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Originally Posted by Bill Marsh
Yet, it takes relaxing and putting aside the rush of the daily activities. That Joshua Bell was playing some of the most intricate and powerful music -- in a subway while most people blindly walked by -- does not surprise me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myq8upzJDJc
you will notice a few people who stood and listened. Some knew who he was, others heard something they enjoyed.
The majority of these people were focussed on the cares of the day, not a 'street musician looking for tips.' Yet later, I could guess, some of these same people may have bought tickets, sat down in cool darkness of the theater and were transported by the exact same music. |
I would like to comment that the Joshua Bell example does have a few problems. First and foremost, human beings will follow their survival instincts. Mr. Bell playing in a subway during rush hour doesn't receive the attention it deserves simply because people are rushing to get to their jobs on time. On time arrival to jobs = keeping those jobs=feeding ones family. If you put Mr. Bell in Central Park on a pleasant Sunday afternoon i believe you would see a completely different reception of then music. Their have been so many times when i have had to rush past a good musician playing in the NYC subways that my ear recognized as someone worth stopping to listen to, but my schedule would not allow. It wasn't a matter of venue so much as timing. Of course i would often drop a little something in their music case on my way past if i thought them worthy, but could not stay to listen, a recognition that seems missing in this Washington subway station show.
