Pavlov's Clap

I noticed it a while back, but didn’t think much of it until I had a TV in my apartment. Then it stood out. Every time a song would come on during a game or talk show, the entire audience would start clapping. Not applauding, as directed by a blinking “applaud” sign, but clapping with the song. Always the same rhythm too. A stiff, every upbeat, clap.

It’s Pavlovian for much of the French audience. And it doesn’t stay in the confines of TV. On my last night in Landivisiau, I attended and played in a concert put on by high school students. I had a lot of fun, and I liked getting to see the students’ creative talents. But the audience kept doing the damn clapping thing.

The worst was during this performance by the music teacher on cello and the other English assistant, a talented musician on multiple instruments, playing a traditional Russian instrument. People got excited cause the song’s familiar. But they made it hard to enjoy with their overwhelming claps. The tempo varies a lot in the performance, and the audience couldn’t hang with it. The players’ work was impressive by itself, but even more so when considering that they had a giant, off-beat metronome to contend with.