What are we missing?
 

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1329347684.jpg

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.

When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people.

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Bravo

That's really nice. Thanks for posting. You can bet your arse that I'd stop and listen for as long as he played.

Most people can't stop and listen because they have to get to work to pay income taxes to support all the losers who don't (almost 50% of the nation). Personally I would be about 2.5 hrs into my commute by then and running late. If it were Jennifer Anniston doing a strip tease on a $3.5M gold plated pole, most couldn't take the time to stop...much less give them money. Every 50 feet someone hits you up for money...so you just walk fast.

We need to stop,
Collaborate and listen
;)

I was waiting for the bit where a mugger came and stole the money!

very cool.

i have heard some players in the NYC subway system and on the streets that blew my mind.

This has been posted here before. Very interesting. I'm honestly not sure what I would do. I guess it would depend upon when and where this was occurring. In this instance it happened at a rail station. People didn't stop, but then would you stop if you were driving by and he was playing in an intersection? If he was playing in a mall or even a street corner or public park with lots of foot traffic, I bet he'd have ended up with a much larger audience. Under certain circumstances, I can see myself looking and listening as I walked by cursing the fact that I didn't have time to stop. Under other circumstances, I can imagine hanging out until the end.

MTA in NYC leases prime spots in some of the major subways...

Some of the musicians that get these spots are really tight.

String Quartets in Grand Central... Reggae in Penn.

They make quite a bit more than $32/day

And how many passersby would know what a $3.5 million Violin looks like?

GMAFB

Ice is back with a brand new edition....

Something grabs a hold of me tightly, flows like a harpoon daily and nightly

I was channel-surfing one day, years ago. I tend to gravitate toward the public and arts and science channels. There was an orchestra, with a conductor. Next to the conductor stood an asian girl, I'd say between 9 and 12 years old. I stopped surfing for a moment.

She raised the violin to her shoulder and pressed the bow against it. Within moments of her starting to play, tears were rolling down my cheeks.

32$ in 45 minutes... that's $42.66 an hour. I think that is probably far more than your average street musician gets in tips per hour on a normal day.

I see people with talent playing music in various parts of LA all the time. I appreciate the art as I pass, but I rarely have time to stop, regardless of how amazing they sound. Sad but that is how life is.

First start with a premise. Next, set up a way to prove it. A fairly normal set up.

Look at these low life clots. Walking by a concert violinist playing his favorite music.
They have no appreciation of the arts.......Making it to work? Pasha, they're clots.

Mybe he should have tried a park, or outside of a museum, where he would have found more ''losers'', and less Fints.

I find it odd that so many here have jobs where they can be late...and would stop and listen to every interesting person along the way to find out if they were a great musician or just another one of the many that play on the street that really are not too good. Generally speaking, if a musician is good enough to lose your job over and risk not being able To feed or care for your family...they are not playing in the subway for tips. The two seconds that I would hear him when I passed probably would not have alerted me to his skill any more than any of the others that play instruments or sing there. I would rather pay the money and see him in concert than lose my job to hear a tune or two in a noisy subway station. People who commute 5 hours a day and work 9 or 10 generally dont stand around in subway stations hoping for a free concert. They have their connections time down to the minute. Miss your train...and you rent a car to get home... Costing more than seeing a real concert. Maybe he would have done better to play some place where people are not responsible and wouldn't hesitate to come to work late over a little personal gratification...some place where guys like to make every discussion a personal attack...a place where guys like Dan live.

Not many people like or know anything about classical music, Bach, or the violin. Of the 1,100 passerby, maybe 1% would have gone to his symphony performance. Add the fact that people in a subway station are rushing to get to work, and the result of this experiment is unsurprising.

if a tree falls in the woods.........

I guess I would have to ask...how many here have paid to see this fellow play?

Working in NYC , you pass a bunch of guys like this everyday, to the point where it just becomes background noise. Most people are commuting and just want to get to work or home. Majority that will stop and listen are the tourists. Very rarely have I had the time to stop and listen. But yeah every once in a while I might see/hear someone that catches my ear. One of the most talented guys ive seen was a guy that had a bunch of plastic drywall buckets that he was using as drums.

i really dont want to be a dick and start an argument but are you really upset that someone made a personal attack? you started off your prior post with the following...

"Most people can't stop and listen because they have to get to work to pay income taxes to support all the losers who don't (almost 50% of the nation)."

As someone who has had a terrible time getting back on my feet after losing a job, your comment could have felt very personal to me. I know alot of people in tough times and none of them, including me, are losers.

I dont think the point of the thread was that everyone should stop and watch a guy play violin for hours instead of going to work.

Generally speaking, when someone posts your name in a negative manner...that can be construed as a personal attack. My observation that almost half of all Americans do not pay federal taxes is a fact, although my calling them losers was my opinion (not a personal attack as it addressed almost half the population...employed or not). It is similar to those who implied that those who didn't stop, listen, and pay the guy were stupid, ignorant, or "clots". Funny you didn't address those folks for their lack of civility.

