|
|
Post by stevemacdonald on Nov 3, 2009 19:58:51 GMT
I'm launching a "Food for Thought" thread with this post. Let me start out with an interesting piece I found on the web:
Something to think about….
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After three minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
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 all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
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.
1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
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 earlier, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.
The questions raised:
*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*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...
How many other things are we missing?
|
|
|
|
Post by BenCMitchell on Nov 3, 2009 22:16:43 GMT
Hi Steve I find that quite disgusting. Not just by the fact that hardly anyone could be bothered to stop and listen to one of the greatest players in the world (not that they would know that, but the quality with which he would have played the pieces would give a strong indication that he was a cut above the usual buskers). Also, I am astonished that kids who show genuine interest in the player as well as the instrument are hurried along by their parents!  What better an opportunity than to let your child enjoy and become interested in an instrument that they have probably never seen nor heard before! In answer to the first question: In terms of music, hardly ever. Not any more. I rule out all of the HWI in saying that. I'l give an example. Last week I walked into town and heard 2 violins playing. They were students from the Conservatoire, whom I recognised. I stopped, sat down in the public seating area where they were playing near, and stayed there for a good 20 -25 minutes, watching and listening (mainly listening - people kept walking in front of them, no hint of recognition that there were musicians there.) In that time, no-one stayed sat down for any longer than 5 minutes, and that wasn't necessarily to listen, rather to eat and chat. A couple of people stopped and watched for a couple of minutes, but quickly moved on their way. If it were someone playing along to a rock backing track, no doubt that would attract some sort of crowd. The appreciation of real talent and beauty in a common place environment is near non-existent now. I welcome the day that the majority of todays' society fully appreciate all the more that music has to offer. Will this eventually happen? Pah, when pigs fly.... Cheers, Ben P.S Please people, do not be offended by what i have written. We all on this forum are exempt because we all recognise and fully appreciate music that is beautiful and powerful. We appreciate fully what other music has to offer. |
|
|
|
Post by martindn on Nov 3, 2009 23:57:42 GMT
It is sad, isn't it, that so many will pay through the nose to hear what they are told is good, but can't recognise it when they hear it in an unfamiliar context. Do those who pay to hear the best really appreciate what they are hearing?
As Ben says, I think HWI is different, because nobody tells us that Hayley is the best. We discover that ourselves, by listening to her. So we have no expectation that she will be good, nobody has told us that, and even if they have, most people underestimate her. Those who end up here are those who have been impressed by Hayley's music, not by her reputation.
Martin
|
|
|
|
Post by stevemacdonald on Nov 4, 2009 3:21:17 GMT
.... Also, I am astonished that kids who show genuine interest in the player as well as the instrument are hurried along by their parents! What better an opportunity than to let your child enjoy and become interested in an instrument that they have probably never seen nor heard before!... Maybe the parents who whisked their children past the violinist were afraid the kids would take too strong an interest in the violin and want to take it up for themselves. It takes a special, extremely patient parent to put with years of squeaky playing before anything sounds like music. |
|
|
|
Post by Ross on Nov 4, 2009 3:43:49 GMT
Very interesting story Steve. I wonder if this applies more to the big cities where everyone seems to be too busy. Luckily for us when Hayley busked in Christchurch as a young child plenty of people stopped to listen to her thus creating a demand for a CD to be produced (Walking In The Air). Or maybe it was because she was a child that people stopped to listen and if she busked now would people stop?
