Violinist in the Metro
01-09-2009 | 03:44 AM
#1
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From: Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
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A Violinist in the Metro
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 thousand of 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 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 best
musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever
written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a
theater in Boston and the seats average $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station
was organized by the Washington Post as part of an 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?
Clickety Click
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 thousand of 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 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 best
musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever
written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a
theater in Boston and the seats average $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station
was organized by the Washington Post as part of an 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?
Clickety Click
01-09-2009 | 12:45 PM
#5
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From: St. Louis Burbs, USA
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Sadly, a reality of modern life. "Sorry, boss, I'm 45 minutes late for the big client meeting because I stopped to listen to a guy play violin in the subway" isn't going to get you too much sympathy these days. You could hang a Rembrandt on a highway billboard, but no one would be able to slow down to look at it without getting rear-ended or flipped off. I guess there's a little "swine" in everyone. Interesting experiment, though.
01-09-2009 | 01:44 PM
#6
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From: Pearland, Texas
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Hmmm, definitely something to learn from it.
01-09-2009 | 03:37 PM
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From: Thousand Oaks, California
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You have to stop and smell the roses!! 
Sadly, most people miss SO much in their hustle through life, working for the 5% of their life that they aspire to and ignoring the 95% of life going on right now in front of their noses! 
Having kids does help you see the world through their eyes and learn AGAIN to appreciate life around you! 
So everybody go have some kids tonight!! 
Unfortunately that will force you to work longer hours etc... 
Sadly, most people miss SO much in their hustle through life, working for the 5% of their life that they aspire to and ignoring the 95% of life going on right now in front of their noses! Having kids does help you see the world through their eyes and learn AGAIN to appreciate life around you! So everybody go have some kids tonight!! Unfortunately that will force you to work longer hours etc...
01-10-2009 | 10:01 AM
#10
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From: North Carolina, USA
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2006 BMW X3
The way I see it, Violin music isn't appreciated by the masses, therefore they simply walked on by.
Had it been a good rendition of a song I like, I would have stopped for a moment but once again, always needing to be somewhere so I wouldn't have listened to the whole thing. I do when I have a chance.
PS: I bet if it was this violinist playing this song: http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=-wzMfSiOkMQ, at least the male half of the crowd would have stopped to listen.
Had it been a good rendition of a song I like, I would have stopped for a moment but once again, always needing to be somewhere so I wouldn't have listened to the whole thing. I do when I have a chance.
PS: I bet if it was this violinist playing this song: http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=-wzMfSiOkMQ, at least the male half of the crowd would have stopped to listen.
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