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You might be looking
calm on the outside
but inside you are
broiling. Be it on the
day of your examination
result or interview or making
a speech on the stage, you try
your best to look confident without
showing your nervousness.
But you are either shaking, your
hands are trembling and legs become
weak or your heart is racing.
That is your anxiety speaking
out.
Similar is the situation of any
artiste who comes onstage to entertain
you. Though they are
meant to be there, these artistes
go through the same panic attacks
before or during their
shows, which is known as music
performance anxiety.
No exception
It is no different from any other
anxiety and it is a condition but
not disorder.
“Music is a living art and it is
related with emotions. An artiste
has to perform which is why they
go through music performance
anxiety. People from other fields
too come across intense tension
but in our field, the anxiety can
be seen immediately,” expresses
composer and singer Aavaas.
Be it senior singer Kunti Moktan
or contemporary singer like
Hemanta Rana, almost every
artiste is stressed before their
shows.
Moktan says, “Before any show
I am in fear and praying.”
Due to her anxiety, she never
goes to perform in the beginning.
“I am in a queue.”
Another extremely nervous
person is Yogeshwor Amatya
whose “heart beats like crazy. It
can be heard outside. It is the
hardest waiting period”. He expresses,
“If artistes who have
spent their 40 years doing music
and performing are nervous,
then anyone can be!”
rhythm THT
pulse
Performance anxiety
Shaky legs, racing heartbeats, sweaty palms —
Jessica Rai talks to our musicians talks about
stage fright and how they’ve coped with this scourge
She stepped on the Nepali music
stage with her debut album
Silver Lining. Singing the
lyrics of Durga Lal Shrestha
tuned by Nhyoo Bajracharya, she
has become one of the voices of
the younger generation. She has a
background in Western classical
music and with her chart topping
number like Jaun under her belt,
Dikyi Ukyab at 21, has many more
gigs to perform
Major influences: I have
many different inspirations and
Broadway star Idina Menzel is one.
I listen to varied genres of music to
experiment with them. However,
pop music has influenced me a lot.
It is always changing and includes
other genres as well. Lastly,
artistes like Adele, India Arie, Josh
Stone and Norah Jones are other
influences as they are able to portray
emotion in songs.
Musical journey: I remember
my first CD which was of Shania
Twain when I was a second
grader. I played it over and over to
sing along. That was when I realised
I wanted to sing. I started my
musical journey with musical theatre.
In high school, I was in a choir
which motivated me to take up
And Rana states, “One may
look very confident on the outside,
but everybody is worried
about their act.”
This anxiety is common for
human beings, according to Dr
Mita Rana, Clinical Psychologist
and Professor at Department of
Psychiatry and Mental Health,
Tribhuvan University Teaching
Hospital (TUTH).
As music is related with emotions,
“musicians and singers are
more vulnerable to performance
anxiety than anyone else which
is shown in research,” she informs.
Any performance anxiety can
Ratna Sagar Shrestha / THT
be felt due to apprehension on
how they would be thought of or
how the audience would anticipate
his/ her performance.
Anxiety effects
When Aavaas experienced
music performance anxiety to a
high degree, he had to leave his
concert after singing just three
songs. His voice got shaky and he
couldn’t sing in tune.
If this anxiety hits an artiste
badly, his/her performance is affected,
pushing them to “indulge
in alcohol or drugs,” Aavaas
points out.
“Michael Jackson’s drug use
close
ENCOUNTER
Uma Bista / THT
and behaviour might be due to
performance anxiety,” he expresses
adding “If you observe,
there are lots of bands using
drugs in the western music industry
and even our revered
artistes have the history of alcohol
which is due to this anxiety.”
Revealing his encounters with
such incidents Amatya adds, “I
have seen artistes consuming alcohol
before performances.” He
also divulges that he himself
takes three pegs of whiskey before
his performance. “It might
be due to music performance
anxiety.”
And when one feels the pressure
to impress the crowd, anxiety
develops resulting in physical
symptoms — shaking knees,
shaking hands, sweaty palms
and racing hearts — developed
due to psychology related
with emotions.
Even personality traits of an
artiste provoke such anxiety, explains
Dr Rana.
Meanwhile, Aavaas describes
himself as an introvert which
makes him suffer from performance
anxiety more than others.
Nevertheless, this anxiety to
some level is believed to be helpful
to the artistes. “It doesn’t allow
an artiste to be arrogant due to
the apprehension,” cites Aavaas
while Moktan points out “the
fear in you makes you aware and
helps to perform well on the
stage”.
Dr Rana agrees with Moktan.
Also, overconfidence also leads
to bad performance.
Coping with it
With the increasing
number of performing
years, Hemanta believes
he has overcome his anxiety,
except for the days
“when the audience can’t
connect with him”. No
more heavy feet and forgetting
of lyrics for him
anymore.
“There used to be
times, four or five years
ago, when the crowd
used to throw stones at
the artistes. Performing
in outdoor venues was
fearsome then,” Hemanta
recalls.
On the other hand,
Aavaas is of opinion that
“music performance anxiety
is a habit and thus, its
rate can be decreased, but
cannot be eradicated completely”.
