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People have been talking about that story in which world-class violinist Joshua Bell plays a world-class Stradivarius playing world-class music for forty-five minutes in a Washington Metro station and most people don't notice.
And I've been thinking about it, and it doesn't bother me as much as it bothers some other folks.
It was mentioned in the transcript of an online chat that the author did that similar things have been done with other artists in various locations around the world, with similar results.
To me, this means one major thing. Busking is a skill-set. Buskers don't just have to play good, or even world-class, music -- they need to do something else as well. What exactly that is, I'm not sure -- I've never really successfully busked. But there IS something else there -- virtuosity isn't enough; you need personal charisma, as well.
In a lot of ways, it's an example of this experiment, with the basketballs. You know this one, right? Watch it, and count how many passes the people make. Every time someone throws and catches the basketball, that is one pass. It can be bounced, or thrown, or whatever -- just count the number of passes.
Then, answer the following question, which is ROT-13: Qvq lbh frr gur tbevyyn?
I think it's the same thing. If you're concentrating on one thing, such as getting to work, or counting basketball passes, you miss other things, like violinists and gorillas. It's just how the brain works.
And the part of the brain which allows you to do that is the prefrontal lobes, which are not fully developed in children, which is why THEY notice the violinist.
And then, one final thought hit me. $32 is actually pretty damn good for a busker for 45 minutes. People actually DO recognize and reward quality.
And I've been thinking about it, and it doesn't bother me as much as it bothers some other folks.
It was mentioned in the transcript of an online chat that the author did that similar things have been done with other artists in various locations around the world, with similar results.
To me, this means one major thing. Busking is a skill-set. Buskers don't just have to play good, or even world-class, music -- they need to do something else as well. What exactly that is, I'm not sure -- I've never really successfully busked. But there IS something else there -- virtuosity isn't enough; you need personal charisma, as well.
In a lot of ways, it's an example of this experiment, with the basketballs. You know this one, right? Watch it, and count how many passes the people make. Every time someone throws and catches the basketball, that is one pass. It can be bounced, or thrown, or whatever -- just count the number of passes.
Then, answer the following question, which is ROT-13: Qvq lbh frr gur tbevyyn?
I think it's the same thing. If you're concentrating on one thing, such as getting to work, or counting basketball passes, you miss other things, like violinists and gorillas. It's just how the brain works.
And the part of the brain which allows you to do that is the prefrontal lobes, which are not fully developed in children, which is why THEY notice the violinist.
And then, one final thought hit me. $32 is actually pretty damn good for a busker for 45 minutes. People actually DO recognize and reward quality.
Bell in the Metro
Great article. Not only was it an interesting experiment, but the writer did a good job of covering the phenomenon from different angles, and did so pretty respectfully.
I'm curious what my reaction would have been as a commuter. I'd like to think I would've been late for work. :-) It's obvious within seconds that the performer is a professional, just given the technical expertise alone-- the violin is not a forgiving instrument! I do tend to ignore subway musicians, but it's hard not to listen and notice the quality of performance, if it's notable one way or the other.
I might or might not have recognized Bell upon second look; he's a favorite of my mother's and I'm quite familiar with him, but I haven't seen any recent photographs of him.
As an experiment, however, two potential problems occurred to me:
1) The performance space.
From the videos, it's clear that there was no good place to stop and listen to the music, because there was traffic coming from at least three directions. (Check out, in the final video, where the woman who did recognize Bell and stop for ten minutes was standing. Awkward location, isn't it? There's no wall to lean against or even take shelter against passing pedestrians.)
The mention of the shoeshiner typically calling either the Mall or Metro police on performers there seems to suggest that it's not even a legal performance spot (though I don't know what the DC Metro policies are regarding performers). All in all, I wondered if there weren't a better and/or more legal spot that could have been chosen, that might have allowed listeners to congregate. (I don't think that would've happened anyway, but it would've been more fair of an experiment.)
2) Time of day.
During morning rush hour? Despite the heavy traffic, that's the worst possible time of day for a busker. People don't plan any extra time into their morning commutes. They're not going to stop and listen unless they're waiting-and-not-moving anyway (which, as noted above, is not true of the space they put Bell in)-- otherwise, they'll be late.
Now, all that said, the Post experiment is still an interesting experiment and the results might not vary that much even with a better location and time. As you point out, there's a difference between the skill sets of "virtuoso musician" and "excellent busker" in a public setting.
Steve MacDonald (a filker friend of mine) mentioned something similar about musicians-vs.-performers when he talked about playing at RenFaires. Other (possibly technically-better) musicians would complain about the lack of attention and lack of donations. Steve concentrated on performance and audience interaction (and I assure, you, Steve is a very entertaining ham), and consequently didn't have much of a problem getting attention or money.
Re: Bell in the Metro