New OOTS products from CafePress
New OOTS t-shirts, ornaments, mugs, bags, and more
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 30 of 35
  1. - Top - End - #1
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    HalflingPirate

    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Arkansas, U.S.
    Gender
    Male

    Default 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?

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    GreataxeFighterGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2008

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    It gives positive feedback to the performers.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Dragon in the Playground Moderator
     
    Peelee's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Washington D.C.
    Gender
    Male

    Default 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.
    Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.

    Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2014

    Default 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.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Ettin in the Playground
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Pelican City
    Gender
    Female

    Default 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.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Crow's Avatar

    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Gender
    Male

    Default 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.
    Avatar by Aedilred

    GitP Blood Bowl Manager Cup Record
    Styx Rivermen, Feets Reloaded, and Selene's Seductive Strut
    Record: 42-17-13
    3-time Division Champ, Cup Champion

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Dragon in the Playground Moderator
     
    Peelee's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Washington D.C.
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Crow View Post
    I'd like to know why they sometimes do it at the end of a movie at the movie theatre.
    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."

    I amuse myself.
    Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.

    Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Crow's Avatar

    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    "thanks, I made it myself."

    I amuse myself.
    Well I would certainly appreciate that response. :)
    Last edited by Crow; 2017-12-26 at 10:54 PM.

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Titan in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by MonkeySage View Post
    Is there more to it than just listening quietly to a good performance?
    Yes, it's a shared experience of joy. Clapping and cheering are part of the shared experience.

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    SamuraiGuy

    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Over the Rainbow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by MonkeySage View Post
    Especially if the performance is one of a kind, and you'll never get another chance to hear that song played in that manner.

    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 your Metal Gods favorite 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.
    (sic)

    My English non très bueno, da? CALL: 0800-BADGRINGO

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    AuthorGirl's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    An igloo near you
    Gender
    Female

    Default 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.

  12. - Top - End - #12
    Dragon in the Playground Moderator
     
    Peelee's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Washington D.C.
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by AuthorGirl View Post
    Mr. Whittaker was actively trying to get everyone participating, too, which was probably part of it.
    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.
    Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.

    Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    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.
    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.

  14. - Top - End - #14
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    AuthorGirl's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    An igloo near you
    Gender
    Female

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    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.
    Oh, that would be funny. I'll see if the magic of YouTube can deliver it to me.

  15. - Top - End - #15
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Scarlet Knight's Avatar

    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Hudson Valley, NY
    Gender
    Male

    Default 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

    Avatar by Tannhaeuser

  16. - Top - End - #16
    Dragon in the Playground Moderator
     
    Peelee's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Washington D.C.
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Scarlet Knight View Post
    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.
    I'd have thought the most famous example was Altamont.
    Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.

    Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2

  17. - Top - End - #17
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Scarlet Knight's Avatar

    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Hudson Valley, NY
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    I'd have thought the most famous example was Altamont.
    Altamont's problem was violence, not excessive cheering.
    "We are the people our parents warned us about!" - J.Buffett

    Avatar by Tannhaeuser

  18. - Top - End - #18
    Dragon in the Playground Moderator
     
    Peelee's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Washington D.C.
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Scarlet Knight View Post
    Altamont's problem was violence, not excessive cheering.
    Gah, mixed up my threads. Thought this was about high energy audiences in general, and not just cheering and drowning it the music. My bad.
    Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.

    Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2

  19. - Top - End - #19
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    Scarlet Thirst's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Gender
    Female

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    I clap and cheer during movies...

  20. - Top - End - #20
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Scarlet Thirst View Post
    I clap and cheer during movies...
    Why? 10 characters

  21. - Top - End - #21
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Anonymouswizard's Avatar

    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    In my library

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Scarlet Thirst View Post
    I clap and cheer during movies...
    Quote Originally Posted by Velaryon View Post
    Why? 10 characters
    I've done it occasionally. Did do a little clap at the end of The Greatest Showman, but that reminded me of a stage musical to the point I wanted to do it after every song.
    Snazzy avatar (now back! ) by Honest Tiefling.