As it is related with confidence,
he overcame his fears
with frequent appearances on
stage.
Meanwhile he adds “If I am to
take a break from performances,
my anxiety would increase in future
performances.”
Though, Moktan is engulfed in
worries before her performance,
she forgets once she is in front of
the microphone. So is the case
with Amatya and Hemanta,
“Everything falls into place,”
adds Amatya.
And Dr Rana suggests, “Face
the anxiety rather than avoiding.
The level of anxiety is more
among new performers; it decreases
with experience.”
Nervousness also can also be
minimised or cut with practice or
training before a show.
SPREADING HER WINGS
Western classical music that I did
for a semester. Now, I am in a cappella
group.
I have been writing music for a
long time. I started with abstract
poetry since middle school. I write
about life and emotions I feel which
I express metaphorically. During
high school, I started writing lyrics
and then music from Class XI.
Vocalist to be trained under:
It would be Adele, Norah
Jones and Lady Gaga. Adele and
Jones’ voices are beautiful and
subtle. They convey emotions
powerfully. That’s what I want to
do. And Lady Gaga is seriously talented.
She has great knowledge of
music and plays the piano beautifully.
I like her confidence.
Treasured instrument: I
have a baby guitar that I can’t let
go off. It grew up with that guitar.
Dream instrument: I play
guitar, but not very well. I want to
know the basics of most instruments
and master guitar. I want to
have a big grand piano and learn to
play it — it is in my bucket list. This
instrument is the basic and is required
for compositions.
Best gig and one you
wouldn’t want to recall: I
have performed less than a handful
of times. This year’s musical in
New York where I played a caterpillar
in Alice Unravels was a new experience.
It was the modern but
darker version of Alice In Wonderland.
The character was confident.
And two years ago, I was performing
Rolling In The Deep at an
event in New York, I was daring
both — singing and playing — but I
forgot the lyrics while the chords
were going in the wrong direction.
Best compliment: As a
singer, I have faced a lot of rejections.
I auditioned twice to be in a
cappella group. I failed in the first
audition but I got through in the
second time. During the second
audition, they were supposed to
recruit a couple of girls but took
only me to fill the places.
Constructive criticism: I
failed the first audition for a cappella
group three years ago. And
during the training of Western
classical, I received a lot of verbal
criticism. But I learnt to open up
while singing and understood my
vocal ability.
Favourite song to perform:
Gravity by Sara Bareilles
and Collide by Howie Day are my
favourite songs to perform. These
songs show my vocal range and
Collide is easy to play and a pretty
song.
One artiste to perform
with: I probably would like to perform
with Adele. My music is closest
to hers.
Great venue or a huge
crowd: Venue is important in regards
with how it throws sound but
for me the crowd is important that
is responsive and can be evoked to
emotions. As this is how I sing.
If had one super power...
I want to have X-Men’s Mystique’s
power. I could be anyone and walk
around in other people’s shoes.
When not doing music
you are doing... I am busy
studying and working in New York.
I work as a student life assistant in
my college. On weekends, I meet
friends. I am a workaholic. Ninety
per cent of my time is taken by music
and work.
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 2012
— HNS
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PLAYLIST
PLAYLIST
August
offerings
KATHMANDU: You favourite
musicians are back this
August to give you a full musical
blast. It is going to be blues,
jazz, reggae, funk and what not.
A little bit of different genres of
music, find a place at your
favourite venues.
August 2 to 9
• Eight days of non-stop flute
music, day and night at Yalamaya
Kendra. Ph: 5522113
August 4
A ‘Drummers Day’, presentation
of Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory
(KJC) at Moksh. Ph:
5013554
August 9
An evening with KJC family
in KJC Concert featuring Irish
Music by Raquel Costa and
Federico Divina at Moksh Auditorium.
Ph: 5013554
Paleti Utsav with Amber
Gurung at Buddha Hall, DAV
School, Jawalakhel. Ph:
4412469; 9818192569
August 10
Feel the reggae in the
house of Moksh with Joint
Family Internationale. Ph:
984132007
Paleti Utsav with Phatteman
Rajbhandari at Buddha
Hall, DAV School, Jawalakhel.
Ph: 4412469; 9818192569
August 11
KJC Presents Workshop on
Jazz/Soul Vocals by Natalia
Calderon from Spain at Moksh.
Ph: 5013554
Paleti Utsav with Shanti
Thatal at Buddha Hall, DAV
School, Jawalakhel. Ph:
4412469; 9818192569
Augus 12
Paleti Utsav with Aavaas at
Buddha Hall, DAV School,
Jawalakhel. Ph: 4412469;
9818192569
August 17
Rocking performance by
Jindabad featuring Astha
Tamang Maskey at Moksh. Ph:
984132007
The students of Nepal Music
School (NMC) will perform
at NMC, Pingalasthan. Ph:
4465463
August 24
What The Funk — We are
Soul’D Out, Nirakar Yakthumba’s
funk band will perform at
Moksh. Ph: 984132007
August 25
KJC Concert Series with
Natalia Calderon at Moksh. Ph:
5013554
August 31
Pre-promotion album tour
of Mukti and Revival at Moksh.
Ph: 984132007