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Editorial

Rules of the Concert Hall

Some things at a Garrett classical concert are written down. Where the doors are. When the lights go off. The number printed on your seat. Most of the things that actually matter, however, aren’t written anywhere. They sit in the room with you, and they ask only that you notice them.
6 May 20264 min readA field guide for a proper Garrett nightby The Strings Society Editorial Team
EDITORIAL · CONCERT HALL🎻“

We thought it was a good idea to write a few of them down. Not because they need rules — they don’t. But because we believe this is something we all share, we all feel — and it was fun to gather them here.

So… here we go. Add what you think is missing.

If you find these annoying, ignore them. If you find one of these true, send it to whoever you wish were there with you.

• • •

  1. Get emotional when you feel to. There is no etiquette higher than letting yourself be moved.
  2. The encore is a covenant. Do not leave before it.
  3. Honor the silence between movements. It belongs to the piece — don’t break it with applause. Enjoy it.
  4. Wait for the bow to come down before you clap. There is a half-second after the last note where the music is still happening.
  5. Phones can wait. That beautiful phrase cannot.
  6. Don’t think too much! Let the music flow into you and touch your inner strings. It will be worth it!
Bring someone who has never heard him live. They will be someone slightly different by the end.
  1. Think before using a camera with flash. David is deeply inside the music so that you can feel it too — let him stay there, without distractions.
  2. Don’t decide in advance what will move you. The piece you came for may not be the one that finds you.
  3. If you have been before, listen for what is different. There is always something.
  4. If you arrive late, sit at the back and breathe before you sit down. The music has already started — catch up gently.
  5. Stay until the last note dissolves into the room. Otherwise, you have heard the music — but you have not met the silence that holds it.
  6. The walk to the car after is part of the concert. Don’t break it with words too soon.

• • •

These are not really rules. They are habits we noticed in people who looked, to us, like they were listening properly. Take them as you would a friend’s advice on how to behave in someone else’s living room — gently, and only as long as they help.

If a date on the tour finds you, go. These rules are easier to keep than to write — and easier still when there’s a bow about to come down.

For the night when David turns up the volume, read its loud sister →
Photograph by Helen DaresPhotograph by Helen DaresPhotograph by Helen Dares
Photographs by Helen Dares

— The Strings Society Editorial Team

It’s not the rules that hold the room. It’s us, when we agree to listen.
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