As far as "hours" listening...miss the last train by 5 seconds and you will have all day...or night to listen, depending on direction.

i was gonna mention the bucket drummer too....its been 10 years since i have seen it but as i sit here a world away from the subway, i remember. totally awsome! I have seen some great groups in penn station that stopped me in my tracks for 15 minutes or so.

i used to live in SOHO where you see those A cappella groups singing oldies and the tourists stop and block the sidewalk. didnt interest me to hear "youve lost that loving feeling" every saturday and sunday

And those peruvian pan flute groups that you see busking at every festival across the country....yuck. I always walk right by those dudes.

But ive seen some horn players jamming away that stopped me and made me say "WOW, i wonder if that is some famous dude?"

[QUOTE=ramonesfreak;6561711]
i used to live in SOHO where you see those A cappella groups singing oldies and the tourists stop and block the sidewalk. didnt interest me to hear "youve lost that loving feeling" every saturday and sunday

QUOTE]

I used to go to this bar " "the big kahuna" on Broadway and Houston. there was this old homless blackguy that always used to sing in front of it. He was really good. I have pictures somewhere of me singing "under the boardwalk" with him. ( alcohol does wonders... ):D

Your first "loser" comment came way before the "clots" comment. You were the first negative commenter in the thread

and as i read the "clots" comment, it sounded to me that he is being sarcastic and that he feels the whole thing was setup to make busy people look like "clots"...whatever that is.

While it is a sad commentary on how driven we are as a society, most of you are totally full of crap. If you were pushing to get to work on time (as most people are), you wouldn't stop to listen to a musician in the subway, miss your train, and be late to work. As much as I'd like to spend more time stopping to smell the roses, I have bills to pay and kids to feed.

I agree with what you are getting at. That said..... I would slit my wrists before I ended up working at a job that required 10 hour days + 5 hours of commute time. ;):D

Since I am the OP, would rather be the OG. The post for me was simple and not so much about the musician.
What I take away from it is that I rush everywhere, everyday, sometimes idled for hours sitting on a conference call, then rush rush rush.
I don't have to miss a "free" concert by a world class musician in the Subway but I can miss my kid making a funny joke or a friend telling me in not such a straight way that he's in trouble, or depressed, whatever.
Those of you that are concentrating on 50% unemployment, etc. are truly the people that need this reminder the most.
After all,
Most great amazing memories, for me, come from the smallest things while I spend my life chasing the big things.
Take whatever you want out of this post, it was a good reminder for me.

The usual.

Jeeze Fint you could PARF up a Christmas mass.

We have street musicians downtown all the time. They remind me that life isn't all about rushing from here to there for everyone. Artists do amaze me. I'm too profit driven and not able to relax and do something just because it touches the senses. I often wish I could think like an artist. I'm thankful for them even when I can't stop and listen and usually toss them a buck and say thanks on my way by. They are a pleasant addition to my life even when I don't stop.

The article was insulting and made the stupid assumption that people did not stop and listen because they were somehow inferior... Not because they simply had to be somewhere else and had to make connections. If they had announced the "concert" in advance, people would have left earlier (if possible) or taken a vacation day (if possible) to watch... But they chose not to and got exactly what they expected/wanted. You guy cry like babies when your ox is gored but laugh when it is somone else being insulted. Yes, if you have time to hang around on the subway and listen to any musician playing there... You must be out of work...and unless retired, not looking too hard for employment...since there are few employment opportunities on the subway station. Subway beggars just make it difficult for everyone else who is trying to go to their real job. Anyone that dies not make enough to pay federal taxes (working or not), should probably not be hanging out in the subway either as they need an additional part time job or more education so they can pull their own weight instead of relying on voting themselves more and more of other people's money.

clot: Brit informal a stupid person; fool

Sarcasm is lost again. Some clots need green font to recognise it.
Other clots can't come up with an efficient way of switching to green font.:D

i always had time to check things out on the subway and on the streets. i always gave myself enough time to get where i was going and made big bucks while going about my day, i paid attention to things that interested me and ignored those that didnt.

so if you see me or anyone else hanging around the subway then we must be out of work and not trying to get a real job unless we are retired? maybe im a tourist, maybe im a rich dude, maybe im a talent scout from capital records, maybe i am out of work and walking to kinkos to fax my resume or im on my lunch break.

wow man, you life must really suck or you have lived in a bubble and anything that doesnt appear to be the same as your perfectly lived life is bad

unsubscribed..so i dont have to read this moronic low intelligence crap.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1329403874.jpg

...maybe I am a rich dude that hangs around in subway stations on cold January mornings in DC to scout talent for Capitol Records? Seems pretty far fetched to me. Even the bums don't come there to beg until later in the day when it warms up... Much less the musicians who realize that their chances are better after work when you are going home.

Fint, you sure do like to argue. :p

I guess you are right. It just rubbed me the wrong way as I was rushing to get on the train this morning...

Living life well is a form of artistry, and anyone who thinks and writes like you do is an artist, even if you don't play a musical instrument.

This was a very nice story for those of us with a little poetry in our souls.....

If you have a long, hectic commute, it's understandable. I walk past a Metro station on my way to work and the only musician that's ever there is a hispanic fella that plays (badly) an electric ukulele kinda thing. Maybe I should give him money on the condition that he stops playing. :D

At the Springfield/Franconia station one night, there were a couple of guys doing old Motown with a little portable karaoke machine...and they were pretty amazing. I have also seen a gal playing a lever harp with a sign saying "saving for a pedal harp". Since they start at about $10k...I hope she has another source if income.