This study investigates the interplay between perfectionism and music performance anxiety, focusing on the mediating role of music performance anxiety and the moderating influence of adolescent emotional experience in Saudi Arabian music courses. Data were collected from 383 music education adolescents in Saudi Arabia using a purposive sampling technique and self-administered questionnaires. Employing a deductive quantitative and cross-sectional research approach, the results from Partial Least Structural (PLS)-Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) indicate a positive and significant impact of music education, personal standard perfectionism, and evaluative concern perfectionism on self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is found to negatively and significantly influence music performance anxiety, while also serving as a significant mediator between perfectionism and music performance anxiety. The lack of emotional experience is identified as a negative and significant moderator in the relationship between music performance self-efficacy and music performance anxiety. This study's significant mediating and moderating effects contribute to the literature, offering insights for future research and guiding educational institutions in recognizing the importance of self-efficacy and emotional experience in addressing performance anxiety among adolescents engaged in music education in Saudi Arabia.