Summary: A new study finds that recalling positive memories before stepping on stage can meaningfully improve musicians’ performances. Professional wind instrumentalists who focused on uplifting past experiences showed greater sympathetic nervous system activity, reported more positive emotions and higher arousal, and were rated as performing better than those who recalled negative memories or no memories at all.
These physiological and psychological shifts translated into higher self-assessed and peer-assessed performance scores. The results emphasize how reframing pre-performance stress as readiness can help performers manage anxiety and perform more confidently.
Key Facts
- Positive recall: Musicians who recalled positive memories reported higher emotional valence and arousal during performance.
- Nervous system response: Positive recollection was associated with increased indicators of sympathetic nervous system activity.
- Broader applicability: This simple, mentally focused strategy could also help athletes, public speakers, and students manage performance anxiety.
Source: Keio University
Maintaining steady psychological control before and during concerts is essential for professional musicians who want to sustain long careers and deliver consistent, high-quality performances. Yet emotions are influenced by many variables beyond an individual’s control—colleagues, audience reactions, venue conditions, and the program itself—so managing them can be difficult.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulates involuntary bodily functions such as heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure. Within the ANS, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) readies the body for challenge, producing the so-called “fight-or-flight” response. Prior work suggests SNS activation can sometimes enhance musical performance, but the mechanisms behind that effect were unclear.
Some studies indicate positive emotions can shape SNS activity—lowering feelings of stress, strengthening confidence, and improving performance. Building on these insights, the research team tested whether recalling positive autobiographical performance memories would activate the SNS, boost emotional valence and arousal, and in turn improve subjective performance.
Aiko Watanabe, a saxophonist and Ph.D. candidate at the Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, led the research motivated by practical questions about performance under pressure. The study was supervised by Associate Professor Shinya Fujii and published in Volume 16 of Frontiers in Psychology on September 3, 2025. The team included Sotaro Kondoh and Tomohiro Samma from Keio University.
Thirty-six experienced professional wind instrumentalists—playing flute, horn, trombone, and other classical wind instruments—took part. Before performing a five-minute musical piece, each musician engaged in one of three conditions: recalling a positive autobiographical performance memory, recalling a negative one, or imagining routine pre-performance activities (no-memory condition).
During the memory-recall phase researchers recorded electrocardiogram (ECG) data. After playing, participants completed subjective evaluations of their own performance using measures of valence (how positive or negative they felt), arousal (emotional intensity), and perceived performance achievement. They also provided objective evaluations by rating the performances of the other participants.
The study found that participants in the positive memory condition reported higher performance achievement, greater emotional valence, and higher arousal than those in the negative or no-memory conditions. Heart rate variability analysis showed a larger change in the SD2/SD1 ratio—a metric interpreted here as indicating greater sympathetic predominance—among participants who recalled positive memories.
Path analysis revealed that increases in sympathetic indicators did not directly lead to better performance. Instead, SNS activation appeared to increase positive emotional valence, and this improved emotional state contributed to higher self-rated performance. In short, positive memory recall helped musicians reinterpret physiological arousal as a resource that enhanced their emotional state and performance.
Dr. Fujii summarizes the implication: it is not physiological arousal alone that determines outcome, but how musicians interpret and regulate that arousal. Deliberately recalling successful or uplifting performance memories helps reframe bodily signs of arousal from “anxiety” into “readiness.”
Practically, performers can use brief, focused positive recollection as a low-cost, easy-to-apply strategy to boost confidence and expressiveness on stage. The approach is also relevant for music educators teaching students to manage stage fright and for developing sustainable pre-performance routines.
Watanabe adds that these findings highlight the role of individual interpretation of physiological states in high-pressure contexts, and that similar reframing strategies may aid athletes, public speakers, and other performers.
Future work can build on these results to integrate memory-based reframing into training protocols aimed at reducing performance anxiety, enhancing well-being, and helping performers achieve optimal states on stage.
Funding: This research was supported by the Taikichiro Mori Memorial Research Grants and the JST SPRING Grant (No. JPMJSP2123) to A.W., and by the JST COI-NEXT Grant (No. JPMJPF2203), the JST Moonshot R&D Grant (No. JPMJMS2215), and the JSPS KAKENHI Grant (No. 24H02199) to S.F.
About this stress and memory research news
Author: Shinya Fujii
Source: Keio University
Contact: Shinya Fujii, Keio University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access. “Enhanced subjective performance achievement in wind instrument playing through positive memory recall: effects of sympathetic activation and emotional valence” by Aiko Watanabe et al., Frontiers in Psychology
Abstract
Enhanced subjective performance achievement in wind instrument playing through positive memory recall: effects of sympathetic activation and emotional valence
Controlling physiological and psychological states before performance is critical for professional musicians seeking peak execution, yet the optimal pre-performance state remains uncertain. Although sympathetic nervous system activity commonly increases before performance, when interpreted as anxiety it can impair outcomes. This study tested whether recalling positive autobiographical performance memories enhances subjective performance by increasing emotional arousal and valence alongside autonomic activity.
Thirty-six professional wind players participated. Before each performance, players either recalled a positive memory, recalled a negative memory, or engaged in routine pre-performance imagery (no-memory). Heart rate and heart rate variability indices were recorded during memory recall. Following each trial, participants rated their arousal, valence, and perceived performance achievement. Researchers focused on SD1 (parasympathetic-related) and the SD2/SD1 ratio (a relative index of sympathetic predominance).
Results showed higher performance achievement, arousal, and valence in the positive versus negative condition. Path analysis indicated that increased SD2/SD1 did not directly predict achievement; instead, sympathetic predominance was associated with higher emotional valence, which in turn improved subjective performance. These findings suggest recalling positive performance memories can activate sympathetic responses that foster positive emotions and enhance perceived performance achievement among professional musicians.