View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
LSOviolinist Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2008 Posts: 42 Location: Los Angeles, California/Boston, Massachusetts/New York, New York
|
Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 10:36 pm Post subject: To Clap or Not to Clap, That Is the Question. |
|
|
Hello fellow members. I was recently intrigued while reading some articles on the subject of clapping etiquette. Some said that it was only appropriate after the entire work had been performed, others wanted to clap after each movement. I have my own thoughts on this subject, but I was curios to hear your opinions. Thanks! By the way, I am referring strictly to classical concerts and performances. _________________ - LSOviolinist |
|
Back to top |
|
|
John Cadd Super Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 830 Location: Hoylake
|
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 10:03 am Post subject: |
|
|
If you clap between movements you disturb the feeling between movements. They are related to each other. If people insist on their right to make any noise when they want , you open the door to whoopin and hollerin.Popcorn can then be eaten in a quiet passage --That`s your right!--Talking while they play is then OK. Let`s all pretend it`s just a Hill Billy Hoe Down. Yep! They play fiddles too.You may like to drag in a bale of hay to set yourself down. It`s your right .Nobody has a right to stop you. Feel free. The good old American way. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
RuthBrons Junior Member
Joined: 19 Mar 2010 Posts: 6 Location: West Orange, NJ
|
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:10 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Time stands still for no one, and I think this tradition is now bending.
I have noticed in recent years that some savvy conductors I have played for in the NYC area have been making a point to give their audiences permission to disregard the no clapping rule [which is a tradition not as old as one might think] if they truly feel moved and want to express their excitement and appreciation. Yes, it is a slippery slope in terms of having a concert honor the composers wish to paint sound on a silent canvas, but, with orchestras folding in epidemic numbers, it is perhaps smart audience building to to permit, or even encourage, this level of audience participation in the music experience. And, honestly, I have yet to see a performer really resent being shown appreciation!
Best Wishes, _________________ Ruth Brons
Inventor of Bow Hold Buddies[tm] Instant Bow Hold bow accessory for Beginners
www.things4strings.com |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Jack H. Super Member
Joined: 24 Mar 2007 Posts: 346 Location: Israel
|
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 5:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
save it up for the end and then show your appreciation, that is when the musicians WANT to hear you clap. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
John Cadd Super Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 830 Location: Hoylake
|
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 6:01 pm Post subject: |
|
|
The Promenade concerts in London have gone down market musically in an attempt to get or keep audiences. Stuff like West side Story with sopranos. I switch that off if I`m expecting classical music. The Last Night used to have a cheerful feel about it. Now it`s unwatchable.I know what`s coming and don`t even switch on. Gain one audience and lose another. I remember an old Scottish comedian making a rare appearance at the end of his carreer and he asked them not to clap too much at the end as it hurt his ears. That`s what I feel about clapping. Maybe it will become like a Frank Sinatra concert.Clapping begins in the 3rd bar when they cotton on to what the tune is. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Lemuel Site Admin
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 Posts: 515 Location: Mt. Elgin, Ontario
|
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 11:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
It seems to depend on the rapport developed between the performer(s) and audience. I remember witnessing a wide variety of responses from the audience during numerous classical concerts.
Some performers want to communicate more with the audience, to introduce humor, to break the ice, to loosen up or free the spirit so to speak. By the end of the concert, the audience is clapping within the first few seconds of an encore. The performer(s) feel free with the audience, so the audience tends to reflect it back.
Other performers appear much more serious, or colder. So the audience response back in the same manner. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
John Cadd Super Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 830 Location: Hoylake
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 7:14 am Post subject: |
|
|
It sounds very odd to me. I suppose players who express their discomfort with the clapping will get rotten eggs and tomatoes at their next concert. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Lemuel Site Admin
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 Posts: 515 Location: Mt. Elgin, Ontario
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 8:29 am Post subject: |
|
|
Quote: | ... players who express their discomfort with the clapping... |
Have you ever seen players expressing their discomfort? Maybe I have not seen enough classical concerts. If they feel uncomfortable, it is definitely well hidden. Or how do you tell or know they are uncomfortable?
(There is one type of clapping I never felt comfortable with though, and that is the uniform clapping where everyone claps with the same beat after a performer completes his/her piece - but this is personal to me.) |
|
Back to top |
|
|
John Cadd Super Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 830 Location: Hoylake
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 8:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
No I have only seen the English way of clapping. Is there another country that does the in - between clapping? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
John Cadd Super Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 830 Location: Hoylake
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 4:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I know from what some players on another forum have said that they don`t like the clapping. Here`s a good way round it all. Many players write a cadenza of their own to add to a concerto. How about composers writing fill- ins which could be played by one player as a transition device to block up the hole which would be filled up with an unpleasant racket called clapping? Just do it and watch them all squirm. Composers could devise a set of rules for these add-ons to get from the last key to the next one. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
John Cadd Super Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 830 Location: Hoylake
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 8:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Now I remember the discussion after Itzak Perlmann gently suggested not to clap. He jokingly said Beethoven had just sent him a message that he wanted silence in between movements. He did it in a very friendly polite style. One member ripped into him accusing him of claiming some special powers.I commented at the time. " Itzak getting stick on a violin forum. That takes some beating". |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Lemuel Site Admin
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 Posts: 515 Location: Mt. Elgin, Ontario
|
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 8:59 am Post subject: |
|
|
Quote: | Here`s a good way round it all...How about composers writing fill- ins... |
amezcua, you are truly unique with many interesting ideas.
Quote: | No I have only seen the English way of clapping. Is there another country that does the in - between clapping? |
Although I have not been to England, from what I have read in the media, England is still more conservative than North America. It didn't use to be that way in the US. Everything started to go loose once rock music entered in the 60s.
Quote: | Time stands still for no one, and I think this tradition is now bending |
Even in the few church denominations I visited, the elderly people tell me that years ago there was no clapping at all, in order to keep the reverent atmosphere. Now it is often filled with rock styled Christian music, dancing, and clapping of course.[/quote]
Last edited by Lemuel on Tue Nov 02, 2010 10:18 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top |
|
|
John Cadd Super Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 830 Location: Hoylake
|
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 9:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
Lemuel Half way through your post I remembered a concert in a Church. Then I read your last piece about Churches. I can identify with the frustration of not clapping now. It was almost unbearable to not clap at all at the end.Am I developing Schizophrenia? There was much less freedom in my school. The Christian Brothers would knock seven bells out of you if you stepped out of line. It`s a fun subject though. The worst is a very frowning , sneering attitude and disaproval if some do it a different way. As long as they feel enthusiastic it`s good. Remember how the end of " Meditation " catches out the unwary ? That tiny extra bit .Do you think the composer did that on purpose? He must have realised. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Lemuel Site Admin
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 Posts: 515 Location: Mt. Elgin, Ontario
|
Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 10:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Quote: | I can identify with the frustration of not clapping now. It was almost unbearable to not clap at all at the end.Am I developing Schizophrenia? |
What you're more than likely facing is a conflict of interest or desires. What would you do from your heart if you were the only one in the church listening to the music? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
LSOviolinist Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2008 Posts: 42 Location: Los Angeles, California/Boston, Massachusetts/New York, New York
|
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'm grateful for everyone's input. Thank you. _________________ - LSOviolinist |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|