Professional status matters: Differences in flow proneness between professional and amateur contemporary musicians

Achieving peak performance for musicians often requires getting into a state of flow. Experiencing this state depends on various genetic and environmental factors; however, the importance of one’s professional status in relation to flow remains unexplored. Therefore, we investigated the differences in flow proneness between professional and amateur musicians in a large sample (N = 664) of contemporary musicians. We found that professional musicians were significantly more flow prone in music than their amateur counterparts, and artists were significantly more flow prone than record producers. Further, professional musicians were more flow prone in their daily lives, suggesting a potential crossover effect of pursuing a flow-inducing activity to a professional level. Instrument, genre, and type of training did not influence flow proneness, and finally, trait anxiety was not significantly higher in professional musicians. Overall, this study highlights the positive consequences of pursuing music professionally and provides insight into the nuances of music professions that may influence flow proneness.