumulative scores for
participants were calculated with positive components (self-kindness, mindfulness
and common humanity) scored according to the response provided. Alternatively,
negative responses (self-judgment, over-identification and isolation) were reverse
scored. Additionally, demographic information was collected (age, gender, major,
and country of birth).
Results
Following the summation of individual scores, group responses were analyzed
and examined. Overall, the questionnaire was found to be reliable (Cronbach’s a =
.92) with each subscale revealing a similar acceptable level of reliability. As a group,
music majors’ mean self-compassion score was 72.76 (SD = 16.22) with non-music

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 Non-Music
Majors
14

12
Contributions to Music Education
10
majors’ mean self-compassion score averaging higher at 78.82 (SD = 17.56). For
8
analysis, a two-group independent t-test was performed. Although the mean self-
compassion
6
score for music students was lower than non-music students, when
comparing the two groups, the results failed to reject the null hypothesis, t(99) =
4
1.80, p = .074. In other words, the results indicate that there was no difference in
self-compassion
2
levels between the music majors and non-music majors that could
not be explained by random error.
0 Participants’ scores were then broken down into the Mindfulness
six component parts of
Self-Kindness Self-Judgment Common Humanity Isolation Over-Identification
the self-compassion (e.g., self-kindness, mindfulness) survey to determine if any
one component
Figure would reveal
1. Self-Compassion a difference
Levels. This figurebetween thereported
displays the groups.components
No significant
of self-dif-
compassion levels between music majors and non-music majors.
ferences in reported self-compassion components were detected by group. Music
and non-music students reported self-compassion components are displayed in
Figure 1.

18 Music
Majors
16
Non-Music
Majors
14

12

10

0
Self-Kindness Self-Judgment Common Humanity Isolation Mindfulness Over-Identification

Figure 1. Self-Compassion Levels. This figure displays the reported components of self-compassion
Figure 1. Self-Compassion Levels. This figure displays the reported components of self-
between music majors and non-music
compassion majors.
between music majors and non-music majors.

Discussion
An evaluation of previous research led the authors to hypothesize that music
majors may report lower self-compassion levels than participants majoring in pro-
grams outside of music. While music majors reported self-compassion levels lower
than their non-music peers, this result was not significant and failed to reject the
null hypothesis. Because the p value of the difference between groups (p = .074)
was nearing the critical value (a = .05) in addition to music students reporting
lower self-compassion levels for each of the six subcomponents of the construct,

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the researchers re-examined the data to ascertain if there was a Type-2 error pres-
ent, where there is a significant difference between groups but it is undetected
due to a lack of power. The researchers initiated a post-hoc power analysis using
G*Power software (Faul, Erdfelder, Lang, & Buchner, 2007). After inputting the
number of participants for each group, the estimated power (1 – b) to detect a
medium effect size (Cohen’s d = .5) was .70, below the standard of .80 of research
in the social sciences (Overland, 2014). Due to the deficient power in this analysis
along with the general trend of musicians’ lower scores in self-compassion as well
as the individual components, the research team decided to pursue a replication
to substantiate findings.

Study Two
Method
Participants
Data were gathered from music and non-music majors from two universi-
ties in the United States. One institution was a large public university in the
Southeastern part of the country; the other university was a small, private reli-
gious school located in the Midwestern part of the United States. This second
data collection comprised 69 music majors and 49 non-music majors (N = 118,
58% female). Participants were recruited from music and non-music classes (e.g.,
Introduction to Speech) via email from the authors in which prospective partici-
pants were provided a link to complete the questionnaire at their leisure.
Instrument
Participants completed the same 26-item Self-Compassion Scale (Neff,
2003b) and demographic items as the first data collection. Music majors were also
asked to respond to one additional item (“How often do you experience perfor-
mance anxiety?”) on a 5-point, Likert-type scale. This scale was anchored with
a response of “1” being “almost never” and “5” being “almost always.” Similar to
Study 1, composite self-compassion scores were tabulated for each participant.
Positive components were scored exactly as the participant responded and nega-
tive components were reverse scored, as in the first study. Responses from the
performance anxiety inquiry did not require any adjustment by the scorers and
were analyzed as they were reported.

