Description: This collection explores the processes and experiences of attending live music events from the initial decision to attend through to audience responses and memories of a performance after it has happened. The book brings together international researchers who consider the experience of being an audience member from a range of theoretical and empirical perspectives and the question of what makes an audience, arguing convincingly for the practical and academic value of that question.
Review Quotes: '... a worthy addition to the relatively sparse literature on audience psychology.' Opera Today 'Coughing and Clapping ... stimulates the reader to consider areas of practice which are familiar but also reveals the less familiar; it invites the reader to question established values and norms in a range of performance settings; it challenges the reader to explore his/her own role within performance, and also to look forward to developments in both research and practice which this highly-recommended volume will surely facilitate and inspire'. Musicae Scientiae 'This excellent, thought-provoking collection ... . A key strength of this book is its broad definition of the performance event, including anticipation before and the sharing of memories long afterwards. Its variety of methodologies and approaches to studying the live encounter is also a valuable contribution, and there are many methods of enquiry here which would transfer well to the study of theatre audiences ... This is a trajectory of enquiry and activism it is vital to follow further, and in more than music - in the wider arena of the arts as a whole'. Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies