Something to think about….
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately. 2 thousand people went 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 worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the 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 common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*Do we stop to appreciate it?
*Do we recognize 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.
How many other things are we missing?
Thanks Gene
True, we miss a lot of things by not looking around, but in this case, there may have been extenuating circumstances. For instance, what were the acoustics like? If there was a horrible echo, I could see why hardly anyone would stop and listen. Listening to great music with bad acoustics is like listening to fingernails scratching a chalkboard.
I really like this. It’s a great reminder to pay attention to the things that go on around us as we go about living our everyday lives. And, great music is great music, whether played in a concert hall or a subway station.
This experiment is really interesting. I’ve stopped to think about that once. How many times we go walking/driving on the street, just wanting to get there as quickly as possible and end up not looking to stores that might sell something we like, paying attention to the beautiful graffiti on the walls or even connecting visually to other people.
Not the right time is the key. At that time most parents need to hurry up and drop off their kids at school, people are rushing to work, etc. Between getting to work on time and stopping to listen to some free music from a great musician, I’d choose getting to work on time too.
After all, if I miss his music I can always listen to it another day. If I miss work and show up to tell my boss I missed work because I was listening to music in a subway station, I might get fired.
Why did you do it in the morning! People don’t have time to appreciate things if they’re all heading to work or have other errands to run. You should’ve played it during rush hour when they were all going home. If you play in a hallway, your test subjects are simply passer-byers going from point A to point B. If you were in a park, I believe the scenario and results would have changed drastically.
@Tim – accoustics aside, the point is that preconceived notions and our rushed lives keep us from paying attention and opening our hearts and minds to really “tune in.” It’s about our own state of mind, and missing the gifts all around us.
We tend to get so wrapped up in our own little world that we actually forget that there is a world happening around us. Unfortunately, we are a collectively selfish people. If it has nothing to do with us, then it isn’t worth taking a second glance. We live by the watch and by the dollar. The old saying “stop and smell the roses” has more truth to it than we realize.
First thing that came to mind for me, wasn’t that people don’t appreciate talent even in unusual places, but the fact that, those people, going through that station, are all unknowingly pre-conditioned to believe performers that are not publicized, to be homeless/beggars/hobos/etc. Take the mothers discouraging their kids from associating to the music and musician. So I don’t think the question is what are we missing, but What have we been taught?
This is a pretty unfair situation. It’s not like they played this in a spot that people could really sit and listen and they chose not to. They chose a train station, a place that people go to and catch a train at a specific time to go somewhere else.
How is the worth of the violin a valid point? If you put a cheap violin next to an expensive one, 99.9% of the world will not be able to tell you which one is worth more.
Personally, if I’m on my way home from work to see my beautiful daughter and take in the joy that she brings me and the art that she brings to my life, it wouldn’t matter if I knew who this guy was and how much his violin was worth. I’m gettin’ home.
Is there video of this experiment available? I’d love to see/hear it!
A neat little experiment, but I don’t think it reveals anything profound. Most people walking through a metro station aren’t going to be paying attention to a violin player. Their focus is getting from A to B. Sure, we can pry open our ears every waking moment to look for beauty everywhere, but that’s not very practical. Human beings aren’t wired that way. You wouldn’t be able to get anything done if you stopped and noticed the beauty and novelty of everything around you.
Okay, there is a reason we have concert halls and theaters. It’s so people can go at a time convenient for all concerned and enjoy a performance in an environment designed for that purpose.
Another thing, did anyone ask people that did listen for a while what they thought of the piece? It doesn’t say.
Also, I am insulted that you accuse me of having no taste simply because I have no time to listen and observe your performance piece. I have performed in many public venues and I say if everyone in the place didn’t come for the purpose of listening to me, I can’t blame them if they don’t. Reading poetry in bars is okay, but reading poetry in bars on open mic night is better.
Judging by the comments, people want to see something so deep in this story.
I think its a story about culture, that has nothing to do with what’s “valuable.”
To me, the message is more a question of what’s truly important, and how people prioritize things. Some would say this actually is more a commentary on the people who paid $100 for a ticket, rather than a commentary on unwitting Subway patrons.
