Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Cell phones... What would you do in this situation?

The 24 hour on-call is not even an excuse, as per your last sentence: set it to vibrate.

I actually turn my smartphone OFF during concerts. How many of the audiences do that?

IMO if you absolutely need to have the phone on, you don't belong there.

IMO if you absolutely need to have the phone on, you don't belong there.

That's quite a stretch. Maybe we should leave that sort of analysis to Mark C.

I think many of these disruptions come from people who are on call. I work in IT, and just like the medical profession, we are often on call 24x7. There is no option to simply leave the cell phone at home, because, in my own case, a response is required within 15 minutes or additional pages will begin escalating to upper management.

But the solution is as simple as Morodiene has said: Turn the damned sound settings to vibrate.

I'm surprised that some members feel it's OK to have your cell phone on at all in the audience. "Vibrate" is no good either.

If you're on call or otherwise must have your phone on, don't come to the concert. (Even if it were mine.)
I didn't think my idea of concerts was so archaic. IMO if you absolutely need to have the phone on, you don't belong there.

How did people survive in the era before cell phones? That is, less than two decades ago.

How did we get to the stage where people think they are so important that they have to be contactable at all times 24/7?

Some people need a reality check.....

It's been 6 or 7 years since I've seen a live classical music performance, so count me as fully compliant with your wishes.

How did people survive in the era before cell phones? That is, less than two decades ago.

Why would anybody want to live in a world without cell phones?

....I have to have my phone on at all times....

Unfortunately, being "reachable" is often mandated by real life circumstances and not necessarily an individual's sense of entitlement and indispensability.

I despise cell phones ringing in concert halls as much as anyone, but would not go as far as stating that if you must have your cell phone on, you do not belong in a concert hall. We simply need to extend etiquette and courtesy to cell phone use. Unfortunately, being "reachable" is often mandated by real life circumstances and not necessarily an individual's sense of entitlement and indispensability.
I have to have my phone on at all times (nuclear code and such ), but I actually ALWAYS leave it on vibe and I put it upside down in my lap and on the rare occasion that it did go off, I do my best to cover it so its screen light does not bother others. I know many people who do the same. If you have kids either alone at home or in the care of a sitter, it would be irresponsible not be reachable, but it has to be made clear that you are to be contacted only in case of emergency. In other words, you can have it both ways but you have to acquire strategies to deal with it politely, just like you learnt to roll spaghetti around your fork and cover your mouth when you cough. The problem is that people continue to be stubbornly oblivious of their phones. Going Luddite about it is not a practical solution.
As far as I am concerned, performers have the right to react the way they see fit. Losing their cool might help raise awareness and should not be held against them.

I have to say that cell phones are not the most common disturbance. Rather, people who need to comment about everything to their hard of hearing neighbors is the worse.
At a recent performance of the New York Philharmonic, an older guy behind me kept pointing out 'Ana' in the violin section to his ?wife. "Ana plays so well". "She is not playing (? Artie). Yes she is, right there. But she is not playing the solo part"... And so it went on, in a faux whispering mode. Meanwile, three amazing cellists were trying to get into Penderecki's complicated concerto grosso, and my phone rested in utter silence.