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 1,100 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, and 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 most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theatre in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real 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 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?
Like all the passersby interviewed for this article, Picarello was stopped by a reporter after he left the building, and was asked for his phone number. Like everyone, he was told only that this was to be an article about commuting. When he was called later in the day, like everyone else, he was first asked if anything unusual had happened to him on his trip into work. Of the more than 40 people contacted, Picarello was the only one who immediately mentioned the violinist.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gay sex
LISTEN while youre busy driving your cocaine submarine, i was out here defending the idea that all star survivor is better against scooter who thinks its a bad idea, JESUS CHRIST YOUR JIMMERY KNOWS NO BOUNDS
Quote:
Originally Posted by neverstop in a PM
. . .
But whatever, yes I can be a huge canadian faggot and you can be terrible yourself but theres no reason we shouldnt be able to co-exist at the very least, ya feelz me??
I could be a bit biased because I study and routinely play music, but this story won a Pulitzer prize because it is a testament of just how conditioned Americans are to everything. Literally slaves to debt without ever realizing it first and foremost, and because the average American has to have a nice car financed, nice house mortgaged, and a way to pay for it, they never even had a chance to notice such a thing. And even if they did, in 2013 there would be a high likelihood that the person would take a picture of him, if a girl, it would be beside him, and then post it on Facebook or Twitpic to brag about it, never really caring about the beauty.
Shit's sad, brah.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by gay sex
LISTEN while youre busy driving your cocaine submarine, i was out here defending the idea that all star survivor is better against scooter who thinks its a bad idea, JESUS CHRIST YOUR JIMMERY KNOWS NO BOUNDS
Quote:
Originally Posted by neverstop in a PM
. . .
But whatever, yes I can be a huge canadian faggot and you can be terrible yourself but theres no reason we shouldnt be able to co-exist at the very least, ya feelz me??
I've never got into it too much. Tunings are all cultural and I'm not in tune. Lots of things could be said about the story, one is it is cold . I don't really listen to classical music enough to even tell a world class violinist fmo a guy who took lessons and liked it.
Basically though classical music is one of those things you are taught to appreciate. It isn't like most art forms.
I could be a bit biased because I study and routinely play music, but this story won a Pulitzer prize because it is a testament of just how conditioned Americans are to everything. Literally slaves to debt without ever realizing it first and foremost, and because the average American has to have a nice car financed, nice house mortgaged, and a way to pay for it, they never even had a chance to notice such a thing. And even if they did, in 2013 there would be a high likelihood that the person would take a picture of him, if a girl, it would be beside him, and then post it on Facebook or Twitpic to brag about it, never really caring about the beauty.
Shit's sad, brah.
Wow yeah, you seem really torn up about how grownups live their lives.
An op/ed post at http://jezebel.com/ should help put things right in the world.
I've never got into it too much. Tunings are all cultural and I'm not in tune. Lots of things could be said about the story, one is it is cold . I don't really listen to classical music enough to even tell a world class violinist fmo a guy who took lessons and liked it.
Basically though classical music is one of those things you are taught to appreciate. It isn't like most art forms.
I should have taken band. SFtonedeaf.
Anyone that has ever heard a great violinist play in person needs no frame of reference to appreciate the music. There is nothing quite like it as far as sound goes.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by gay sex
LISTEN while youre busy driving your cocaine submarine, i was out here defending the idea that all star survivor is better against scooter who thinks its a bad idea, JESUS CHRIST YOUR JIMMERY KNOWS NO BOUNDS
Quote:
Originally Posted by neverstop in a PM
. . .
But whatever, yes I can be a huge canadian faggot and you can be terrible yourself but theres no reason we shouldnt be able to co-exist at the very least, ya feelz me??
Americans don't like classical music.
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