Hear The Music

Someone mentioned this story to me, and it's too fascinating not to talk about. I'll just paste the original story as it came to me:

"A violinist played a Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 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 mins later the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the
money in the till 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, as 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. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.

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.

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 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 Joshua Bell sold out a theater 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 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?"


So, it's an interesting question. Do we recognize beauty out of context? Kar and I were discussing the idea that we may simply love and laud our favorite artists because they are our favorite artists. Which is to say... I think Alison Krauss is one of the great singers of this era because I know that I'm supposed to. But if I passed Alison on front street, singing with a guitar and an open case, would I even slow down?


A story like this is, in reality, completely jarring. It's a picture of a society that is choosing the easy over the earned. There's nothing easy about Joshua Bell and the music he plays. This brings into sharp relief the concept of priorities. I can't have this conversation without coming to the same end. I start by realizing that there would be huge value in slowing down, listening, looking, experiencing the world and people around me on a daily basis. Then I tell myself that such an idea is counterproductive to the concept of accomplishment and success in our current society. If everybody was stopping and listening in the subway, than how would we get anything done? Then I wonder why I always feel like everybody needs to be getting things done!? Can I really defend rushing off away from an inspiring and life-changing (yes, I believe that) performance of musical beauty so that I can get busy producing promos for Desperate Housewives?

So, this is an interesting one to keep unpacking. How (and how often) do we experience our world, and how might a change in our methods bring about more meaning in our existence?

JB