Boring recitals and concerts

We saw the movie The Strange Life of Timothy Green this afternoon.  There was one funny scene where the main characters have to attend an annual musical concert put on by her sister and her family. They are set up in their living room :
the perfect mom at the piano
the three children playing the cello, bassoon, and flute
and my favorite – the dad playing. . . handbells!

Sitting cramped on the other side of the room are the family and friends who obviously don’t want to be there.  Of course, I thought this was funny and I know everyone identifies with this situation.  But then I was wondered – is this what people feel when they are at one of my recitals or concerts?

What makes a recital boring? Hmm…..
You don’t know anyone on stage performing
        It’s so much more fun to see someone you know – and it means a lot to the performer too!

You don’t know any of the songs

        This is especially true for popular music.  Usually when someone goes on tour, they have just released a new album.  I always hate if I don’t know any of the new songs!
It’s really long
      Any concert, no matter how wonderful it is, can get boring when it goes on forever!

The music is really slow

       Maybe I’m thinking sleepy – for me, I’m thinking about those slow movements of some orchestral piece…..and it’s dark. . . . .
They’re singing in another language
       It’s so hard to enjoy something you don’t understand.  I always felt operas were boring until I saw the Austin Lyric Opera with supertitles!!!   Supertitles are carefully choreographed translations that are displayed on a screen above the stage.  What a wonderful invention!

You were forced to go and really don’t want to be there.
I want to know – what makes recitals really special to you?  Are there certain types of concerts that you always enjoy?  Never enjoy?  How often do you attend recitals?  Do you seek them out?  Do you make your kids go to concerts?  Did your parents make you??

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