An investigation into the effects of breath coaching-based breath exercise practices on stage and exam performance

Year 2025, Volume: 13 Issue: 3, 261 - 282, 30.09.2025

Gökçe Sarvan

https://doi.org/10.12975/rastmd.20251332

Abstract

An examination of the high school and undergraduate curricula in conservatory education reveals that breathing exercises are primarily incorporated as part of wind instrument and vocal instruction. There is no course content within the curricula of Turkish state conservatories that applies breathing exercises for stage anxiety or general well-being. Breath coaching has become formalized through the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and is approved by the Vocational Qualifications Authority (MYK). It has also started to be used as a therapeutic method within the discipline of psychology. The fact that these exercises can be applied to individuals across all professions and student populations—and that users have reported positive effects especially concerning anxiety and well-being—has generated the need to examine their impact on individuals pursuing a career in performing arts. A review of the literature shows that while there are descriptive studies on stage anxiety, the potential impact of exercises recommended in breath coaching on musicians’ performance has not yet been scientifically studied. This gap constitutes the point of departure for this research. The study is designed using the case study method, one of the qualitative research methods. Participants were selected using purposive sampling and include 22 individuals who have graduated from or are currently studying at Turkish state conservatories and continue to perform. As a data collection tool, a scale titled “Opinions on the Effects of Breathing Exercises on Stage and Exam Performance”—developed by the researcher—was used. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test, one of the nonparametric statistical tests, was employed for data analysis. In practice, the researcher served as the breath coach and provided participants with online training in breathing exercises and respiratory physiology. The data collection tool was administered both as a pre- test and a post-test. As a result of the study, it was found that breath coaching-based practices had no significant effect on the number of breaths taken per minute (p>.05) but had a significant positive effect on breath-holding duration (p<.05), performance anxiety before and during performance, sweating, trembling, chills, and difficulty in breathing (p<.05). It also positively affected shortness of breath during performance, breath-holding, throat tightness and dryness, saliva accumulation in the throat, muscular tension and clenching, muscular laxity and lack of control, breath control, and the ability to maintain focus during performance (p<.05). In the future, the impact of breath coaching-based breathing exercise practices could be studied across different participant groups, in face-to-face settings, and using various experimental designs.

Keywords

breath coaching , breathing exercise , coaching , music , performance

Ethical Statement

Approval for the research was obtained from the Kocaeli University State Conservatory Directorate with document number 655261 dated 25.09.2024, confirming its compliance with scientific research and publication ethics.

Supporting Institution

This study was supported by the Kocaeli University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit under project number SBA-2024-4141.

Project Number

Bu çalışma Kocaeli Üniversitesi Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Koordinasyon Birimi tarafından SBA-2024-4139 nolu proje kapsamında desteklenmiştir.

Thanks

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Kocaeli University for their support throughout the project, to all participants, and to the parents of participants under the age of 18 for their consent and support.

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