Breath, brain, and performance: investigating the effects of respiratory patterns on anxiety and cognition in bassoon players.

Music performance anxiety (MPA) represents a prevalent challenge among musicians, yet the specific relationships between respiratory patterns, anxiety, and cognitive function in wind instrumentalists remain underexplored. This cross-sectional study investigated these relationships in bassoon players, a population facing unique respiratory demands due to the instrument's double reed mechanism and sustained breath support requirements. A total of 118 bassoon players (48 professional, 70 amateur) completed an online questionnaire comprising the Self-Evaluation of Breathing Questionnaire (SEBQ), Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory-Revised (K-MPAI-R), Attentional Control Scale (ACS), and self-rated performance measures. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that dysfunctional breathing was positively associated with performance anxiety (r = 0.52, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with attentional control (r = -0.39, p < 0.001). Hierarchical regression indicated that dysfunctional breathing explained 23.1% of variance in performance anxiety beyond demographic covariates. Mediation analysis using bootstrapping demonstrated that performance anxiety partially mediated the relationship between dysfunctional breathing and attentional control, with the indirect effect accounting for 59.4% of the total effect (ab = -0.19, 95% CI [-0.30, -0.10]). Independent samples t-tests showed that professional players exhibited lower dysfunctional breathing scores (d = 0.58), higher attentional control (d = 0.54), and better performance outcomes compared to amateur players; however, performance anxiety levels did not differ significantly between groups (p = 0.448). These findings support the application of Attentional Control Theory to wind instrument performance contexts and highlight respiratory patterns as a potential intervention target for managing MPA. The results suggest that breathing-focused training may benefit bassoon players by reducing anxiety and enhancing cognitive function, though longitudinal research is needed to establish causal relationships.