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Results
Two different types of analyses were run with this data set. First, mean group
scores were compared to detect differences in self-compassion between music ma-
jor and non-music major groups. Second, responses from the performance anxiety
inquiry were compared to self-compassion scores of the music major group to
examine a potential relationship. In comparing the two groups’ summed self-com-
passion scores, no significant difference was found between groups, which again
failed to reject the null hypothesis, t(118) = 0.13, p > .05. In this study, music ma-
jors scored an average of 76.96 (SD = 15.21) and non-music majors scored 76.57
(SD = 16.56) in self-compassion.
Reports of performance anxiety and self-compassion scores by music majors
were compared to identify a potential relationship. As seen in Table 1, there was
no significant difference between composite self-compassion scores and reported
experiences of performance anxiety, r(67) = -.18, p > .05. Components of self-
compassion were also examined in relation to performance anxiety. Five of the six
subcomponents revealed no significant relationship to performance anxiety (self-
kindness, r(118) = -.09, p > .05; self-judgment, r(67) = -.20, p > .05; common
humanity, r(67) = .05, p >.05; isolation, r(67) = -.13, p > .05; mindfulness, r(67) =
-.08, p > .05); however, over-identification was identified as having a significant,
moderate correlation with reported incidence of performance anxiety, r(67) = -.31,
p < .05.
Discussion
Results from the second data collection revealed no significant difference in
self-compassion between the music and non-music groups, supporting the initial
finding of the prior data collection. The researchers added one additional item to
explore the relationship of reported performance anxiety in music majors with
self-compassion. While there was not a strong relationship detected between self-
compassion and reported performance anxiety, there was one significant correla-
tion detected between performance anxiety and one component of self-compas-
sion: over-identification.
A low-to-moderate significant negative correlation, r = -.31, p <.05, was found
between self-compassion scores and the over-identification component of self-
compassion. In other words, participants who might “fixate” or “overly obsess”
(Neff, 2003b) on negative aspects of their performance reported more frequent
experiences of performance anxiety. While the researchers’ hypothesis related to
self-compassion was not fully supported, the singular relationship between over-
identification and performance anxiety exhibited by these participants merits fur-
ther exploration.

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General Discussion
The purpose of this study was to explore self-compassion levels of music stu-
dents and their non-music peers. Despite previous evidence that musicians differ
from non-musical peers in certain personality traits (e.g, neuroticism, introver-
sion, independence), the current studies revealed no significant difference in self-
compassion between groups based on field of study, music or otherwise. While
results did not align with our original hypothesis, it seems logical that a great deal
of variability in self-compassion is present in both music students and students
of other disciplines. In other words, there are individuals with high or low self-
compassion levels in both the music and non-music groups. It is reasonable to be-
lieve that many musicians are likely to be compassionate towards themselves when
encountering obstacles, an important trait to become successful in a career where
high-pressured performances are expected. In contrast, it is just as likely that other
musicians may be less compassionate toward themselves if they do not meet their
high expectations.
While the focus of this project examined the reported self-compassion lev-
els of music and non-music students, a limitation of the study is the creation of
the groups by an arbitrary designation (e.g., their focus of study). It can be as-
sumed that many in the non-music group had significant musical experiences and
training, but decided to pursue other disciplines. Further study should explore
self-compassion using a more quantitative metric for musical experiences, like the
Goldsmith Music Sophistication Index (Müllensiefen, Gingras, Stewart, & Mu-
sil, 2011), to robustly examine the relationships between music experience and
self-compassion.
While our compared groups were similar in age and nation of origin, other
factors such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and religious tradition were not
considered; these factors could have an unknown influence on our results. The
lack of any distinction in self-compassion between music students and non-music
students may have been due to competing factors within the self. Stratification
or sample matching may be useful in future studies to fully understand if music
tuition can impact self-compassion. Alternatively, our samples may have been less
homogenous as compared to samples in previous research where personality dif-
ferences were detected between musicians and the general population. Samples
from both private and public institutions were more diverse than prior studies (i.e.,
recruiting participants who were members of a professional orchestra or conserva-
tories) as well as student bodies being more diverse than when much of the prior
research was undertaken. Differences in self-compassion may emerge between
more specific groups within music students; for instance, students who concen-