Which makes it almost a more interesting commentary on me as a commenter, and maybe why I see it as more of a “rich people can be stupid,” rather than “poor people have no taste.”
Perception is definitely an interesting thing.
There was a whole article in the Washington Post about this. The details are even more interesting, as is Bell’s opinions on it all.
I don’t like violins or other stringed instruments capable of making the higher pitched sounds, they sound like a dentists drill to me, whatever is being played. My loss to be sure, but there you go.
Well two things you’re missing is the video of this and the facts of the story. At the end a woman recognizes him.
Search Youtube or check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myq8upzJDJc
He made 32 dollars in an hour. If he had stayed the entire rush hour and then come back for the evening rush hour, he could make a fairly decent living at it.
Thanks to someone for posting the video… also @Tim who said that the acoustics are horrible, that is an interesting point, but it doesn’t mask the quality of the performance, so to a discerning listener, you would be able to hear the quality of the performance over the acoustic response of the room.
another thought, I’d be interested to see how much attention a horrible performer would get…
It would have been interesting to see the outcome had this experiment been replicated in other U.S. Metropolitan cities before it was revealed — you know, just to see if the pace of life in other cities affects the responsiveness.
I think it is great way to illustrate how we are missing out on a lot of things in life. In modern day living, we are always in such a rush that we have stopped enjoying the simple joys of life. Most people would probably have had an earphone on and would perhaps have been listening to the same music on their MP3 player while on the move. No one wants to pause and linger. Everyone thinks that anything on the street could not possibly be quality stuff. Many people do not go to a small store to buy a thing and always prefer a large air conditioned store to buy the same thing at twice the cost. They think that things in a smaller store may be of inferior quality where as it may be of the same batch from the same factory.
Can’t really blame people because life is like that.
I believe I would have stopped as I almost always do as a courtesy and certainly out of respect to a fellow musician. But at the same time; I too, understand that if you a whisking children to school or are grateful to even have a job and do not want to jeopardize it for ANY reason – you may have to prioritize differently that day. Perhaps a fairer test would have been on a non-work/ non school day. If people still flew by without stopping; then…..we really are jerks, aren’t we?
What I find so interesting is the point made about the children. The children HEARD the quality of the music. The children had the DESIRE to stop and listen. The adults rushed them away instead of taking a MOMENT out of their day to use share an experience with their child. It’s too bad that as we “grow up” we forget what “quality of life” is truly all about. How do you want to be remembered by your child? As someone who shared life with them or someone who rushed through their lives. Have a great day and go climb a tree!
This isn’t accurate. A lot of people do not care for a violin player, never mind know who a famous one is. Not to mention, if you’re in a train station, it’s so you can catch the subway at a certain time. It’s not like people go there to hang out.
People pay attention to music they like. Put The Edge down there playing his guitar and he’d get noticed right quick. This experiment is full of holes and assumptions.
You must also remember that street musicians in large cities are commonplace and many of them are VERY good. I’d guess that most people can’t tell the difference between a difficult piece and one that is less complex or between an excellent musician and one who is just good.
It really is a sad reflection of how absorbed we have become with our own issues and how little attention we pay to the world around us.
This experiment is dumb. People have things to do, and just because some talented musician decides to play at a train station and no one gives him the time of day does not mean people overlook those things. When blessed with a world of creeps and homeless, so often we decide to leave those randoms alone. DUMB EXPERIMENT
I think the point to be gleaned here has less to do with the music and more to do with the sad state of the human heart. We are so conditioned to avoid those who do not fit our idea of “acceptable” that we teach out children to have disdain for “unworthy” people. No soul is more valuable than another, yet we are generally such a judgmental society and so self absorbed. Blast away, fellow hypocrites!
esta padre! para
The old addage, “beauty is in the eye, or ear, of the beholder, is very clear in this case. There are inumerous things around us each day which should amaze us…
We are on such a hell bent ride for daily life we can overlook that which is absolutely incredible.
Look around the environs you may be in, chaces are, there is something there to intrigue or amaze.
