CONCERT ETIQUETTE

PARALYZED BY PROTOCOL? Frightened of
faux pas? Let our Concert Etiquette guide put
your fears to rest.


What does a conductor do?

What can I do during intermission?

When can I cough without making everyone around me crazy?

What's that ringing in my ears?

When do I clap?




What does a conductor do?

We all know that the conductor has certain
specific responsibilities while up on the
podium. Among them are keeping the tempo,
signaling dynamic changes, balancing
instruments, and cueing musical entrances.
But not everyone knows that the major work
of a conductor is done long before the
orchestra takes the stage for the performance.

Up to that time, the musicians have been
preparing the piece with the conductor in
rehearsal. He or she has studied the score at
length, and decides on a specific
interpretation of the piece. Specifically, the
conductor has to have answers for a lot of
questions. How loud is loud? How soft is
soft? How fast is fast? How slow is slow? And
when exactly does loud become softer and by
how much? How prominent should the cello
section be versus the violin section? How
loud should the percussion instruments be?
How speedy should the recapitulation of the
first theme be? How solemn should the slow
movement be -- or should it be slow, but
bright? There is also an indefinable element
that can be described as sheer force of
personality, the unique temperamental
chemistry that takes place between conductor
and orchestra in the moment of performance.
The musicians and soloists certainly have
input, but the leader is the conductor. It is
this one artistic vision, and the manner in
which it's communicated to the audience that
defines the character of the performance.

But doesn't the composer indicate all the
tempos and dynamics in the score? Well, yes
and no. Musical notation can be both very
meticulous and surprisingly vague when it
comes to these issues, and a lot is left for the
conductor to decide. While there are musical
symbols to indicate that a passage should be
played soft, for instance, there is no way to
know exactly how soft the composer really
wanted it. 


What can I do during intermission?

First of all, timing is everything, so before
heading out for intermission, take a glance at
your watch and give yourself 15 minutes. Yes,
intermission can run to 20 minutes, but not
always. So 15 minutes should be your 'marker'
to be back in the Hall and ready for the second
half.

When can I cough without making everyone
around me crazy?

We've been saving this etiquette note for flu
season. And, while we haven't yet found a
musical cure for the common cold, we do have
a few suggestions for minimizing the effects of
one when you're at a concert.

Best suggestion: if you feel a cold coming on
-- even a slight one -- please bring lozenges
with you.

Now that you have the lozenges in hand, the
next step is crucial: unwrap them ahead of
time. It's actually quite a faux pas to unwrap
them mid-concert and if you've ever been
seated within a fifty-seat radius of someone
who's slo-o-o-owly uncrinkling the wrapper,
you know why!

If there are no lozenges in hand and you need
to cough once or twice, please try to wait for
the end of the movement. If that's not possible
you can try to bury your cough in a louder
section of music, rather than coughing in the
midst of the most delicate pianissimo. And,
either way, a handkerchief or scarf will further
help to muffle the disruption. It really makes a
difference to your neighbors! If you need to
cough more than a couple of times, there's
nothing wrong with getting up and excusing
yourself from the Hall for a few moments.


What's that ringing in my ears?

Unfortunately, these days, if you're attending
a concert, that 'ring' is not necessarily
Wagner. More often than not, it's a cell phone,
a beeper, or a digital watch worn by the
well-dressed music-lover in the seat next to
you.

Now, we're all for modern conveniences, but
we think taking a phone call in the middle of a
concert, or needing to know exactly when it's
nine o'clock on the dot is just too much!



When do I clap?

The question of when to clap at a concert
seems to worry lots of people. The truth is, applause is
always gratefully received by the artists at any
time‚ and in earlier days, audiences applauded
at the end of any portion of a piece that
moved them. These days though, the
applause is usually saved for the end of a full
piece; it's considered respectful of the
performer's concentration to hold one's
applause until then.

So, when do you clap? Well, there are a few
pretty easy ways to figure it out.

One is to count the number of movements of a
piece. Take a glance at your program
before a piece begins, and you'll notice that
there are often movements listed, each with a
different tempo marking, too. Let's say a
particular piece has four movements. The
performers will almost always pause in
between movements so if you've counted
three pauses you can be pretty sure that
you're now listening to the finale.

Trick of the trade: in concertos, sonatas, and
symphonies the final movement is often‚
though not always -- a fast tempo movement,
following one that was much slower.

Of course, another way to figure it out is to
wait for the rest of the audience to start the
applause, then, join in! Shout bravo! Call for
an encore! Let them know you care! Most of
all, enjoy it, and come back again soon!

Courtesy of the Carnegie Hall Corporation © 2000 CHC

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This page was last updated on, Tuesday, April 11, 2000