Here's a little story that a friend emailed me which I just love.Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning.
A man with a violin plays six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately two thousand people passed through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After 3 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 valued at $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the price of 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 commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognise 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……….. what else are we missing?
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8 comments:
I agree to a point. I interpret a number of other issues this situation raises:
1. People often do not value something given for free. There was no explicit value placed on the violin playing (i.e. no $100 ticket price), so there was no incentive for commuters to change their behaivour to stop and listen.
2. The quality of the playing was out of context. People have a pre-conceived notion that standard of a busker playing the violin would be abysmal.
3. I would argue that 99% of the population do not have the ability to differentiate between mediocre playing and exceptional playing. Even if they stopped and listened; they probably wouldn't know what they were getting. Me included.
4. To me this also tries to solve the problem with a one-sided, macro solution. Consider, there might have been people walking past in pairs giving each other 100% attention and listening intently to each out of respect, friendship and interest. Mothers and fathers may have been rushing home to spend quality time with their children as their highest priority. Some people may have been focusing their attention internally on solving an important issue which will provide future benefit to themselves or even the broader community.
Just a contrarian opinion.
You make some great points Greg.
Maybe it's true that the average busker playing violin is pretty ordinary but I think sometimes we don't challenge our assumptions. Maybe there'd be more possibility if we did?
I think this is a gorgeous story Kate.
We could all be more aware of each moment as it exists and perhaps it would lead to more empathy and enhanced connection in other areas of our lives.
I love this story Kate.
And yes, that is it exactly 'life is mad.'
Love to you dear friend.
xoxoxo
dear kate, may i tell greg i couldn't agree with him less and couldn't disagree with him more? in my mind, the point of this story is not found through thinking or applying hypotheses. which is the point.
anyway, forgive me, greg, and thank you kate.
xoxo
wow! as i read, i was wondering who i would be in this story; the mum rushing her kid through the station? i really hope i would've taken the time to listen....whether i realised it was brilliant or not is besides the point; just to acknowledge another human being doing their thing is so important. i'm hoping i would've done that.
ps. i think there are some absolute diamonds in the rough that is street performing, i've experienced some awesome moments, particularly when i lived in the states. x
wow, I sometimes find myself moving through life like a robot on auto pilot. Im trying to slow down and view the world through a childs eyes, and see and realize all the beauty out there around me everyday that I always take for granted. This is such a perfect example. Nice post, nice reminder for me... Thanks.
Thank you for your website and your Fun blog page in particular! I started off the day feeling low and you have lifted my spirits! Thank you!
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