In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About 4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At 6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At 10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
At 45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After 1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made .
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made .
Re:How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
« Reply #2 on: 2011-01-04 19:03:51 »
Well, $32 in 45 minutes is a little bit better than minimum wage, so maybe we don't suck too badly. I think even a cool and talented rapper might have a difficult time doing much better at that time and place. Add in a little flash mob advertising and you might even successfully multiply that a bit. This guy didn't advertise at all. Just imagine how he could have done with just some minimal effort.
Re:How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
« Reply #3 on: 2011-01-05 19:31:27 »
I don't typically recognize any of this kind of beauty as I commute to work; my mind is usually worried about what's waiting ahead of me at the office. But I am glad for those moments when I do take a step back and appreciate what's happening around me. For this reason, I like taking a long walk or doing a road trip with family and friends.
Many of the New Age / Neo Buddhist religions or philosophies recommend just such behavior: living in the "here and now"; appreciate what's around you; grab the moment!
I wish I did it more regularly or maybe even continuously, but the few moments I grab every week are enough to keep me relatively stress-free and happy.
Re:How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
« Reply #4 on: 2011-01-05 19:49:54 »
Well I don't like Bach and could not tell the difference between a 3 dollar violin and 3 million dollar violin. Beauty has nothing to do with it. I suspect most of the people passing by are in the same boat as me.
However, I would have noticed that the player was telented and would have appreciated the performance for that ... but because it is Bach, and I don't like Bach, my stay would be brief.
Some 'dude' playing Bach on his violin is boring. Maybe that is why so few people stopped to listen/watch?
Some 'dude' playing Bach on his violin is boring. Maybe that is why so few people stopped to listen/watch?
[Blunderov] My take is that the music was out of context. Music (with a capital M) takes place in a ritual space to which the necessary pilgrimage and obeisance must be made and paid by the listener. Very differently, busking is a means of drawing attention to an undeservingly empty hat or instrument case. I'm willing to bet that Joshua Bell would have had an entirely different outcome had he been busking in New Orleans instead - especially if he had rubbed a little funk on it.
Re:How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
« Reply #6 on: 2011-01-06 17:16:41 »
Here, here! Yes there is a certain ritual involved in preparing an audience for truly great music. And, yes, I think it's almost empirically verifiable that a performance is worth that, but probably almost no way to know for certain without some setup. Mostly I'm still focussed on the fact that he soundly beat the minimum wage with consciously zero effort paid to advertizing and buildup. I'm also inclined to think that in some venues, like New Orleans, he probably could have gotten several times his income, and with almost any advertisement budget anywhere might have even gotten exponential profit results.
Some 'dude' playing Bach on his violin is boring. Maybe that is why so few people stopped to listen/watch?
[Blunderov] My take is that the music was out of context. Music (with a capital M) takes place in a ritual space to which the necessary pilgrimage and obeisance must be made and paid by the listener. Very differently, busking is a means of drawing attention to an undeservingly empty hat or instrument case. I'm willing to bet that Joshua Bell would have had an entirely different outcome had he been busking in New Orleans instead - especially if he had rubbed a little funk on it.
Some 'dude' playing Bach on his violin is boring. Maybe that is why so few people stopped to listen/watch?
[Blunderov] My take is that the music was out of context. Music (with a capital M) takes place in a ritual space to which the necessary pilgrimage and obeisance must be made and paid by the listener. Very differently, busking is a means of drawing attention to an undeservingly empty hat or instrument case. I'm willing to bet that Joshua Bell would have had an entirely different outcome had he been busking in New Orleans instead - especially if he had rubbed a little funk on it.
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