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2017-12-24, 02:23 AM (ISO 8601)
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Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
I've always wondered this... It's actually a big part of why I rarely ever go to a concert, not if I'm going there to hear the performance. I'd understand cheering after the performance is over, but if the point of the concert is to hear the music... Making a whole bunch of noise and drowning out the actual performance seems rather counter productive. Especially if the performance is one of a kind, and you'll never get another chance to hear that song played in that manner.
Is there more to it than just listening quietly to a good performance?
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2017-12-24, 10:43 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
It gives positive feedback to the performers.
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2017-12-24, 11:09 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
I've never had this happen at a classical concert. Rock concert yes, but a lot of bands try to make their audiences highly energized during the show, and I consider it part of the experience. Especially when the audience sings along to the music, like at a Maiden concert when Fear of the Dark or any song with chanting, like Heaven Can Wait, are played. It is kind of an ethereal feeling, and it's amazingly fun to be a part of.
Last edited by Peelee; 2017-12-24 at 11:14 AM.
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2017-12-24, 11:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
I think part of it is an attempt to make the event more interactive. One of the things that makes live music different than recorded music is that you're experiencing it with a lot of other people, and clapping/cheering/etc. is a way to let the rest of them know that you like that song too. Also, a lot of people would like to connect with the performers in some way, and this is pretty much the only way they're given to try to do so.
It seems like the times I hear clapping/cheering/etc. are usually:
(a) when the song starts - intended message is probably "yay! the song I like is playing"
(b) after a technically difficult section - intended message is probably "yay - they got through that part without screwing it up, and that's a difficult thing to do"
(c) after a punchline or other key moment - intended message is probably to react to the story (I listen to a lot of folk music, so lyrics/story are a big part of a lot of concerts I go to)
(d) after the song is over - intended message is probably appreciation for the song
I don't go to large concerts because I find them kind of overwhelming, but I also suspect this is partially a function of really loud sound systems. The band can definitely "perform over" a certain amount of crowd noise, and I suspect that the noisier the performers are, the noisier the audience feels they can be.
I really like performances where the audience is supposed to sing along on the choruses and/or some of the songs are more of a group sing-a-long led by the performer, but that really only works with certain songs (and audiences). There are some songs that almost everyone knows that you can get really nice harmonies going on when you have 50-100 people who all know the words and tune singing along on the chorus and finding good harmonies, but there are other songs where this just makes a mess.
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2017-12-26, 05:48 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
The point of a rock concert is less to hear the music than to experience the band live - which includes clapping and screaming and singing along. I find that clapping and cheering is most typical at the very beginning of a song when the audience is indicating their approval of its inclusion in the line-up.
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2017-12-26, 06:35 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
I'd like to know why they sometimes do it at the end of a movie at the movie theatre.
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2017-12-26, 07:27 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
Back when I worked at a theater, When they applauded at the end, I just took it as them appreciating my work when I was in projection.
Conversely, if it was the last set and I was on exit greetings, if people to me it was a great movie while walking out, my go-to response was, "thanks, I made it myself."
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2017-12-26, 10:53 PM (ISO 8601)
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2017-12-27, 11:33 AM (ISO 8601)
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2017-12-27, 09:48 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
That's what DVD's/Live versions are all about!
But seriously, I think that's the difference between "vernacular" music (rock, pop, folk, etc) and the more "elevated" kind (orchestra, Genius Guitar Man, etc). For the vernacular, it's all about the interaction of the public with the band. It isn't only praise. It's a communion with yourMetal Godsfavorite artist. It's about joining them in the same experience. It's something that both the band and the fans are looking for.
The other kind, being more solemn and closer to actual praise; it's all about the wonder. So people just sit amazed, unable to do anything but listen to them.Last edited by Lord Joeltion; 2017-12-27 at 09:50 PM.
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2017-12-28, 03:25 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
Personally, I attend live performances with my parents: really darn good live performances of choral, Classical, Romantic, or Baroque music; with those sorts of music, you can see people practically composing themselves for meditation as the lights dim at the start. Nobody claps during the performance. That would be disrespectful and rude (at least in that setting), and pretty much impossible considering we're kinda spellbound.
We have a CD of a Roger Whittaker concert where the audience clapped at the start of every song, though, and that seemed to be because they liked the songs and were glad to hear them. Mr. Whittaker was actively trying to get everyone participating, too, which was probably part of it.
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2017-12-28, 05:06 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
Oh, if you want to see someone try to get the audience to participate, check out videos of Ozzy in Japan. The culture there is largely to be respectful and polite, while Ozzy loves a really high-energy crowd. I hear his concerts over there play like a battle of wills.
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2017-12-28, 05:44 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
I notice this when watching pro wrestling matches online. While American crowds like to get involved with cheers, boos, and chanting, Japanese crowds are quiet out of respect for the performance. At most there will be some polite clapping after a particularly good exchange.
Having seen Ozzy several times over the years, it's pretty funny to me to imagine him trying to rouse a crowd that's observing quietly. We usually got two or three "I CAN'T #$%(ING HEAR YOU!" shouts from him even making as much noise as we could, so I can only imagine that like 50% of the show is Ozzy screaming for more noise from the crowd.
