Musician on a rant...

[GeorgeG]

When I'm doing concerts and musicals, there is always an announcement prior to the show about cell phones and pagers. There is always someone who didn't think that meant him, or her. I've kind of gotten used to it and pretty much ignore it.

For gigs with trios, quartets, and other small bands, just about anything goes since people talk and socialize while we play. We don't worry about distractions since if we use music at all, it's just lead sheets for reference. Although, a good old-fashioned bar fight would certainly qualify as a distraction, but I haven't seen one of those in years since I play more upscale venues in my old age.

 

[lovesmurfs]

DH is a college music professor, and this whole thread is a sore subject with him as well. They've recently resorted to announcing that there will be no texting at the performances as well. He has a concert etiquette lesson during music appreciation, prior to a class trip to a concert.

 

[Zuzu03]

I think part of the problem is that people don't see things like performances as special any more. You go to a show on Broadway in the summer and a huge portion of the audience is in shorts and t-shirts.

The choral directors in our district talk to the audience each time about "concert etiquette." They talk about how they are trying to teach the students the difference between a sporting event, a rock concert and a classical concert.

I just had this conversation with some friends on opening night of our production last week. Things have definately changed, but common courtesy should not be one of them! Even when I have announcements in the programs and make an announcement prior to the show, I still have people answering their cell phones, videotaping, and taking flash photography during productions. I guess there are a lot of people for whom the "rules don't apply".

 

[Galahad]

I will say that most musicians I know only use their music for reference and are not dependent on it. They have rehearsed and practiced enough before a concert that they have pretty much memorized the music.

This is not true in the Symphony world. You generally have a week to put together a symphony concert, often with a guest conducter. And you are playing a couple hours worth of music that usually includes at least one full (often very long) symphony. Nobody's going to memorize that.

As an aside, I get a kick out of the symphony patrons that know that you're not suppose to applaud between movements of a symphony (but should wait until the end) glaring at the folks that aren't regulars that don't know that an appluad anyway. I can tell you from experience that 90% of the time (unless the piece has connected movements) it doesn't bother the musicians much at all. Heck, it's more applause!

 

[Talking Hands]

This is not true in the Symphony world. You generally have a week to put together a symphony concert, often with a guest conducter. And you are playing a couple hours worth of music that usually includes at least one full (often very long) symphony. Nobody's going to memorize that.

As an aside, I get a kick out of the symphony patrons that know that you're not suppose to applaud between movements of a symphony (but should wait until the end) glaring at the folks that aren't regulars that don't know that an appluad anyway. I can tell you from experience that 90% of the time (unless the piece has connected movements) it doesn't bother the musicians much at all. Heck, it's more applause!

Actually my daughter is part of the Symphony world and has been for the last 5 years. She has all of her music memorized before her concerts. Always has since she started. So do many of the people she works with.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

Common courtesy anywhere is difficult to find anymore.

 

[Galahad]

Actually my daughter is part of the Symphony world and has been for the last 5 years. She has all of her music memorized before her concerts. Always has since she started. So do many of the people she works with.

That's pretty amazing. I play in two symphonies and know most of the members of my city's primary symphony (in which I don't play), one of the best in the country. I don't know anybody that does this. In our primary symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, there are three concerts of new music every week for the entire year. There is no way they are going to even try to memorize say, a Bruckner symphony - some of which are over an hour long by themselves. Soloists memorize their music - and I would imagine that many long time members "know" pieces they've played repeatedly. But there is too much to play in a given season to spend your energy memorizing it all. Especially when there are markings and changes with each performance - sometime even from the same conductor.

 

[justjudy]

We are performing Mendelssohn's "Elijah" next month and the vocal score is 198 pages. When we received our scores they had been annotated by the conductor, plus we have our own notes taken at rehearsals. I will admit that I do know some of the basic piece by heart, since I've sung it before and it's one of my favorite oratorios, but there is no way in heck I'd be able to remember every single added accent, every "change this to a dotted quarter and add a quarter rest" for 198 pages.

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

AMEN.


Yes, people can be rude. I teach elementary music and I can't stand when a parent thinks they need to talk through their child's performance. Makes me crazy

...or when the assistant principal does the same thing...but also has his laptop out and is typing away...while chomping down on his McDonalds...

yeah, you should have seen the good parents. If looks could kill..

 

[mrs_hower726]

AMEN.


Yes, people can be rude. I teach elementary music and I can't stand when a parent thinks they need to talk through their child's performance. Makes me crazy

...or when the assistant principal does the same thing...but also has his laptop out and is typing away...while chomping down on his McDonalds...

yeah, you should have seen the good parents. If looks could kill..

I can't imagine the asst. principal doing that. That's crazy.

 

[lovesmurfs]

...or when the assistant principal does the same thing...but also has his laptop out and is typing away...while chomping down on his McDonalds...

Wow. I'd certainly have a talk with his boss. It would have been better if he hadn't come at all.

 

[luna99]

Common courtesy anywhere is difficult to find anymore.

agreed.

what *really* bugs me is when I go to a standing room only concert and wait for a long time in order to be up front near the stage, only to be standing next to some one who wants to talk during the show... Um, why are you even up near the stage if you aren't going to pay attention or don't really like the band?!? I see this happen a lot....

once at a fiona apple concert a girl standing next to me just wanted to flirt with the security guard and talk to him during the show and once at a spearhead show a group of young kids kept bringing their friends up to the front only to gossip "did you see so and so? OMG, what is she wearing" ...

again, why be up front near the stage if you don't really care about the show?

 

[missypie]

AMEN.


Yes, people can be rude. I teach elementary music and I can't stand when a parent thinks they need to talk through their child's performance. Makes me crazy

...or when the assistant principal does the same thing...but also has his laptop out and is typing away...while chomping down on his McDonalds...

yeah, you should have seen the good parents. If looks could kill..

A few years ago, at our church choir Christmas concert, we sang an anthem with the most amazing lyrics ever. I glanced at our senior pastor in the audience to see his reaction to such profoundly meaningful lyrics, and he was deep in conversation with one of the other pastors!

 

[Zuzu03]

Several years ago we were in the middle of a prodution of Moliere's The Miser and a gentleman in the 5th row center fell asleep and was snoring SOOO loud. We were dying trying to keep in character as our lines were punctuated by him sawing wood. His poor wife kept trying to wake him up but he just kept falling asleep. It was HILARIOUS, but I know it put off some of the younger cast members. Jeez, I didn't thinkwe were THAT bad!

 

[Talking Hands]

That's pretty amazing. I play in two symphonies and know most of the members of my city's primary symphony (in which I don't play), one of the best in the country. I don't know anybody that does this. In our primary symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, there are three concerts of new music every week for the entire year. There is no way they are going to even try to memorize say, a Bruckner symphony - some of which are over an hour long by themselves. Soloists memorize their music - and I would imagine that many long time members "know" pieces they've played repeatedly. But there is too much to play in a given season to spend your energy memorizing it all. Especially when there are markings and changes with each performance - sometime even from the same conductor.

She doesn't spend any energy doing it. These people seem to just be able to do it by seeing it a couple of times. I know my daughter has done this since the age of 6 when she started performing in church musicals. She started church orchestra in 5th grade. Now she is 30 and plays professionally, works as an adjunct professor at the local colleges teaching strings and works with the local youth symphony as a teacher and occasionally as a conductor. Wish I could do it.
I only have to do 5 songs a week for church and it can be a challenge to memorize the translations

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

Thanks for the replies about the assistant principal...

he's not at our school this year. I was actually up front with the students, and so into the performance that I didn't realize what he was doing.

I heard that some parents called the school about the matter...