I confess to being especially interested in one phase of applause: not in its volume or length but in its reflexlike quality. The number of seconds that elapses between the last chord or flourish of a piece and the applause-reaction is a fairly accurate gauge of the nervous sensitivity of the audience, of the rapt tension the player has succeeded in generating in his hearers, and also an indication of the collective responsiveness of a crowd. It is a case of innate musical sense versus assembly-line conditioning by music-appreciation courses and other so-called educational means.