Little Voices, Big Feelings — The Complete Series
An evidence-informed exploration of music performance anxiety in child singers, written for parents, teachers, and music educators.
Phase 1: Foundation
Post 1 — It's Oh So Quiet...
When silence is deafening
The signs of music performance anxiety in young singers are easy to miss — or misread. This post names what they look like, and why they matter.
Post 2 — I Don't Know Why Sometimes I Get Frightened
Understanding music performance anxiety in young musicians
What MPA actually is, how it differs from ordinary pre-performance nerves, and why it deserves to be taken seriously in young musicians.
Post 3 — Under Pressure
The unique challenges facing child voice students
Singing is unlike any other instrument — the voice lives inside the body, changes without warning, and carries identity. This post explores what makes young singers uniquely vulnerable.
Post 4 — You Are Not Alone
How common is music performance anxiety in children?
MPA is far more prevalent in young musicians than most people realise. This post draws on the research to normalise what so many children — and the adults who support them — experience in silence.
Post 5 — Learning to Fly
What the research tells us about MPA — and where the gaps remain
An accessible overview of the existing MPA literature — what researchers have found, where the gaps are, and what this series seeks to contribute.
Phase 2: Methodology
Post 6 — Lean on Me
What peer-supported learning is, and why it matters
An introduction to peer-supported learning as an approach — why peers can offer something that adults sometimes can't, and why it matters in the context of performance anxiety.
Post 7 — The Riddle
Why this research problem is so important to solve
Introducing the eight young singers at the heart of this research — who they were, what they brought to the room, and why their voices matter.
Post 8 —More than words
The power of communication
Children often communicate most honestly through images. This post explains the draw-and-tell approach and why it was the right method for this research.
Phase 3: Findings
Post 9 — Big Picture
What ten weeks with eight young singers revealed
The headline findings from ten weeks with eight young singers — and what they suggest about how we support children through performance anxiety.
Post 10 — With a little help from my friends
The unexpected power of peer connection in performance anxiety
One of the most significant findings in this research is what happened between the children. This post explores the particular power of peer connection in reducing performance anxiety.
Post 11 — Changes
How eight strangers transformed together
Eight children who didn't know each other became something more over ten weeks. This post traces that transformation and what it meant for how they performed.
Post 12 — Brave
When children become supportive leaders
As trust built, something unexpected happened: the children began leading each other. This post examines what that looked like and why it matters.
Post 13 — Word Up!
What the young singers said — in their own words
The participants in this research had strong, clear things to say about their own experience. This post lets their words speak.
Post 14 — Listen to your heart
The drawing that changed everything
A drawing made by Riley, aged eleven, became the most powerful piece of data in this study. This post tells that story.
Post 15 — Imagine
Possibilities and futures - imagining a brighter future
Pulling the findings together — what this research suggests for how we teach, how we parent, and where the field goes next.
Phase 4: Resources
Post 16 — Talk
A guide for parents: the conversations worth having
A gentle, evidence-based guide to the conversations parents can have — and the ones worth avoiding.
Post 17 — We are the champions
Building peer support into music education programs
Practical strategies singing teachers and music educators can implement now, informed directly by the research findings.
Post 18 — I would walk 500 miles
Resources to walk along side you
A curated collection of resources, recommended reading, and places to go next for parents, teachers, and researchers who want to learn more.
Post 19 — Roar!
And I Sang! — the story behind the name
The story behind the name that started everything.
Post 20 — We are family!
A celebration, a community, and a gift
The post that closes the series — celebrate with me!