My main question is why? As in why stage something like this where they know the results? This is a major business metro. People are there to use it as a tool to get from one place to another, not stop and listen to music. Sure he is an artist. Yes his violen is worth more then I my house, car and life put together. But people there are trying to … Read Moreget to work so they can earn a living.
I want to see the results if he were to play in a park on a Saturday afternoon, when people are there of their own free will and have time, not rushing to work.
Just another of the Post’s strategies to counter the effects of the financial crisis crippling the American newspaper business. The Washington Post Company reported a loss of $19.5 million in the first three months of this year, a period described by industry analysts as “the worst quarter in the modern history of American newspapers”. This piece has little relevance to anything except as a feeble attempt to generate controversy and increase the Post’s market share.
I think the wrong conclusions are being drawn. I think people are so tired of being hustled by street performers that they tune them out.
here’s a link to the performance:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/04/09/VI2007040900536.html
kind of slow moving for a morning commute. i would have selected something bright and cheery.
Very interesting and although I give credit to the message, I for one, do stop and appreciate the beauty along the path of the everyday subway journey to and from work in Manhattan, NY. There are also many interesting stories to be told up.
It takes a lot of discipline, practice and work to stay awake and aware in life and most people don’t care to invest the time and the effort, as shown in the result of this experiment.
The results of these type of events should be shared more massively, i.e., get the transportation organizations involved.
What an amazing story. In our hurried lives we wish for beauty and strive to fit it in, but how much more are we really missing because we’re just walking too darn fast? (figuratively and metaphorically)
Just goes to show that children are more in touch with what resonates within them….this says a lot about our rushed society and it saddens me to see what we are teaching our children
I think most people need to be told what is “good.”
What I find sad is how little regard many parents have for their children’s interests.
‘Best’, ‘finest’, ‘most beautiful’ – it’s all a matter of opinion.
Some other questions raised:
* If the overwhelming majority of people can’t discern between the quality of sound produced by a $3.5m violin and a $250 one, is it worth blowing such an stupid amount of money on the expensive instrument?
* Does the complexity of a given piece of music necessarily make it more pleasurable to listen to? For regular people, I mean, not chin-stroking musos?
* How arrogant do you have to be to imagine that because people are, at a given moment, too busy to listen to a piece of music, that their lives are somehow deficient?
I love this story. I am fascinated by the “rejection” comments. Is some people’s need to be “right” or aversion to being imperfect so important that they can not see a gentle reminder to appreciate beauty? I would like to think that I would have stopped. Even when in route with my son, I encourage him to stop and listen to music, splash in the water puddles and look at caterpillars on the sidewalk. Yes, I understand there were trains to catch. But come on, I do not think that is the point. It is how we make the daily journey. Forever is a thousand nows!
Hey people don’t forget to stop and smell the roses..We miss out on sooo much.Imagine being able to listen to Joshua Bell for free and actually walking right by because you weren’t paying attention. That is actually a great project to prove a point..hmmmm
I am sure the people who find this sort of thing arrogant and abrasive, which I do, “get it.”
The idea that we need to take time to smell the roses is not a new or surprising one. Do we seriously need it to be underscored in an insulting way?
I wouldn’t be surprised to find that in their heart of hearts the people who enacted this “study” set out to prove certain assumptions and simply did so. The study was supposed to measure “taste”? OMG. You’re kidding, right? Look at other studies regarding “taste” and how our perceptions are altered regarding that issue, and you can readily see how bogus this thing is.
And what about other questions? If this didn’t catch peoples’ attentions, why not? What would? The same piece by a different violinist? A different piece by the same violinist? Different instrument? What about volume? What about salsa music? What about a more flamboyant performer? What about all the other variables? This so-called “experiment” does not elucidate much. It’s *has* been used as a springboard to support some pretty ugly, elitist opinions, and it doesn’t even do that well.
Seriously, Joshua Bell playing Bach on an expensive instrument might not be the ticket for people. That’s all this experiment indicates. He’s not enough.
You start using terms like “beauty” and “taste,” and you get into very messy and unscientific territory. This little event proves nothing about the effect of “beauty” people in their daily lives what-so-ever, because you cannot plop Joshua Bell playing Bach in there and simply label that the pinnacle of beauty. Sorry, it’s too subjective. That should be obvious.
