"Concert Manners"

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 other kinds of concerts, people clap whenever the music stops, but in classical music you wait to clap until the very end of a piece.

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 give their best.

A common concern of listeners at classical concerts, and one of the chief obstacles to enjoying the music, is the dreaded Fear of Clapping in the Wrong Place. It's no wonder the audience is afraid: classical musicians don't usually make clear what they expect of the audience.

In other kinds of music, the audience claps whenever there's an ending -- if the music stops, people applaud. But in classical music, one piece may have several endings within it, and you are supposed to wait to the very end of the very last ending before you clap.

This can be tough. Sometimes you can't tell if the piece is over. Sometimes you get so carried away by the music that you really want to clap. Sometimes you're so enthusiastic after a section ends that you've just got to clap for the musicians.

Don't do it.

I know it seems cruel to squelch that urge to applaud, but please wait for the very end of the whole piece.

Believe me, musicians hate to tell people not to clap. We love applause. If somebody gets carried away and claps in the "wrong" place, most musicians don't mind. We're happy to accept approval in any form.

But here is why we like the audience to wait until the very end of a piece: we want everyone to hear the complete piece as a total experience. Long pieces may involve several mood changes, and it's lovely not to disrupt these with applause.

How do you tell when a piece of music is really over? Quite often a classical piece has several sections, each with its own ending, and it can be hard to tell which ending is the final ending, the one you're supposed to clap for. How do you know when it's really the end of the whole thing?

When in doubt, simply wait until lots of other people are clapping.

(By the way, this tradition of waiting to applaud until the very end of a piece is relatively new. In other times and places, audiences clapped throughout the music. Mozart, for instance, was proud to report in a letter to his father that there had been wild applause during his latest symphony. So if you feel an urge to clap before the very end of a piece, you're in tune with an authentic historical tradition.)

One more thing about clapping: snobs might try to make you feel like this is a really big deal. Snobs are only too ready to sneer at people whose enthusiasm results in mistimed applause. (I know of one music critic who has heaped shame on an entire county because he thinks they applaud too much.) Such snobbery should be pitied but ignored. As a performer, I'd much rather play for overzealous applauders than for snobs.

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.

Saying "shhh."

Beeper watches and portable phones (turn them off!)

You don't have to be tense or uptight through the whole concert. You don't have to hold your breath! But do help to create a silence in which the music can thrive.

In some situations you can clap whenever you like something. This is often the case at opera and ballet. The audience may applaud the lights dimming, the curtain opening, the first appearance of a major star, an impressive dance move, a lovely song, or a beautifully-designed backdrop.

But it's not like this at every ballet and opera. If you get confused (and I get confused myself sometimes) just imitate the rest of the audience.

And remember this: if you're not sure when to clap, it's not your fault. The performers are supposed to help you know when to clap, but they don't always make it clear.

Concerts are not for everyone. Babies and little children, for instance, can't be expected to follow the rules at a grown-ups'concert. Leave them at home until they are old enough to understand how to behave.

Even some adults can't meet these standards of behavior. Some people can't be quiet. Some people can't stay in a chair. Some people snore. Use good judgment and consideration about whom you bring.

At a concert you shouldn't take pictures or make a recording, and don't even think of making a video. It is distracting to do these things, and it is usually illegal. Besides, you are there to experience the concert, not to preserve it!