Of the different examples of concert traditions that we’ve discussed in class, I would be more comfortable watching the symphony orchestra live. I personally prefer to enjoy listening to music while I’m in a comfortable and calm setting. With a typical symphony orchestra, the audience is seated quietly during the entire performance so they can just admire and take in the different instruments playing together. Also, symphony orchestras take place in large concert halls, which allow for both the audience and the performers to not feel crowded. I would be more uncomfortable in a chamber music recital mainly because of the small venues they’re held in. With the small venue size, I feel like the place would get crowded quickly, especially if the performers are popular in the music world.

In a symphony orchestra, I would expect the audience to be seated and quiet while the performers perform, and I would expect to see the performers seated as well while they play. The same is expected from the audience and performers in a chamber music recital, except it would seem more uncomfortable for everyone, mostly the performers. This is due to the smaller stage space that the performers play in, along with the use of instruments that require a lot of movements with their arms (for the purpose of keeping up with each other in the absence of a conductor).

Being comfortable at a concert, as both the audience and the performer, is a significant part for me personally. In middle school, I was part of my school’s concert band. However, unlike most concert bands who have large concert halls to perform, we were limited to our school auditorium (which wasn’t too big). With that said, the stage was pretty small, and the band was tightly packed together, and arm space was limited (especially for the trombone players). In terms of being part of the audience, I’ve been to two concerts, both being rock concerts. One of them was at Warped Tour, which was insanely crowded and somewhat scary, especially the mosh pit that I got stuck in accidentally. Those things are scary. People go crazy at Warped Tour, and any rock concert. Unlike a symphony concert, where you sit down and enjoy the show, you stand and prepare to carry strangers who crowd surf to the front. Or you get pushed by fan girls who try and get in front of you. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun experience. But I usually don’t need to fight for my spot or run from mosh pit when listening to Beethoven.