If you found what a person considers absolutely, exquisitely beautiful (assuming you could find a way to measure and verify that with accuracy), and then put it smack dab in the middle of that person’s daily routine, then you might get some useful information… but making conclusions about people and beauty based on this sloppy study? No.
This study is useful in that it points us in interesting directions, but more experiments need to be done. Instead of doing that, it seems people are willing to jump to conclusions about what this study “proves.” And that says something, unfortunately, pretty insulting about people.
Parents with children on the subway during rush hour – schools and child care to get to before continuing on to their work place – the reality is many don’t have the time to stop and smell the roses. Repeat the experiment at different times and on weekends before drawing conclusions about peoples lives.
Also I can’t comment about this station’s ’safety’ record but the message of ’stranger danger’ that many parents often try to instill in their children is watered down if you stop to linger in places that have reputation for attracting unsatisfactory characters.
For those who passed the violinist without stopping – how do you know with an exit survey what they heard and appreciated? Sound travels a decent distance around subway buildings so maybe in their busy lives they enjoyed the musical accompaniment on the walk up to the exit and their days were lifted somewhat despite you as a observer not seeing them stop.
I have been a successful professional musician for over 40 years and I also have been a fairly successful street musician many times, in many cities. I suggest that your experiment has highlighted the difference between a talented player, and an entertainer. No wish to disparage the artist here. I have seen very lame acts collect a lot of money, because they found ways to involve people in what they were doing. It is not the responsibility of the crowd to pay attention. It is the job of the player to seek, find and perform something that grabs people. It need not be commercial or safe — just juicy and passionate. My street music experience really taught me about what works and what doesn’t — no props, no theater, no lights, no band, no drink special at the bar — no NOTHING! Just me, my saxophone, the people walking by and the dollars in their pockets. Instant feedback — people voted with their pocketbooks.
I guess we are always focussed on the individual than the music.. Had we known tht it was Joshua Bell, everyone would have been awed.. in short… the brand name precedes the music!
Perhaps the conclusion if flawed, as it may be that the reason people pay $100 to listen to that is not to enjoy it, but rather pretentiously let everyone know they can and did.
I read this article a few years ago in the Post. Something interesting to note is that it was discovered that the exact same experiment was preformed around 70 years earlier and included several of the same pieces. The end results were approximately the same too. The interesting thing is that the initiators of this experiment didn’t have any knowledge of the previous experiment until someone brought it up and someone did research.
I think this also says something about attitudes with social class. Typically people that play on the street or in a subway station are looked at as homeless and/or beggars. I would imagine that some of the parents didn’t hear the beauty of the music because they were too busy judging him by the fact he was “begging” and not getting a “real job”. The children are too young to recognize things like that and paid attention to the music.
This is just an idea to consider but it is true that we do not pay enough attention to our surroundings. We get so encompassed by our busy lives that we miss the beauty in the world around us.
* If the overwhelming majority of people can’t discern between the quality of sound produced by a $3.5m violin and a $250 one, is it worth blowing such an stupid amount of money on the expensive instrument?
ABSOLUTELY. If VanGogh had painted his work on a 1 dollar piece of paper, yes it would be a VanGogh but it would be cheapened nonetheless. A poor example, as music is ethereal and paintings are not, but you catch my drift.
* Does the complexity of a given piece of music necessarily make it more pleasurable to listen to? For regular people, I mean, not chin-stroking musos?
Complexity, no, but as he said the sheer genius of the piece makes it worth listening to. “Better” is of course in the eye of the beholder but don’t tell me you can’t find at least an equal amount of pleasure in a 50-dollar steak and 1-dollar hotdog.
* How arrogant do you have to be to imagine that because people are, at a given moment, too busy to listen to a piece of music, that their lives are somehow deficient?
But they ARE deficient and the imperceptibility of that deficiency only heightens it. The very fact that getting to work at 8am exactly so as not to be fired is more important than listening to one of the greatest living classical musicians play a live performance of a grandly difficult piece is mind-boggling. How have humans sunk so low?
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