To continue where I left off in the previous post, the book continues by offering an extremely detailed account of what to do when you attend a classical instrumental concert. Here are some more things you shouldn't do:
My argument here is that the authors are painting the typical concert-going audience as a bunch of angry, gray-haired people who are already annoyed by you, presumably a young, naive concert-goer who dares to intrude upon their highbrow, sophisticated evening out. Particularly in the context of the rest of the book (attending jazz and rock shows, for instance), classical music concerts do not sound appealing at all. After reading the chapter, even I didn't want to attend a classical concert.
(By the way, a brief aside. The authors do say that you don't have to applaud a performance that you didn't think was very good. They do, however, advise against booing: "Most likely, you'll be viewed as a moron by your fellow audience members and probably by your date" (25). I wouldn't mind seeing the occasional really terrible performance get booed. Apparently, I'm not alone in this (see also here). The authors also say that standing ovations should only be given when the performance is "surpassingly good [...] It is a sign of inexperience and naivete to leap to your feet at the end of every show or concert" (25). AMEN! I would give them a standing ovation for that sentence alone. Standing ovations in these parts happen after every concert, sometimes after every piece. I think it's the equivalent of crying wolf. Sometimes, despite the best efforts of all involved, concerts go badly. C'est la vie. OK, that was a long aside.)
Basically, everything that the book (and others like it) suggests is to dampen your body's natural reaction to music. Don't tap your foot, don't sing along, don't say anything except quietly during applause (and even then, the authors permit you only one word: "wow"). Classical concerts are presented as stifling environments that are inhospitable to neophytes. So why would anyone want to come to something like this?
Part II
At a committee meeting of a symphony orchestra of which I am a member, the conversation turned (as it often does) to bringing more people--especially young people--into concerts. Lubbock is very much a university town, and we have 30,000 students looking for stuff to do on the weekends. We talked about moving concert times up to 6:00pm so that people could go out afterward, as some orchestras are apparently doing. As the sole young person in the room (by about 20 years), I pitched the crazy idea that, just as we have children's concerts for the elementary school students, we should consider sort of "young adult" concerts. I based my thinking on a concert staged at Arizona State University about two years ago (read about it here and here). Why not offer a concert where it's OK to bring your laptop? What about someone talking newcomers through the experience via a podcast or live audio stream (headphones required, of course)? ("Now, the violins are playing the first theme again. We call this the recapitulation"). What about a Twitter feed? Tweet your thoughts on the concert to @symphonyconcert and you can see what others are saying on the big screens in real time.
Naturally, I thought this would be a great idea (I wouldn't have brought it up otherwise!) Most of my students are permanently attached to all their gizmos and would probably relish the opportunity to interact (silently--that's the best part) during the concert. Others are thinking about ways to use technology to engage audiences.
Well the committee heard me out and the response was (sadly, not surprisingly) "Well who would want to go to something like that?" "What's a Twitter?" "I almost told the person texting in front of me that I don't care where they want to go to dinner!"
If you want to know how to get young people into the concerts, why not listen to what the young people (OK, I'm not all that young) have to say, or at least listen to what the people who deal with the young people that you're targeting all day long have to say?
I'm not suggesting all concerts need to be this way. One of the local movie theatres does a "Mom's day at the movies" where they show a rated-G movie in the middle of the day, and the place welcomes little kids running around and screaming. It's great for moms who need to get out of the house and want to take the kids to a movie. I will never go to that showing because I don't want kids running around and screaming during my movie. One day, when I have kids, I'll probably bring them to that showing, and I'll go with the expectation of kids running all over, etc. There are also "contemporary" and "traditional" worship services at many churches. One is no less "church-y" than the other: it's just different strokes for different folks.
There are many other things that could be done to welcome new folks into the concert hall--to make it a less stifling experience. But that's another post for another time...
"Do not hand out individual tickets to each person [in your group]--the ticket-taker and usher will give you dirty looks!" (22)
"And haven't we all sat in front of someone who feels the need to say the most obvious things? These people are... well, "idiots" is the word some other audience members may use for them. We're always embarrassed for them and you really don't want to be that person (24).