|
|
|
|
Post by stevemacdonald on Nov 4, 2009 5:45:08 GMT
Very interesting story Steve. I wonder if this applies more to the big cities where everyone seems to be too busy. Luckily for us when Hayley busked in Christchurch as a young child plenty of people stopped to listen to her thus creating a demand for a CD to be produced (Walking In The Air). Or maybe it was because she was a child that people stopped to listen and if she busked now would people stop? I'm sure some people would be stopped in their tracks if they heard Hayley for the first time busking today. Her voice is that extraordinary. Of course, this opens up a whole new area of thought: 1. Could Hayley still be "discovered" if she were an unknown adult instead of a child? 2. Might she someday return to busking just for the fun of it? |
|
|
|
Post by BenCMitchell on Nov 4, 2009 8:53:10 GMT
Very interesting story Steve. I wonder if this applies more to the big cities where everyone seems to be too busy. Luckily for us when Hayley busked in Christchurch as a young child plenty of people stopped to listen to her thus creating a demand for a CD to be produced (Walking In The Air). Or maybe it was because she was a child that people stopped to listen and if she busked now would people stop? I'm sure some people would be stopped in their tracks if they heard Hayley for the first time busking today. Her voice is that extraordinary. Of course, this opens up a whole new area of thought: 1. Could Hayley still be "https://i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gifiscovered" if she were an unknown adult instead of a child? 2. Might she someday return to busking just for the fun of it? 1. Possibly - but we have to consider how good a singer she would have been as an adult without any quality coaching, although she would undoubtedly have an amazing voice without - thats why people noticed her in the first place! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif 2. It would be a good fundraising idea in the future! No doubt she would get a crowd wherever she went!  Cheers, Ben |
|
|
|
Post by Elliot Kane on Nov 4, 2009 20:43:05 GMT
I think there are a number of points, actually. The first is the most obvious: busy people do not stop to appreciate what is around them. It's all very well for us to be disparaging towards those who paid no attention, but could we all, hand on heart, say that under similar circumstances we would do any differently? I know that if I were rushing through a station on my way to catch a train, it would take a lot more than a musician to stop me if I were going somewhere important, however good they were. The location is key in this experiment: it's stated that most of the people passing through were likely on their way to work. I would assume that the children were being taken to school and thus would be hurried on by their parents. Few employers or teachers would take "I'm sorry I'm late, I was listening to this AWESOME busker" as much of an excuse. Interestingly enough, the 5:19 show tried a fairly similar experiment earlier this year, when they sent young up & coming singer Alex Roots busking in Covent Garden. The location being a lot more 'casual passer-by friendly' as it were, she did pretty well, as you can see. People take the time to stop and listen because they HAVE the time. It's not always that people cannot appreciate talent. Sometimes they just don't have the time to stop and listen. *** So I guess my answer to 'would people stop & listen to Hayley' is: they would. But only if she chose a good location. |
|
|
|
Post by BenCMitchell on Nov 4, 2009 21:12:08 GMT
I think there are a number of points, actually. The first is the most obvious: busy people do not stop to appreciate what is around them. It's all very well for us to be disparaging towards those who paid no attention, but could we all, hand on heart, say that under similar circumstances we would do any differently? I know that if I were rushing through a station on my way to catch a train, it would take a lot more than a musician to stop me if I were going somewhere important, however good they were. The location is key in this experiment: it's stated that most of the people passing through were likely on their way to work. I would assume that the children were being taken to school and thus would be hurried on by their parents. Few employers or teachers would take "I'm sorry I'm late, I was listening to this AWESOME busker" as much of an excuse. Interestingly enough, the 5:19 show tried a fairly similar experiment earlier this year, when they sent young up & coming singer Alex Roots busking in Covent Garden. The location being a lot more 'casual passer-by friendly' as it were, she did pretty well, as you can see. People take the time to stop and listen because they HAVE the time. It's not always that people cannot appreciate talent. Sometimes they just don't have the time to stop and listen. *** So I guess my answer to 'would people stop & listen to Hayley' is: they would. But only if she chose a good location. Hi Elliot I still stand by my view that it is quite astounding that hardly anyone stopped to even notice Joshua playing. 2000 people passed through the station during the time that he was playing, and only 6 stopped to listen?! Even if people are on their way to work, surely there is the time to quickly stop and show some appreciation of what is beng played - 2000 people can't be late for work! Also, as I stated before, it is Joshua Bell playing (!), meaning that the quality of the music played would have been much higher than the normal quality of music played by everyday buskers. That would make me stop and listen! Cheers, Ben |
|
|
|
Post by Elliot Kane on Nov 4, 2009 21:23:21 GMT
Ben...
Knowing it was Joshua Bell, of course you would stop. If the 2000 people were told that this was one of the best musicians on Earth and normally they would have to pay $100 to hear him perform, I'd bet most of them would have stopped, too.
But how often have you ever stopped on your way to work to listen to a random busker? Ran the risk of being late because something caught your ear that you liked?
People have a kind of 'importance filter' when going about their daily lives, and as a general rule 'get to work on time' comes pretty high up on the importance list.
|
|
|
|
Post by stevemacdonald on Aug 8, 2010 13:36:24 GMT
"The greatest discourse upon music is silence." - R. Schumann
|
|
What better an opportunity than to let your child enjoy and become interested in an instrument that they have probably never seen nor heard before! In answer to the first question:
