At A Performance
Channel: Mrs. Dawn Miller
Date: 2015-04-16

This video is a guide on how to attend a live classical music performance and be an engaged audience member.

Transcript:

There's nothing mysterious or difficult about how to act at a concert. It's mostly just common sense: the music needs silence, so the audience contributes silence; both the musicians and the audience want to concentrate on the music, so the listeners stay put during a performance.  There is one part that can be confusing: knowing when to clap. At most concerts, people clap whenever the music stops, but in classical music you wait to clap until the very end of a piece which may include several sections.
You don't have to sit like a statue. You can breathe, you can respond to the music, you can move your body in your chair. Just try not to distract others from enjoyment of the performance.  The basic idea is to help each other focus on the music. Making noise or walking around are distracting not just for other listeners, but also for the musicians. We're all used to talking and moving around while the TV is on, it's easy to forget that at a concert the performers can see and hear the audience!  If you contribute attention and silence, it will help the musicians to give you a better concert. They can feel your involvement, and it inspires them to do their best.
During a concert, there are a lot of sounds that can get in the way of a musician’s attempt to bring his best.  Talking, You'd be surprised how many people get so excited that they forget they're not watching TV.  Whispering, You'd be surprised how many people think whispering is silent.  Coughing, If you have a cough, then bring cough drops -- unwrap them beforehand, please! -- or take cough medicine.  Squeaking a chair, Opening a purse, Jingling coins, Unwrapping anything, Rustling the program, "shhh." Oh, that too.  Having a Beeper go off or a cellular phone   You don't have to be tense or uptight during the concert. You don't have to hold your breath! But do help us create a silence in which the music can thrive.
There are lots of things to enjoy at a concert, lots of things to pay attention to. Your job is to be affected by the music, but you can be affected by what most appeals to you, or by whatever grabs your interest. Here are a few choices for what to listen to. Choose whatever you like, switch as often as you want, and feel free to add to this list.  Here are some things to listen for to help you enjoy the music.  Moods and feelings,  Loudness and softness, Different speeds, Instrument sounds, Melodies, Rhythms, Changes and transformations, Beautiful performing, Memories that get triggered by the music, Recognition of something heard earlier, or Visual images that come to your mind.  A concert is an event for the ears, but there is lots for the eyes, too. Watch the players and feel their energy and intensity.  Watch what they do to make their instruments sound in different ways. Watch as the music moves from one player, or group of players, to another. Watch the way the conductor controls events, or how he or she gives control to the musicians. But what if I get bored?  Don't worry; it happens to all of us at one time or another. Sometimes you don't connect with the music. It's perfectly normal.  If this happens, just let your attention be captured by one of the many ways of enjoying the music.  No one expects that you will like every moment of every concert. Remember, your job is to be affected, not to like everything. I can remember one concert where I didn't like the playing, but I still noticed that the music was affecting me.  Everybody's taste is different, so a concert that is wonderful for one person might be awful for another. All you can do is let yourself be affected by whatever the music has to offer.  So attend a concert and enjoy.