MEGHAN KHARSYNRAP
Performance
Anxiety?
THE STAGE DOESN’T BITE!
In 2013 at an iHeartRadio Concert at New York,
Jonathan Knight of New Kids On The Block
walked off the stage after he was unable to sing the
words of his solo in song “Survive You” from their
album 10. That day fans were also met with an
apology from Knight on twitter.
Knight has an interesting history with
performance. He left the band in 1994 to live a
reclusive life for 3 years. He then pursued a career
in real estate and became immensely successful.
He only reunited with the band in 2008. Knight
is generally outspoken about his anxiety. He has
talked about his panic attacks on stage extensively
on Oprah as well as the genetic history of his
anxiety.
This feeling is relatable in several musical circles
but also outside it. Sometimes performing on
stage can be debilitating. It’s not the incidental
excitement or the nerves before a gig that really
bothers people. It’s the exhausting process of
constant fear many weeks before a performance.
Then finally, during the performance, the
exhaustion of constantly evaluating ones musical
value in real time. It makes a person self critical.
I personally am always looking for some mistake
even after a good performance. Some musicians
never feel satisfied with the performance and this
could be the bane of the performer.
The American Psychiatric Association states
that performance anxiety is a subtype of social
anxiety disorder (SAD). If a person suffers from
persistent fear for 6 or more months and it affects
their lifestyle- socially, at work or in general then
they’re likely to have SAD.
30
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
It’s crazy how many idols suffer from music
performance anxiety. There’s Eddie Van Halen,
Adele, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Lorde
and even Ozzy Osbourne. Sometimes it takes
just one accident that could make you feel
performance anxiety for life like with Barbara
Streisand. In 1967 at a Concert in Central Park,
New York, Barbra Streisand couldn’t recollect
the lyrics of her song. Soon after she developed
Music Performance Anxiety and left the stage for
27 years.
So I asked a couple of local artists from Mumbai
how they felt about performing on stage. Brothers,
Joshua and Samuel Sinate told me that performing
for them was always fun and effortless. They
enjoy both the music and the interaction from the
crowd. Joshua tells me that he’s never based how
good a performance is depending on the audience’s
reaction because when he plays classical music
the audience is generally quiet and they’re more
active when he plays fun gigs. So he’s never felt
the need to overanalyse them. Both musicians
also feel like any nerves they have about a
performance can be countered with practice.
Avneesh from Bombay Bandook also had a
positive outlook to performing. He tells me he
tries not to be to critical of himself after his
performance. It’s okay to have days when you’re
off, you can just bounce back.
So why do only some musicians experience such
performance anxiety? There could be many
factors involved. It could start from a traumatic
experience like with Barbara Streisand or genetic
like with Knight. It could be a foundational
problem, a developmental problem or a problem
owing to self esteem.
For some Musicians a bad performance holds a
lot of weight. It could make them feel like quitting
their passion because they think they’ll probably
never get better. One small mistake could make
them feel like they ruined their performance not
only for themselves but for their band and that
they don’t deserve to be in it. Some anxiety is
always healthy and normal before a performance
but in excess can prove to be toxic. Fortunately
today, there are many ways to help yourself
achieve calm before the performance from
psycho/talk/cognitive behavior therapy to other
medication. But change can only start when the
anxiety ridden musician seeks for it.