"If you do laugh out of context, people will think you're an immature idiot... and they will be right, on some level!" (24)
"People have actually been known to step on, put gum on, or otherwise deface an unwelcome garment that has invaded their territory..." (24)
My argument here is that the authors are painting the typical concert-going audience as a bunch of angry, gray-haired people who are already annoyed by you, presumably a young, naive concert-goer who dares to intrude upon their highbrow, sophisticated evening out. Particularly in the context of the rest of the book (attending jazz and rock shows, for instance), classical music concerts do not sound appealing at all. After reading the chapter, even I didn't want to attend a classical concert.
(By the way, a brief aside. The authors do say that you don't have to applaud a performance that you didn't think was very good. They do, however, advise against booing: "Most likely, you'll be viewed as a moron by your fellow audience members and probably by your date" (25). I wouldn't mind seeing the occasional really terrible performance get booed. Apparently, I'm not alone in this (see also here). The authors also say that standing ovations should only be given when the performance is "surpassingly good [...] It is a sign of inexperience and naivete to leap to your feet at the end of every show or concert" (25). AMEN! I would give them a standing ovation for that sentence alone. Standing ovations in these parts happen after every concert, sometimes after every piece. I think it's the equivalent of crying wolf. Sometimes, despite the best efforts of all involved, concerts go badly. C'est la vie. OK, that was a long aside.)
Basically, everything that the book (and others like it) suggests is to dampen your body's natural reaction to music. Don't tap your foot, don't sing along, don't say anything except quietly during applause (and even then, the authors permit you only one word: "wow"). Classical concerts are presented as stifling environments that are inhospitable to neophytes. So why would anyone want to come to something like this?
Part II
At a committee meeting of a symphony orchestra of which I am a member, the conversation turned (as it often does) to bringing more people--especially young people--into concerts. Lubbock is very much a university town, and we have 30,000 students looking for stuff to do on the weekends. We talked about moving concert times up to 6:00pm so that people could go out afterward, as some orchestras are apparently doing. As the sole young person in the room (by about 20 years), I pitched the crazy idea that, just as we have children's concerts for the elementary school students, we should consider sort of "young adult" concerts. I based my thinking on a concert staged at Arizona State University about two years ago (read about it here and here). Why not offer a concert where it's OK to bring your laptop? What about someone talking newcomers through the experience via a podcast or live audio stream (headphones required, of course)? ("Now, the violins are playing the first theme again. We call this the recapitulation"). What about a Twitter feed? Tweet your thoughts on the concert to @symphonyconcert and you can see what others are saying on the big screens in real time.
Naturally, I thought this would be a great idea (I wouldn't have brought it up otherwise!) Most of my students are permanently attached to all their gizmos and would probably relish the opportunity to interact (silently--that's the best part) during the concert. Others are thinking about ways to use technology to engage audiences.
Well the committee heard me out and the response was (sadly, not surprisingly) "Well who would want to go to something like that?" "What's a Twitter?" "I almost told the person texting in front of me that I don't care where they want to go to dinner!"
If you want to know how to get young people into the concerts, why not listen to what the young people (OK, I'm not all that young) have to say, or at least listen to what the people who deal with the young people that you're targeting all day long have to say?
I'm not suggesting all concerts need to be this way. One of the local movie theatres does a "Mom's day at the movies" where they show a rated-G movie in the middle of the day, and the place welcomes little kids running around and screaming. It's great for moms who need to get out of the house and want to take the kids to a movie. I will never go to that showing because I don't want kids running around and screaming during my movie. One day, when I have kids, I'll probably bring them to that showing, and I'll go with the expectation of kids running all over, etc. There are also "contemporary" and "traditional" worship services at many churches. One is no less "church-y" than the other: it's just different strokes for different folks.
There are many other things that could be done to welcome new folks into the concert hall--to make it a less stifling experience. But that's another post for another time...