Question:
When people fall asleep during a classical music concert, is it boredom or being soothed?
anonymous
1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
When people fall asleep during a classical music concert, is it boredom or being soothed?
Twelve answers:
del_icious_manager
2010-03-10 23:30:18 UTC
A lot of people like to listen to music with ther eyes closed - it helps them concentrate. I have been attending concerts for 40 years and have only ever noticed one or two people actually fall asleep. If it were boredom, it begs the question why they would bother going to the concert in the first place.



I have always struggled with this concept of classical music being 'calming' and/or 'soothing'. I read it in this section every single day. Maybe I'm listening to the wrong music, but for me it is stimulating, challenging and invigorating. There's nothing 'soothing' about (just for example) the first movement of Prokofiev's Second Symphony or the first movement or Beethoven's 'Hammerklavier' Piano Sonata.
MissLimLam
2010-03-10 23:03:27 UTC
I once fell asleep IN the orchestra pit. It had nothing to do with boredom.
OpernKatz
2010-03-10 22:32:27 UTC
I've fallen asleep in the middle of very engaging opera performances and even rock concerts. It doesn't have anything to do with the music. I was just tired... and I don't think that is very unusual for much of the audience.



Most of these concerts start at 7 or 8PM and most of the audience have to work during the day. By the time you get to the first intermission many of us are so tired and trying to fight off sleep. It doesn't have to have anything to do with the music or the performance. :(
Zeke Porter
2010-03-10 22:07:31 UTC
I think it's because it's soothing.



People are generally very stressed and this can result in fatigue and sleep debt. When you listen to classical music, you get away from the techno; away from the metal and rock and you're absorbing the more natural sound of physical instruments.



On top of that, I think that if they were bored they'd be more likely to be fidgety or fiddle with something in their seats rather than to fall asleep.
Donovan
2010-03-10 21:41:55 UTC
Maybe they're not falling asleep but they're just focusing on the music and letting it take them away. Classical music is complex and some people close their eyes when listening to music to heighten the experience of sound. if they're going too a concert and falling asleep then they need to learn to appreciate good music.
Alberich
2010-03-10 22:10:32 UTC
It could be for a variety of reasons. One being that of so many people sitting mostly side by side, their collective body heat usually makes for an excessively warm, physical environment: falling asleep is a natural result for many.



I grew up mostly in an agrarian setting in Arkansas, where the only available music other than my own playing of the piano, was the radio. And after a long day - school, basket ball practice afterwards, and then the farm chores - I was often beat. Lying down then and listening to the radio, I developed the habit of naturally closing my eyes.



Later in life when I was able to attend live concerts, I found I could not really concentrate on the music, unless I closed my eyes. I assure you I wasn't bored; just wanted to listen and become one with the music; and the only way I could do this, was to close my eyes.



An aside, as much as I adore Wagner's music, I have to admit to simply falling asleep once during a performance of "Die Meistersinger". But then, yes, I've attended concerts where it was painfully obvious, some of the audience was bored to tears.



Once at a concert performance of the Prelude to Act I, and the entire 3rd Act of "Parsifal", 3 out of 4 of those in attendance at the beginning, just simply intermittently got up and left: it must have been terribly embarrassing for the performers.



But what can you expect? As the saying goes, "Wagner isn't for everyone".



Alberich
anonymous
2016-03-01 09:44:59 UTC
Start with Rachmaninoff a 20th Century Composer. The rest try & listen to at the Cd store see what you like. Or some Ambient music is also good but a bit monotonous. Best Wishes. Mars Mission. 14th Year Psychology Student. 4th Year Hypnotism Student. 4th Year Self Taught Music Student. 32 Years Qualified Automotive Technician. And Part Time Human Being.
tyjsg
2010-03-13 09:11:30 UTC
I once fell asleep from a performance of Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto. God that was a bad performance by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.



On the other hand, a concert of the London Symphonic was so engaging I was kept awake through the entire Romeo and Juliet and Franscesca da Rimini (I have a bad track record of falling asleep... once while I was attending Parliament)



I guess its not only the music, but also the venue (the concert hall for the London Symphonic concert had air vents below seats) and also the performance of the musicians (the SSO was, unfortunately, as stiff as a teenage boy in a nude beach.)



I'm watching a concert of Sarah Chang, Penderecki conducting and the Shanghai Symphonic next month. God bless the performance.
summabee
2010-03-10 21:51:18 UTC
Maybe it just depends on whether they like it or not.
Ian E
2010-03-11 16:37:13 UTC
Genuine art music is never soporific ('soothing'). That is simply because the over-riding feature of this music is 'newness'. However, if one becomes very familiar with a work, this familiarity eventually robs the music of this feature. That is why, for art music to thrive, it is vital that audiences are constantly supplied with 'new' music.



Orchestral administrators, eager for financial gains, often say that, to fill an auditorium with listeners, it is best to stick to the 'familiar' repertory. No doubt, in the short term, they are correct. In the long term, of course, they are responsible for the potential death of art music itself. [Would you genuinely enjoy an old warhorse such as 'Handel's Messiah'? Would you go because you were eager to hear it, or would it be because you didn't want to offend some of the performers?]



This 'familiar repertory' of course, is usually wonderful music. The fault is not the music, but the fact that it has been performed so often, that many people eventually become bored with it because the essential art music ingredient - newness - has been lost.



In my experience, however, it is extremely rare for anyone in an audience to actually fall asleep. If it happens, it is likely to be a pretender, someone wishing to be known as a lover of fine music. In order to maintain the involvement of genuine music lovers, astute performers strive to find something 'new' in their performance. [ In my view, it would be better to supply 'new' music, but that is only my opinion.]



What you may well have noticed, and misinterpreted as slumber, is the common habit of listening to profound music with eyes closed. I do it, and so do many like me.



If I wanted to use music as a sleep inducer, I would choose music that I had once loved, but had heard too often. I would listen to it alone, not in a concert auditorium. Or, if I really needed sleep, I would choose 'Bella's Lullaby' or 'music' of that ilk.
I. Jones
2010-03-11 07:10:13 UTC
Any of a number of reasons,



... not the least of which is disrespect for the musicians and fellow concert goers.
Celsius
2010-03-10 23:31:55 UTC
Classical music itself sounds soft and uninteresting during almost every part other than the climax...you should know. Those who fell asleep are indeed sleeping. They don't understand classical music, so they would rather fall asleep then leave in order not to embarrass their friend who may really be interested.



Don't lose heart, though. Classical music is great, and you should not be discouraged by these people :)


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