Music applications with elite athletes

Music applications with elite athletes

This applied paper chronicles a variety of music applications used with elite athletes, with particular reference to the Olympic Games. General examples include the synchronization of activities to music in order to capitalise on the well-established ergogenic effect, and using music asynchronously to, for example, induce an appropriate pre-performance mindset, or intensify responses to relaxation and imagery techniques. Specific examples of music use with elite performers include providing inspiration to bobsleigh and shooting medallists at the 1998 and 2000 Olympic Games, respectively; implementing pre-event arousal control strategies with boxing and rowing medallists at the 2000 Olympic Games; maintaining motivation and training cues during successful rehabilitation from chronic fatigue syndrome of an Olympic canoeist; intensifying visualisation strategies among a lawn bowls team at the South East Asian Games; as an adjunct to audio-visual entertainment, also known as brainwave training, during the trap shooting event at the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games, conditioning responses to specific music to promote ideal brain activity among clay target shooters at the 2008 Olympic Games; and using iPhone technology to deliver music interventions to shooters in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games.