    RIP Laser-Snail, may you live on in our hearts forever.

    Spoiler: playground quotes
    Show
    Quote Originally Posted by Zelphas View Post
    So here I am, trapped in my laboratory, trying to create a Mechabeast that's powerful enough to take down the howling horde outside my door, but also won't join them once it realizes what I've done...twentieth time's the charm, right?
    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Raziere View Post
    How about a Jovian Uplift stuck in a Case morph? it makes so little sense.

  22. - Top - End - #22
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Lvl 2 Expert's Avatar

    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Tulips Cheese & Rock&Roll
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Crow View Post
    I'd like to know why they sometimes do it at the end of a movie at the movie theatre.
    Or when an airplane has landed.
    The Hindsight Awards, results: See the best movies of 1999!

  23. - Top - End - #23
    Barbarian in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jan 2016

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by MonkeySage View Post
    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?
    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.

  24. - Top - End - #24
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Crow's Avatar

    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lvl 2 Expert View Post
    Or when an airplane has landed.
    "Yay! We're alive!"
    Avatar by Aedilred

    GitP Blood Bowl Manager Cup Record
    Styx Rivermen, Feets Reloaded, and Selene's Seductive Strut
    Record: 42-17-13
    3-time Division Champ, Cup Champion

  25. - Top - End - #25
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Lvl 2 Expert's Avatar

    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Tulips Cheese & Rock&Roll
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Crow View Post
    "Yay! We're alive!"
    If that was ever seriously in question, why did they all board to begin with?

    Would you vacation on Hawaii if you had say a 1% chance to not make it back?
    The Hindsight Awards, results: See the best movies of 1999!

  26. - Top - End - #26
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Grey_Wolf_c's Avatar

    Join Date
    Aug 2007

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lvl 2 Expert View Post
    If that was ever seriously in question, why did they all board to begin with?

    Would you vacation on Hawaii if you had say a 1% chance to not make it back?
    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!"

    Quote Originally Posted by Some Android View Post
    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.
    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.

    Quote Originally Posted by Some Android View Post
    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.
    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.

    Grey Wolf
    Interested in MitD? Join us in MitD's thread.
    There is a world of imagination
    Deep in the corners of your mind
    Where reality is an intruder
    And myth and legend thrive
    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    But really, the important lesson here is this: Rather than making assumptions that don't fit with the text and then complaining about the text being wrong, why not just choose different assumptions that DO fit with the text?
    Ceterum autem censeo Hilgya malefica est

  27. - Top - End - #27
    Titan in the Playground
     
    2D8HP's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    San Francisco Bay area
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lvl 2 Expert View Post
    If that was ever seriously in question, why did they all board to begin with?

    Would you vacation on Hawaii if you had say a 1% chance to not make it back?
    .
    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.
    Extended Sig
    D&D Alignment history
    Quote Originally Posted by JoeJ View Post
    Does the game you play feature a Dragon sitting on a pile of treasure, in a Dungeon?
    Quote Originally Posted by Ninja_Prawn View Post
    You're an NPC stat block."I remember when your race was your class you damned whippersnappers"
    Snazzy Avatar by Honest Tiefling!

  28. - Top - End - #28
    Dragon in the Playground Moderator
     
    Peelee's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Washington D.C.
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by 2D8HP View Post
    .
    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.
    Excuse me, sir. To be safer, everyone but me should not drive to work.
    Last edited by Peelee; 2018-01-22 at 11:46 AM.
    Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.

    Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2

  29. - Top - End - #29
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Red Fel's Avatar

    Join Date
    Aug 2013

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Grey_Wolf_c View Post
    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!"
    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.

    Blue text means sarcasm. Purple text means evil. White text is invisible.

    My signature got too big for its britches. So now it's over here!

  30. - Top - End - #30
    Titan in the Playground
     
    2D8HP's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    San Francisco Bay area
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do people clap and cheer during a performance at a concert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    Excuse me, sir. To be safer, everyone but me should not drive to work.
    .
    Spoiler: off topic response
    Show
    Well that would be a start, what is the job you do that's so safe?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •