I think Mike raises another interesting side point and that is the issue of how the offered music is perceived. It has absolutely nothing to do with skill or level of difficulty in this case. I suggest that successful pitch of the material might have more to do with the ability of the crowd passing by to identify with the sound they are hearing. If it doesn't touch them someplace down deep where they live, I don't think it matters who's playing or who the composer is. Now maybe if Mr. Bell were playing to a crowd of people who are knowledgeable on the subject(eg: have learned how to listen to Bach) then maybe he'd have gotten more response for his technical prowess. Or maybe if he'd been standing on the streets of Lower Broadway here in Nashville during Fan Fair playing "Orange Blossom Special", he'd have made enough one dollar bills to buy first class airfare home.
I've also seen the "bucket brigades" in several cities. The one of note I remember was a trio of players in Portland, OR. The players took turns banging out what seemed to me to be rather complex drum lines on about half a dozen plastic buckets/pots of different sizes. I was thoroughly entertained by it. There was no "cheese" factor. I mean, really, if the only music worth listening to or playing was classical music, we wouldn't have all the wonderful folk music strands we have. I don't buy the idea that it has to be complex and take decades of practice to be good or to touch you. Pah-tater On Jan 10, 10:04 pm, "Mike Hoffmann" <[email protected]> wrote: > Last time a group of us played in the Philly train station we made over $250 > in three hours. Honestly though, perhaps we were trying to engage people > and singing and being goofy. Sometimes, with busking, it is all luck. No > offense to Mr. Bell, but I would be much more apt to stop and listen to a > group playing R & B on pails and a little practice amp or a string band than > to a classical violinist - maybe that has as much to do with it as > perception of WHO is doing the playing. Also, since he was trying to see > how many people WOULDN't Stop and the average busker is trying to see how > many people will stop maybe people felt that they shouldn't stop. > My crumpled up dollar. > > Mike H > > PS - the best part of the last time we busked was a crumpled up note - it > said "Next time play the Slurf Song by the Holy Modal Rounders which is a > song that we actually had played at a point when whoever left the note > wasn't around! > > On Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 9:41 PM, mistertaterbug > <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > > This was sent to me today. I think it is worth passing along. > > Tater > > > 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 thousands 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 on 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 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? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
