Applause

In a recent review of an orchestral concert, my colleague Dave Paxton wrote, of a round of applause between movements, “(it’s) something that I greatly approve of incidentally: a warm, spontaneous show of appreciation seems to me far more preferable than the deadly reverential silence called for by some”. Hmm, it’s an interesting point. If it is a genuinely spontaneous expression of appreciation, then maybe, but more often than not applause seems to be a way of an audience proving that it’s still alive, which doesn’t seem altogether necessary and is seldom welcome to those who have actually listened to the music. It can be extremely insensitive, as intrusive as the mobile phone ring that ruined the end of this particular concert. I’m not a big fan of applause generally. I quite often leave a performance without having clapped (or very little) and I don’t think that’s disrespectful to the performers. It seems to be something people do just because it’s what you do, because it’s expected. I tend to think of silence as less of an infliction than noise is (a bit like fresh air; no matter how unpalatable to some tastes it may be, fresh air seems to be less of an imposition on smokers than cigarette smoke is on non-smokers). But I’m aware that imposing things like silence, fresh air, good manners, freedom etc could be deemed as fascistic. I guess you can’t please everybody – one person’s poison is another’s life blood and we have to tolerate some behaviour that we don't like. I would like people to think, though, about the act of slapping their wrists together (often resembling a performing seal), rather than just doing it automatically and indiscriminately. If you think about it, it’s a pretty daft thing to do. Like quite a few habitual human activities.

Comments

[Michael Hubbard]

This likely depends on the medium, be it opera, theatre or gig.

I should think that in most gigs, if nobody applauded, the artists on stage would believe they'd not connected and either flounce off in tears or get all mean and moody.

And why do you "slap your wrists together"? I use my hands, and find it makes a more satisfying noise than the method you prescribe, which sounds decidedly uncomfortable...

[SimonT]

I don't mean it literally. I used a strange phrase as a kind of alienation effect, to get you to think about what a very odd thing it is to do. And I'm not talking in absolutes - I do of course clap at performances but it's good to do it with awareness rather than unthinkingly. Applause is just a learned behaviour. I'm sure in other societies it's done differently.

[Michael Hubbard]

I know plenty of hacks who don't clap on principle at gigs - because they're working. I guess they've thought about it, to've come up with that conclusion.

[Steve B]

I think most depends on "personal feelings"...I mean, for example, during a gig I usually clap if I feel I want to clap, if the artist gives me a particular emotion which lead me to clap, as a kind of reward....otherwise, I don't! But I guess many people clap just because it's expected, that's true.