Comments on: Slightly OT: music etiquette

By: jb

jb — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 19:49:10 +0000

Well Big Ken: I guess I see nothing wrong with this because I did that recently. My 20 yr. old son was disappointed because we were going to a concert to hear a favorite of his and he had to be gone due to his golfing in college. He heard most of the concert while he was in his motel room. Our phone did not ring and we did not talk. He just listened….Also, we did not hold the phone up.

By: Big Ken 54

Big Ken 54 — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:39:25 +0000

I’ve seen this happen, also: a person in the concert audience places a call on their cell phone, and then holds the phone up toward the singers so that the person they called can hear the singing. What is your opinion of this?

By: RF

RF — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:31:06 +0000

Once I was attending a classical concert and the orchestra was playing the soft passages in Beethoven’s 6th Symphony. All at once, a middle-aged gentleman jump up, fist pointing skyward and yelled, “AwwwRight!!!”

Upon further investigation, he had an earphone in his left ear and was listening to a ball game. Apparently his wife had drug him to the concert.

Needless to say, he was embarrassed, the conductor was upset and the crowd was perplexed.

Sometimes the only way to teach someone a lesson in etiquette is to embarrass them. Or have them embarrass themselves.

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:19:01 +0000

I’ve seen a singer’s phone ring WHILE he was singing! It’s happened in my group, it’s happened to other groups, it’s happened during concerts, it’s even happened during altar calls! Drives me nuts anytime someone is inconsiderate enough in church or at a sing to shut the phone off.Can’t we remove ourselves from it long enough to show some respect to those singing for the LORD?

By: thom

thom — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 22:58:33 +0000

Our Pastor has a rule about cell phones in church, If your phone rings you make a $100 donation to the missions fund! That has just about eliminated phones ringing during church.

Whenever I am emceeing a concert or event, I always try to remember to ask people to turn their phones off. Most people are glad to do so if you remind them. I don’t worry about it hurting someone’s feelings (as a previous commenter said), they should thank me for possibly saving them the embarrassment of having it ring during the service.

We were talking about this issue today when I was getting my hair cut. The bigger problem is that we have an entire generation of people that have always had a cell phone and who have absolutely no manners about when and where to use them.

Oh, Amy Vanderbilt, where are you when we need you?

By: Rod

Rod — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:40:50 +0000

I am a performer and I absolutely hate when a cell phone goes off when I am singing or speaking. Most of the time I stop and look right at the person and wait till it’s finished and then asking “Is it off this tme”. I have gotten sme flack from the pastors about me “Embarassing” them publicly. My response…Good for them…They should be embarassed…They might think twice or leave the stupid thing at home. Ok I’m getting angry now…BYE!

By: jb

jb — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:34:30 +0000

We have a real problem at our church with cell phones. We are a small congregation, 75-100, and if you really address the problem someone is going to get mad. Nearly every Sunday or Wed. someones phone goes off or you can hear it vibrate because they leave it lay in the seat. Usually it is their family who is calling. Do they not know you are in church…..HELLO……
We leave our phone in the car. Our organist received a phone call one evening and she came down from the organ and told them she couldn’t talk she was in church. We’ve had them go off in the middle of prayer. I think we need to announce it from the pulpit and put a note in the bulletin. How did we make it all these yrs. without cell phones???

By: quartet-man

quartet-man — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 13:51:50 +0000

I have one that is even worse. If you don’t know it, I am a church music director and accompanist. As I was sitting up in the choir loft and the pastor was preaching a guy on about the third row (who I think had been unchurched, but had come to our church a few times) got a cell call. He answers it and talked to the person (not whispering either). He told them he was at church, but had a conversation of at least a few sentences with them while the pastor continued preaching before he hung up.

By: John

John — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 04:45:25 +0000

Amen! Performance etiquette, whether it’s a classical concert, a community play, or a gospel concert, has gone down the tubes.

No matter how badly I would like to escape yet another ear shattering version of “Oh What a Savior”, my respect for the performers will not allow me to leave my seat once the song has begun. I just have to suffer and bear it.