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2017-12-28, 05:58 PM (ISO 8601)
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2017-12-28, 07:07 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
As has been said, the genre plays into it. When I attend an opera, it is considered bad form to applaud when you recognize a piece. That's just expected. However, the conductor will pause after particular arias to allow the audience to show their appreciation to the artist.
Switch to a Jimmy Buffett concert, where Jimmy has an entire audience participation schtick going where parrotheads applaud favorites, hoot and hollar when asked or a hometown video flashes, applaud again after songs well done, and sit respectfully during the ballads to appreciate the words (or just rest your voice). This turns the concert into an entertainment event.
Still Monkeysage has a point that this can get out of hand. The most famous example is the Beatles who stopped touring when they came to the realization that their audience couldn't hear their music over the screaming fans."We are the people our parents warned us about!" - J.Buffett
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2017-12-28, 07:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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2017-12-28, 08:26 PM (ISO 8601)
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2017-12-28, 09:08 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
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2017-12-30, 02:30 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
I clap and cheer during movies...
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2018-01-05, 12:36 PM (ISO 8601)
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2018-01-07, 06:42 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
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2018-01-07, 06:59 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
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2018-01-07, 08:12 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
I'm not going to try and understand you humans with your emotions, but you can also do that at home without spending a lot of money on a ticket. I think it's more of a social exercise, bonding with others who like the music, and being able to say you saw it in person.
Besides isn't it just like rock and metal concerts where people do that? Classical music concerts people only clap and cheer when a song comes to an end while the musicians are getting ready for the next song.
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2018-01-08, 02:36 AM (ISO 8601)
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2018-01-22, 09:21 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
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2018-01-22, 10:18 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
People are terrible at gaging risk, but that doesn't mean they are completely unaware of the risk. Flying as a passenger in a plane is a very stressful occasion for a lot of people, and a completed trip is an occasion for stress relief which in many cases can take the form of clapping and cheering.
Or, in short "Yay! We're alive!"
No, those are not the only reasons. A live concert can and does feel very different from the same music played by a different orchestra, same as an audiobook will feel different when read by two different people. Even the same orchestra on different days can feel different on the moment. A recording cannot do that: it will be the same, forever. Going to a concert to listen to a piece of music you have a recording of is not equivalent to staying home and listening to said recording.
If they did that, it'd be fine. But more often than not, they will clap between movements of the same song. The equivalent in a rock concert is when the public claps after a chorus or solo. It is equally obnoxious in both cases.
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2018-01-22, 11:12 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
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In my experience people underestimate familiar dangers (driving a car), and overestimate unfamiliar ones (flight, terrorism, etc.).
It also about control, and having your fate in someone else's hands.
Really to be safer, we should just not drive to work, but I don't foresee that happening soon.
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2018-01-22, 11:46 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
Last edited by Peelee; 2018-01-22 at 11:46 AM.
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2018-01-22, 11:57 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?
Also, it can be sarcastic, or legitimately grateful, when the landing or flight was particularly bumpy. I've been on flights with heavy turbulence, and landings where we actually skipped like a stone on a lake several times before violently jostling our way down the landing strip. Applause was a combination of, "Yay! We're alive!" and "Oh, bravo, but could you land a little worse next time? I managed to keep some of those horrible pretzels down."
Back on the topic, I think it's also worth considering historical context. The idea of polite silence during a performance is, frankly, a relatively modern concept. Audiences at classical performances, or staged plays, were - back in the day - rowdy and vocal. If the crowd didn't like you, they would tell you, and not just by booing; if they loved it, they would tell you, and they wouldn't wait until a polite breaking point. And while some of the fancier performances (e.g. plays, classical music) now encourage you to sit and wait to show your appreciation, that sentiment of showing your love (or hate) is still around.
Also, let's be honest, some performers mug for it. I remember attending a performance of the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels during its Broadway run. During the penultimate number, Lawrence sings, "So we got screwed for fifty grand," to which Freddy replies, "I think we still deserve a hand!" Freddy, played by Norbert Leo Butz in that performance, mugged the line - he held the last syllable, broke the fourth wall, and stared right into the audience. Hold for applause... Which absolutely came. The show wasn't over - Hells, the song wasn't over - but that was clearly designed to elicit applause. And it did.
And that's also true with some showstoppers. One of my absolute favorites comes from Dreamgirls, for example, in the song "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," in which Effie absolutely dumps her heart and soul out in a bellowing, emotional solo number. Anyone who knows the show knows this song, and knows exactly what moment I'm talking about - the song, and Effie's emotion, has been building upwards, and upwards, into a crescendo. Deep breath, and then she takes the chorus and stretches it out...
"Aaaaaaaand... Iiiiiiiii... Aaaaaaaaam..."
By the time she reaches the word "telling," you can barely hear her sing over the roaring applause. The sheer emotion, volume, and power she puts into that moment is overwhelming. And while Jennifer Holliday didn't literally stop the show during that number (although that has happened with some other showstoppers), it was still powerful enough that the audience practically stopped the show with that overwhelming response.
Sometimes, that's enough. Sometimes, a performer does something so amazing that you just have to give them credit, right then, no waiting.My headache medicine has a little "Ex" inscribed on the pill. It's not a brand name; it's an indicator that it works inside an Anti-Magic Field.
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2018-01-22, 12:51 PM (ISO 8601)
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