Dakota Johnson's performance in 'The High Note' was inspired by St. Vincent.

The 30-year-old actress portrays Maggie - a pop star's assistant who aspires for more - in the new movie and she spent a lot of time with her musical friend in order to prepare for the role.

She said: ''I learned to play four of the songs for the movie on piano. I had piano lessons when I was a kid but I haven't played since then, so I had to learn again.

''I also spent a bit of time with my friend Anne Clark, who is a musician who goes by the name St. Vincent. I stole a lot of things from her that she does in the studio.''

Johnson felt very uneasy having to sing on screen and even had therapy after another role when she had to show off her vocals.

She told OK! magazine: ''I don't like singing. I sing by myself or in my car, but that's it. I had done some singing in a movie that I shot right before this one.

''In that movie, I had to sing in a community theatre and it was the most terrifying thing I'd ever done. I guess doing that film saved me because I got over it through a lot of therapy. I did more singing lessons for this movie too.''

The brunette beauty ''loves'' music more than movies, because she can disconnect and enjoy the songs, whereas she can't relax when watching a film as there's always something new to learn.

She added: ''I absolutely love music. In fact, I love music almost more than I love movie because I love it in purely an emotional way. When I watch a movie, I'm studying, I'm dissecting and I'm learning.''