Dr. Elswick played short excerpts to illustrate points made by Dr. Cox. Accomplished performers and students alike suffer from performance anxiety. It is something universal to all performers at some time or another. Dr. Cox stated that music is symbolic, Richard Cox with every note having a message. As performers, we must think about the message being presented, so that we can effectively communicate the message through our music.
Anxiety results from what is going on in the performer's mind.
Dr. Cox said that everything we do is based on memory, which is developed early in life. After learning basic skills, the rest of life is spent perfecting those skills. Memory is very closely related to emotion, and an experience from years ago can come back and trigger an anxiety attack. He went on to say that the best musicians use both parts of the brain. The left brain, or the analytical side of us, is used when learning things such as scales, double tonguing, modes, and any of the technical skills we learn.