"If a great musician plays great music..."

[sleigh]

This article was mentioned by someone on a listserv to which I belong -- I found the set-up intriguing, and the article well-written and interesting. There's a wonderful short story in this somewhere.

Take a world-class violinist, one who packs symphonic halls wherever he goes. Have him play the most exquisite music made for violin on his priceless Stradavarius. And see if anyone notices.

For anyone who has ever been a busker, you probably already know the answer...

I love social experiments, and found this one fascinating. Nice little video, too...

Comments

[terrymcgarry.livejournal.com]

Thanks for linking to that!

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Welcome

[ellameena.livejournal.com]

Astonishing. As soon as you said, "Take a world-class violinist, one who packs symphonic halls wherever he goes. Have him play the most exquisite music made for violin on his priceless Stradavarius," I knew it was Joshua Bell. I heard him in concert recently, and I still get chills thinking about it. His strad is surprising--very understated. I probably wouldn't immediately recognize it as a strad if a high school student pulled it out and played it at a recital, although I'm sure I'd know it was a good violin. And of course I would recognize Bell if I passed him. I always stop to listen to street musicians. Granted, they are a rarity around here, and I am not running to catch a train.

I think the experiment was a success, though, because as they said, every single child that passed wanted to stop and listen. I'm sure all of the children would want to stop and listen if there was a trained monkey cranking the handle of one of those organ things--what do you call them? But nonetheless, I have never seen a child who was not awake to the beauty of music. I love that the Brazilian shoe shiner gave him the tribute of not calling the police on him. That was priceless. Thanks for the link? I am myself rushing out of the house, but stopped on my way to read it.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

I liked the description of the kids, too (it's a 'hurdy-gurdy' that a monkey plays, I think...). Kids are naturally curious, and sometimes I think that as adults we train ourselves out of that trait.

[jbru.livejournal.com]

I would like to think that I would stop and listen, but I imagine that if I was like the vast majority of people travelling through the subway platform on their way to work that morning, that would have, at most, listened as I rode up or down the escalator and liked what I heard. I think the article's point about context for beauty is a good one.

The context here makes for predictable results. A one-time performer in a venue not known for particularly good musicians isn't going to attract much notice. He remains a brief anomoly in an otherwise stable existance. If he went back and played regularly, even for a week, the mere regularity of his appearance would garner more notice.

So a cool little experimet and a good reminder to slow down and appreciate the beauty around us.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

I like to believe that I would have stopped to listen. When I hear a particularly good street musician playing, I usually try to do that. And having done a little street performing myself, I also usually try to put a little something in the hat, regardless.

[90-percent-sure.livejournal.com]

I loved the part about the children, how they all wanted to stop and listen, but the busy parents shoo them along...

[jbru.livejournal.com]

Don't look at the dirty musician. You might catch something.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

If you look at the musician, you might make eye contact and then feel compelled to notice them, and then feel obligated to put money in their case...

[jbru.livejournal.com]

And that just encourages them. You know. Those kind of people.

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

Wow. That does put my busking experience in a whole new light.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Indeed. And mine, also. :-)

[mizzlaurajean.livejournal.com]

Have you heard about the new AppleCon? All music all weekend!

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

I saw that someone mentioned it in their post. Sounds... interesting, in all the various meanings of that word! :-)

[dancingwriter.livejournal.com]

Fascinating--and wish the video were longer so that I could have heard more!

I also loved this from the article: Interview magazine once said his playing "does nothing less than tell human beings why they bother to live." That seems like a great way of defining the arts and their raison d'etre.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

I wished it had been longer, also.

And yes, the 'voice' of the article was well-crafted, I thought.

[casaubon.livejournal.com]

I expect that if he'd been playing at the weekend (when people weren't trying to get to work) he would have drawn a crowd.
But then that wouldn't have been such an interesting article.

Also, he was playing by an entrance. I wouldn't be happy standing and watching in the way of everyone walking past.

[haniaw.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link to this...it was a fascinating read. I wonder if the results would have been different if he had played when people were going home from work instead. I know that when I'm rushing to work, there's no time for other things. But going home, one could afford to stop and listen.