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Concert EtiquetteConcert etiquette is an oft neglected area of behavioural guidance. Here to help you avoid the embarrassment of being the only one to applaud in a silent concert hall is Miss Cressida B. Bell When to applaud and when not to…that is the etiquette question if you go to a classical concert. Every 1920s to 1950s fashion conscious person goes to classical concerts. Right? If you go to a pop music performance you are supposed to applaud and cheer after every song the artist sings. But in classical music the performers stop several times without being applauded before they continue. 
Well…sometimes there are people in the audience who know pop concert etiquette but are not familiar with the rules of audience etiquette in the concert hall. You can pick them out at once. They are the ones who applaud after the first movement of the first piece that is being played. They are the *only* ones who applaud after the first movement of the first piece that is being played. It is always a painful moment. A few enthusiastic claps that quickly die down when the applauders realise they are the only ones applauding and people are frowning at them. Are you a person who does not know audience etiquette? Do you fear you may be the one who will applaud at the wrong moment? What a gaffe that would be! Never fear. I shall give you the proper etiquette rules for applauding. Etiquette question: What is proper concert etiquette for applauding? Answer: The essential etiquette rule for applauding at classical concerts is: Do not applaud between movements! As I said, it is customary to applaud after every song during a pop concert. Every song a pop group or singer performs is a finished piece. This is not always the case in classical music. Let us have a look at the programme the Residence Orchestra in The Hague will perform on 18 December 2008: Passion and Smart Just by looking at this programme I can tell you there are four moments to applaud. 1. When the conductor and/or cellist comes to the stage 
These are the expected moments for applause. It looks rather simple. So why do people make this concert etiquette mistake? The programme says: a cello concert and a symphony. It looks as if two pieces will be performed that night. Quite right. But these pieces consist of several movements. After a movement there is a moment of silence before the orchestra (and in this case the soloist) continue to play the next movement. People who attend pop concerts will think that this moment of silence means the piece is over, so they start applauding. But the piece is not over at all! It has only just begun. The piece consists of three movements: Allegro, Adagio (ma non troppo) and the Finale (Allegro Moderato-andante-allegro vivo). So when the music stops we have only just finished the first movement and not the entire piece. And remember the concert etiquette rule: ‘One does not applaud between movements.’*. How do you know how many movements a piece has? When you enter the building where the concert is to take place there will be people handing you a programme booklet, or if there is no one handing you one there will be a table or stand where you can find one. The programme will be explained in that booklet and all the different movements will be named. It will say: Dvořák: Cello concerto Tchaikovsky: Symphony nr. 6 'Pathétique'
So just count the movements and applaud after the last one of the piece. Just to remind you one last time: Do not applaud between movements! It is possible that there is a piece that consists of only one movement. Just look at the programme. It will say something like: Saint Saëns: Le Cygne In case you have not been able to get your hands on a programme, and you do not know how many movements the piece you will be listening to has, this is what a clever 1920s to 1950s fashion enthusiast should do: Find someone in the audience who looks like a regular concert visitor. It is usually a bespectacled chap holding his chin between thumb and forefinger, nodding his head along with the music. Found him? Just applaud when he does. You’ll be just fine. What about standing ovations? What are the concert etiquette rules for standing up when you applaud? Standing ovations are given when a performance has been very good. It is a sign of appreciation from the audience. They are usually given at the end of a concert.* If you really liked the music and the performance, by all means, let the performers know. If you are not sure if your tastes can be relied upon in the case of classical music, just follow that chap I just mentioned. *There is one exception to this rule. If you are listening to a particularly fine artist performing a piece in a particularly fine way, you may find that after one movement the audience jumps up in ecstasy, starts applauding wildly and shouting bravos or bravas. Just go along with the rest of the audience. Proper etiquette rules for applauding don’t count in this case. And do pay attention! You are probably very lucky to be attending this concert. Now you know the proper concert etiquette rules for applauding. Have a wonderful evening! Cressida B. Bell Back to the top of the Concert Etiquette page. Back to the homepage.
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