An Examination of the Impact of a Training Programme Based on Sport Psychology for a Cohort of Contemporary Singing Students

Abstract

Sport psychology is well recognised and accepted as an important aspect of sports training, especially for elite athletes. Sport psychology focuses on teaching skills and methods such as goal setting and mental preparation for athletes so that they can develop their psychological abilities to the same high level as their physical abilities. Few researchers have linked sports and singing training, but it appears that many of the techniques used in sport psychology could be of value in developing singers’ practice and performance skills.

This study examined the overall impact of introducing sport psychology based training into the curriculum of a cohort of tertiary level contemporary singing students, using a qualitative case study approach. Five categories from sport psychology methods were identified for the purpose of this research: deliberate practice, self-efficacy, motivation, goal setting and peak performance were introduced into the teaching of the singing programme. Analysis of the impact revealed that sport psychology methods were not easily transferable into this vocal curriculum. The outcomes showed that the participants’ level of development in terms of learning skills was at a lower level than the demands of sport psychology