Concert Hall Etiquette 101

etiquette:  the forms, manners, and ceremonies established by convention as acceptable or required in social situations, in a profession, or in official life

    Good etiquette in any social situation has one basic purpose:  to show consideration for others.  When applied to the concert situation, good etiquette is required so that everyone in the hall is allowed to fully enjoy what they came for--to share a musical experience.  Acceptable behavior in a concert hall is not the same as acceptable behavior at a sporting event or rock concert, where good-natured rowdiness is often considered to be part of the fun.  At a conventional concert, the focus should be on what is happening on stage, not what is happening in the audience.
    Common sense, then, should tell us that unacceptable concert behavior includes doing anything that focuses the attention of the performers or fellow concert-goers on you, rather than on the music that is being presented on stage.  This is a very general rule, covering all kinds of poor etiquette habits.  The following are just a few guidelines that should help you differentiate between proper etiquette and obnoxious, distracting behavior.
   
1.  Entering and Exiting the Auditorium
    You should make every attempt to arrive at a concert a few minutes early, so that you can find your seat and be settled before the performance starts.  Once you take your seat, plan on staying there until the entire concert is over (unless there is an official intermission).  Use the restroom before the performance starts!
    There may be circumstances where it is absolutely not possible for you to stay for the entire concert.  If this is the case, you may be allowed to enter or leave the auditorium between songs.  You must do this as quickly and quietly as possible, to minimize the distraction to others.  You should never be moving around the auditorium while a group is performing on stage.  If you don’t have time to slip quietly into your seat before the next song begins, then wait outside for the next break.
    The only acceptable reason for leaving the auditorium during a song is if your presence in the auditorium will be more disruptive than your walking out (for instance, if you are suddenly caught in an uncontrollable coughing fit).  If this happens, get out as quickly as possible, and don’t come back until your problem is under control.

2.  Cell Phones and Pagers
    If you must carry one of these things into a concert, please be sure it is turned off.  A ringing phone or pager can ruin the experience for everyone in the room.

3.  Talking and Fidgeting
    Many people don’t seem to realize how much every little movement they make can distract the people around them.  A movement as subtle as turning your head can be enough to distract people for several rows behind you.  Sure, you will probably need to adjust your position from time to time to remain comfortable.  For the sake of everyone around you, though, you should try to keep such adjustments to a minimum. 
    Preventable movements such as leaning to whisper to your neighbor, or large movements such as stretching, are completely unacceptable during a song.  If you are over the age of five, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to hold off on such movements until the song is over. 
    There is also no good reason to make distracting noises while the music is playing.  Talking, humming, playing with keys, rustling your program--these are all unacceptable and distracting behaviors.  Laughing is appropriate when the performance is supposed to be funny.  Laughing is not appropriate if something unintentionally funny happens on stage, or if someone else in the audience does something distracting.
    Do not bring outside work into the concert with you.  You are there to listen to the music--not to write, read outside materials, etc.  Anything you do, other than sitting quietly and listening to the music, prevents others from enjoying the performance.
    Have a sore throat or cough?  Many a concert moment has been ruined by an audience member slowly unwrapping a cough drop during a song.  Try to plan ahead:  if you have been having problems with coughing, put a cough drop in your mouth before the concert starts, and try to only unwrap them between songs from then on.  If you must put one in your mouth during a song, unwrap it quickly (face it--it can’t be done quietly, so just yank that thing out of there as fast as you can) and be done with it.  If you think you may have a coughing fit, try to sit near an exit, so you won’t have far to go if you need to leave quickly.

4.  Applause
    It is wonderful when students in an audience want to support their classmates by showing enthusiasm before and after a group performs.  The appropriate way to show your appreciation for a performance is to clap.  The appropriate way to show your support for friends as they are walking onto the stage is to clap. 
    Screaming, catcalling, yelling out people’s names, and other loud vocal noises only serve to call attention to you, and are not acceptable in a conventional concert situation.  This sort of rowdy behavior can quickly get out of hand, and can really detract from the enjoyment of people who don’t appreciate loud, screaming crowds.  Again, this is a difference between the concert hall setting and a basketball game or rock event.  Screaming will not be acceptable at any performance at a major concert hall, and it is not acceptable at a high school music concert, either. 
    Note:  a practice we have increasingly been observing at vocal music concerts is for the audience to applaud and cheer loudly after each soloist.  At our school concerts, we try to discourage this behavior, as the noise created completely obscures whatever music follows the soloist--which may even be another soloist.  Our belief is that, while the music is still being performed, the audience should continue to remain silent and enjoy the rest of the song.  We know you want to show your appreciation for soloists, so we will make every effort to acknowledge them after the song is over so that you can clap enthusiastically for them without interrupting the music.

5.  Food and Drinks
    A concert hall is not a movie theatre.  You should never bring food or drinks into a concert.  If you have a legitimate health concern, where you must keep your throat lubricated, try to keep a hard candy or cough drop in your mouth (see cough drop advice under “Talking and Fidgeting”, above).  If you are so sick that you can’t get through an entire concert without a drink of water, maybe you should stay home and not spread your illness to the rest of the audience.

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