Contents Why do we go to concerts? How can we help the performers? What is the basic rule for the audience  to remember? Why is a concert a multi-sensory event? What is "Sense-ational  Concert Etiquette"? Sense of Hearing Sense of Vision Sense of Touch Sense of Smell

• Don't wander around in the auditorium, especially while the performers are performing.
• Arrive on time. Stay till the end of the performance. Don't leave early to beat the rush.
• Don't take pictures. Especially flash pictures.
• Turn off all your noise making gadgets, like watches, phones and pagers.
• Take your coughs outside. And noisy kids.
• Clap enthusiastically to show your appreciation. Don't holler and hoot.
  

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Going onto the stage and nibbling an instrument  or two would be highly inappropriate,  perhaps even disgusting! The orchestra members probably  would not appreciate it at all!

Some people don't realize this and they do things that can prevent us from experiencing the music without interruption.

Most of the bad examples listed below come from the real life experiences of the writer of this web page. And each of them is just as likely to be done by an adult as by a child!

Once you get the idea of how you might disturb others, you will be able to use good judgment in your own behavior.  Common sense and normal courtesy will always be good standards to use.
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Sense of Hearing

• Don't talk or whisper or whistle or hum or sing or drum your fingers or click a pen or tap a pencil or chew your gum loudly or open up crackly food wrappers or snap your fingers with the music or sniff, snort and cough or comb your hair so others can hear you pulling the tangles out.
  
• If you start and continue to sneeze or sniff or cough, please leave the auditorium quietly and quickly. This allows others to concentrate on the music, not on you. This includes taking out crying babies and little kids.
  
• Turn the pages of the program or the music score (if you're following along with the performers) so that others can't hear the pages rattle.
  
• Come in and be seated before the concert starts. Moving around makes an audience notice your sounds, not the music sounds.
  
• Make sure your "beepy" electronic gadgets won't go off during the performance. TURN THEM OFF. This includes watches, phones, beepers and anything else that might disturb others.
  
• Do I even need to mention portable radios, portable games and CD players? Leave them at home. (Using a recording device may be considered a copyright violation.  Don't do it.)
  
• All performers appreciate enthusiastic applause. Loud screams, whistling, etc., belong at rock concerts, not at symphony performances.
  
• Be careful that your clapping is not so loud that it hurts the ears of the people near you.

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Sense of Vision

• Don't wiggle around or comb your hair or wave your arms or bob your head around or wave your program or try to get your friends attention or rock back and forth in your seat.
  
• Please don't wear hats or have "big" hair. You could block the view of five or six people!
  
• If you have to use the restroom, do your best to hold it. Sit calmly until the music stops and the audience claps. Then in a calm (but fast) manner, leave the auditorium. Do not come back in until you hear clapping again. Then enter and be seated quickly and quietly.
  
• If you arrive late, wait outside the concert hall doors until you hear applause. Then enter quickly and quietly. If you don't know where your seat is, find another seat quickly. Sit there until the intermission so you won't disturb others by hunting for your correct seat. Promise yourself to be on time next time.
  
• Never use cameras during a performance. The noise is annoying and the movement of the camera operator is distracting and the flash is just awful! Even the performers can get confused and make mistakes when cameras are going off at the wrong time.
  
• The only person who should EVER take a picture during a performance is the person hired by the symphony, the official photographer. S/he will know when to click, when to move and when to be still and quiet. S/he will also have the kind of equipment that will not need a flash. (A flash does no good further than about 10 feet anyway.)  Video/digital cameras are quieter (but not noiseless), but the movements of the operator are very distracting. No one else should take photos of any kind from the time the concertmaster/mistress tunes the orchestra until after the performance.
  
• Do not bring something else to do while you are listening, like a book, laptop, or homework. Leave your Pokemon cards and other pocket sized fun things at home. Seeing you dig them out and fiddle with them is very disconcerting to others.
  
• Don't pass notes to your friends.
  
• Dressing up is optional, but a classical concert is one of the few occasions left that might be called "special" in our increasingly casual world. Consider dressing up as a sign of respect. After all, if the musicians are in tuxes and gowns, the least you can do is iron those khakis and wear something better than sneakers. Jeans and flip-flops just won't do.

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Sense of Touch

• the person behind you starts tapping or pushing the back of your seat in time to the music.
  
• when someone a few seats down from you keeps rocking her chair around and you can feel it.
  
• when the person beside you hogs both arm rests.
  
• when the person next to you puts his coat or her purse in the space where your legs are supposed to fit.
  
• when someone in the row behind you gets up to leave and accidentally bonks you on the head.

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Sense of Smell

• Some folks think that part of dressing up is to put on a lot of v-e-r-y fragrant after shave or perfume. This can make others nauseated, have allergic reactions or headaches. Use "good scents": leave them at home.
  
• Some folks get so comfortable in their seats that they remove their shoes and pee-yew - - not a good idea! Keep your shoes on.
  
• Some folks don't bathe enough or they have on dirty clothes and they --well, they stink. Don't be one of them.
  
• Sometimes the mint or gum that folks eat during concerts has a very strong odor. Don't eat during a concert. Besides, the noise during unwrapping is extremely noticeable during a concert.

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