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trate on performance aspects to their careers may be more or less compassionate to

themselves than those who concentrate on musicology or pedagogy. Future studies
on self-compassion should examine subgroups of musicians more closely.
In the second data collection, we examined a potential relationship between
the components of self-compassion and a single item of self-reporting perfor-
mance anxiety. There was no relationship detected between reported self-compas-
sion and performance anxiety. However, a low-to-moderate significant correlation
(r = -.31) was detected between reported performance anxiety and over-identifica-
tion, a negative component of self-compassion where the individual is more aware
of his or her inner cognitions than his or her environment.
The relationship between self-compassion and performance anxiety should
be examined further as it is surprising that a relationship was detected with such
a blunt item on the survey. Future studies of performance anxiety and self-com-
passion should utilize performance anxiety instruments (e.g., Kenny Music Per-
formance Anxiety Inventory) to fully understand how performance anxiety and
self-compassion interact (Kenny, et al., 2004). If there is a clearer understanding of
the relationship between self-compassion and performance anxiety, future research
could focus on design and implementation of self-compassion interventions, help-
ing to alleviate the negative effects of performance anxiety.
Through two different data collections, the results revealed no significant
difference in self-compassion levels between the broad categories of music stu-
dents and non-music students in the studied samples. While these results did not
support the original hypothesis of this study, it has led the authors to consider
individual variances within music majors and potential relationships between self-
compassion and performance anxiety. Future directions in this line of research can
help elucidate the relationship between self-compassion and incidence of perfor-
mance anxiety. With clearer understanding of these phenomena, researchers and
music education practitioners may be able to provide helpful tools to reduce or
eliminate performance anxiety symptoms through self-compassion techniques.
As this is the first exploration of self-compassion within the field of music
education, it is important to consider these results in light of the research record
of social psychology. There are documented differences in self-compassion be-
tween some groups of people (e.g., differences by age, gender, or culture of origin);
however, there is no evidence that self-compassion is influenced by a prolonged
activity as a by-product. The lack of evidence in this study suggests that other
stronger enculturating factors (e.g., gender, religious tradition, individualistic/ col-
lective society) may have more impact on self-conceptualization than a prolonged
activity like music study.

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Moreover, researchers in social psychology have provided evidence that an

individual’s self-compassion level can be improved through therapeutic means
which can lead to better mental health outcomes; however, these changes only
occur within the context of explicitly improving self-compassion as therapy or
a specific program, not as unintended consequences of some other activity (like
music-making). In some ways, it is advantageous that music students are more
like non-music students than different in regards to self-compassion. For these
samples, it appears that music study did not positively or, more importantly, nega-
tively impact music students’ sense of self.
In some ways, the results of this study are similar to studies exploring self-
esteem in music education where there are no significant differences between
control and experimental groups. Costa-Giomi (2004) reported no differences
between the control and music group in self-esteem after three years of piano
study; she also reported significant growth in self-esteem in the music group from
the beginning of the study to three years later. Perhaps a relationship between
music study and self-compassion can be detected longitudinally and should be
considered in future research designs.
For music educators, the implications of self-compassion and the results of
this study are important. Self-compassion can help students to promote mental
well-being, that can serve them well throughout their lives as well as potential-
ly serve as a defense against performance anxiety in their musical studies. The
evidence of this study suggests that intensive music study does not affect self-
compassion in a uniform way, whether positively or negatively; music educators
must be explicit and proactive in coaching students to be more compassionate to
themselves.
Music programs will likely benefit from endorsing self-compassion within their
classrooms, as students may begin to attribute obstacles, and even failures, to exter-
nal forces rather to an internal, personal fault. These attributions can heavily influ-
ence participation choices (Asmus, 1985; Demorest, Kelley, & Pfordresher, 2017).
While increased participation in music programs and a reduction in performance
anxiety are laudable goals for the music educator, promoting self-compassion in
students has value in that it may help build healthy, collaborative citizens.

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Contributions to Music Education

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