Audience noises during performances

[nill]

(Generally speaking, I'm talking about musical performances, but I suppose other types, such as dancing or theatre, can be included.)

What are your thoughts on audience members' noises during a performance, either deliberate or unintentional?

Let's take some examples.

- Most any time someone performs the U.S. national anthem. You know the part. "O'er the laaaaand... of the---" and the crowd (it's always a crowd) just begins cheering before the song is even over. The last one I saw was at the GOP Florida debate---performed, no less, by a chamber choir---and the final chord was not even resolved before the audience members starting clapping and cheering.

- Comments or calls or shouts during acoustic acts. In another performance I've seen, it was obviously an event specifically organized around these guests. One started playing his composition, and it was met with "Yeeeah!" and "Wooo!" for a full 30 seconds after he'd already started.

- Stream of audience ambiance during band acts. I think this is a little different than the previous example only because they tend to be much louder, and the audience noise never seems to die down at any point. It sort of becomes as much a part of the show as the actual performance.

- "Clapping along" to the beat during a performance. ..... /8^[

- Accidental coughs, chair squeaks, coin drops, child talks, door slams, and the like. You might hear them, but when it comes to quiet---even intensely quiet---performances, I can almost hear nothing else. Imagine hearing the "Moonlight" sonata being performed, and in the middle, you hear, I dunno, someone fart. Depending on who you are, I guess, you might enjoy the performance more, who knows? What I mean is, pick your favorite song, have it performed live, and then have the musical moment broken by an unwelcome outside noise; does that just roll off your back, or is there some part of you that is annoyed by other sounds being "added" to the performance?

- Cell phones ringing. This one deserves its own special mention, since not everyone has a cough, a squeaky chair, a child at their side, or heavy doors. But almost everyone and their grandmother (and, more likely, kids below the age of 10) has a cell phone. Cell phones have evolved to become an extra appendage on most people. It sticks to them, and it never leaves them. (Well, that's more the definition of a parasite, now that I think about it.) But how often do people remember to turn it on silent? Or even completely off, as I've heard conductors urge before? At a solemn funeral, maybe they'll remember; but at a place where they expected to enjoy music? Not likely. And with every action tied to the Internet (Twitter, news, Facebook, email, etc) requiring a notification noise, it's only a matter of minutes before someone's cell phone goes off during a performance.

- Clapping between movements. ..... !!!

So... any other examples you can think of? When attending a performance, is there any etiquette to observe, or is it kind of an ambient free-for-all on the audience side of the stage? Does it depend on the artist, or venue, or genre? Feel free to vote, or explain, or both!

(Kudos to those of you who found the musical jokes/references in the poll questions.)

 

[Socktastic]

I don't mind audience noise, but there comes a point where I find it disrespectful - instead of allowing the artist to perform they're drowning them in their own voices. But that's because when I really enjoy something i'm quiet, once it's over i'm as loud as I want but when they're playing then at most it's a brief moment of appreciation then giving them the silence and play the tune that got everyone worked up in peace.

I don't mind singing along, or clapping really ... I think it's just the shouting and hollering that gets my goat.

Random noises such as chair scrapes, heavy breathing, coughing and foot steps don't really bother me. They're unavoidable when a piece is very quiet. But deliberate loudness ... outside of panto I don't see a place for it.

 

[Inkachu]

I'm not going to throw a fit and rip someone's eyes out for being annoying during a performance, but the performing artist in me would secretly enjoy taking them into the street and smacking them around.

Don't attend performances if: you have a loud kid (yeah, your baby is cute, but it's also distracting), you have a cough (or sinus issue where you're snorting like a bull every 10 seconds), you can't turn your cell phone off, you can't shutup and stop talking to your neighbor, etc. Clapping along is fine in church (or at a concert where the artist invites the audience to clap), but for an artistic performance, I hate it because the average audience can't maintain an accurate beat, and I feel sorry for the performers trying to ignore the audience and keep focus on what they're doing. You have half the people clapping on the 1st and 3rd beat, and the other half clapping on the 2nd and 4th, and then the tempo changes, and the clapping turns into a muddle, and then fades out awkwardly... no... just don't do it lol. Tap your foot if you need to

I hate it both from the performer's and the spectator's perspective. It's worse when you're in the audience, though, cause on stage, you can kinda tune out what's happening down below most of the time.

NOTE* This doesn't apply to concerts that are MEANT to be loud and raucous.