I would agree that Mr. Bell is not the greatest busker in the world and his choice of location was poorly selected. As I recall, the idea behind this story was that they thought people would obviously note his superior skill and stop and listen. Obviously they were wrong. Now, had it been a couple of 6 year old girls that could barely play and sing, I think we'd have seen a different outcome :) (never compete with kids or dogs!).
I busk here in Madison at our massive downtown farmers market and make out quite well. I would agree with Mr. PotatoBibs that location, crowd pandering and content are the busking trifecta. And yes, every time I do it, 12 kids ask about my tiny guitar. Case in point: http://picasaweb.google.com/dasspunk/MarchingUpAndDownTheSquare# Anyway, this certainly was an interesting experiment... Brian On Jan 12, 6:08 am, Val Mindel <[email protected]> wrote: > I agree with Petimar, that it is entertainment value that stops folks. > It may be the music that then holds them, if you're lucky, but mostly > on the street people are looking to be entertained, and you gotta put > yourself out there. I did a lot of busking at one point a few years > back with an all-women stringband in San Francisco, and we used to do > very well moneywise. But it took really projecting out into the crowd > and picking mile-a-minute tunes (Tater Patch was one that I remember > called in the cash). I don't recall that it was brilliant music, but > it was hard to ignore. > On Jan 12, 1:34 am, "Sally and Nelson Peddycoart" > > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Nice point, Professatater, > > > I have listened to Classic Rock, Classical, Celtic, latin, lots of Jazz, but > > the music that really feels like it fits my innards and puts my mind and > > body in a happy state is fiddle and mandolin music. By that I mean old > > time, bluegrass, etc. I can appreciate and find beauty in other music, but > > it just doesn't have the same effect on me. > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > > > On Behalf Of mistertaterbug > > Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2009 10:08 PM > > To: Taterbugmando > > Subject: Re: Something to think about... > > > 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. 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