Concert etiquette

Concert etiquette refers to a set of social norms observed by those attending musical performances. These norms vary depending upon the type of music performance and can be stringent or informal.

At classical music concerts, the cardinal principle is to let others listen to the music undisturbed. Instruments and voices are typically unamplified, and the music is rich in detail and includes passages played very softly. Many audience members want to hear everything, and the normal standard of courtesy is simply to be entirely silent while the music is playing. Thus, during this time experienced concertgoers avoid conversation, try to suppress coughs and sneezes until a loud passage arrives, and muffle these with handkerchiefs. Electronic devices are turned off. Concertgoers try to arrive and take seats before the music begins; late arrivals wait until a break between pieces allows seating by an usher.

Dress expectations for the audience are today rather informal in English-speaking countries. Audiences usually meet "smart casual" standards, with some performance companies explicitly telling audiences to wear whatever makes them comfortable. Hats are removed as they block others' view of the stage. Dress expectations may still be very formal for special events, events that are difficult to attend, that take place in traditional venues, or that take place in certain countries.

Concert etiquette has, like the music, evolved over time. Late eighteenth-century composers such as Mozart expected that people would talk, particularly at dinner, and took delight in audiences clapping at once in response to a nice musical effect. Individual movements were encored in response to audience applause.

The nineteenth century brought a shift in venue from aristocratic gatherings to public concerts along with works featuring an unprecedentedly wide dynamic range. Mahler clamped down on claques paid to applaud a particular performer, and specified in the score of his Kindertotenlieder that its movements should not be punctuated by applause.Wagner discouraged what he considered distracting noises from his audience at Bayreuth in 1882.

With the arrival of recording technology in the twentieth century, applause between the movements of a symphony or suite came to be regarded as a distraction from the momentum and unity of a work. Today it is usually considered something of a faux pas, though a minor and well-meaning one.

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