When the music
starts, don’t talk or whisper, don't get up from your seat, and
don't clap until the piece is over. Well,
all right, this last one takes a little more explaining. In classical
music, there are places in the middle of the piece that sound like an
ending. Modern concert manners say you should not clap during those
false endings because it breaks the concentration of the conductor and
the musicians. If you are concerned about when to clap, look at the
program; it will tell you how many "parts" the piece has,
and you can count them to see when the real ending occurs.
A few more things
about manners. Please turn off your cell phone, pager, and alarm watch
before the concert begins. If you have a cough, bring cough drops and
unwrap them and place them in a handkerchief before the concert begins.
Nothing, not even a cough, is more distracting to other concertgoers
than hearing someone rifling through a purse and then crackling the
paper on a cough drop.
That's it. Remember,
it's a live concert. You can see as well as hear the performers. And
they can see and hear you. They want you to share in their excitement
for this great and difficult-to-play music, and the better audience
you are, the better performers they will be.
