Insulating Musical Motor Skills Against Music Performance Anxiety

Musicians as performers are particularly susceptible to the negative effects of Music Performance Anxiety (MPA). The effects of MPA on attention and motor skills can be profound yet are under-researched. This thesis explores musical performance from a motor-learning perspective, examines the effects of MPA on motor control and attention, and analyzes coping strategies of elite professional classical brass players. A learning framework based in theories of embodied cognition is subsequently proposed for insulating musical performance against the deleterious effects of MPA.D.M.A