The Subway Stop and the Virtuoso.

In California we have a wax for surfboards called Sex Wax. That's as philosophical as we wax here.

I saw that article. Very interesting indeed. I played on the street for my supper for many many years. I always kept a job but in a big city it's hard to make ends meet when you are barely breaking minimum wage. It was probably one of the more character building things I've done in my life. It was dirty, lonely, frustrating and at times outright dangerous but on the flip side I got to watch the world pass by from a vantage point most never get. It also made my voice and playing FAR more powerful and confident having to compete with the traffic and general city noise. Anyway... the thing I found interesting about that article was although the adults rushing around barely took notice the CHILDREN were drawn to his music. They talked about how the kids were keeping their eyes on him the whole time as their parents dragged them along completely oblivious to the beauty before them and that they were missing a rare opportunity to feed their offspring's young minds with world class culture. Very interesting indeed.

@craigb... I was pretty ballsy (or stupid) as a young man. I saw a lot of messed up stuff out there. I also saw a lot of beauty. I doubt I'd have the courage to do it now but I don't think I'd trade those experiences for anything.

OK Shad, here are my serious thoughts.

Experts. See, what do they know? I'll tell you what they "know" (IMHO). They know what they see through their lens of life. How many of those experts have played music on busy streets? Prolly none. The streets are generally crowded with:

A) People trying desperately to get from point A to point B in less time than humanly possible
B) People who are not actively seeking out quality music while they are there

The whole experiment was flawed at conception. And tarnished as soon as the "experts" predicted the outcome.

I can say this as a 20/20 hindsight "expert".

Ja Bubba, he's got adolescence's thoughts nailed.

Speaking of which, can he tell you what Mooch is thinking?

On second thought, mebee we don't want to know.

Who cares?

[mental shrug]

jamesg1213


Haven't we done this before? Getting a strong Deja Vu feeling about this thread...

I think I've read this reply sometime in the past too...

Hey Shad
A video of the performance if your interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZeSZFYCNRw&feature=related


LATER
Kev

IIRC that was Josh Bell and my take is how the h-e-double-hockey-sticks could anyone think that HE WOULD receive any more approbation than any other busker???  Perhaps there were one or two folks who recognized him and were amazed that he was even there...but...most folks would just think here's another poor sod busking along the tracks playing some gawd awful classical music or something.  Just human nature.  Which leads me to one of the sayings that have formed my world view and beliefs..."human beings...why bother??"

foxwolfen
As time went on, he began to be grateful and appreciative of the one or two listeners who did stop. He drew the same inspiration from them as he did performing before and adoring crowd. It made me realize that sometimes it just takes one other human being to support another and make that person's world a better place. No crowd needed.

 
This is the biggest reason why I do not expect, or go out to ask/expect comments and or opinions. For me, it is like a painting ... it's finished ... what's the point of changing it? And this is where the DAW has failed a lot of musicians ... that still can not appreciate/know where they can stop, and are always looking for an illusive idea as to where to get to.  And you know what? No one ever read anything, and commented, or said a single word of appreciation! So why would I expect you folks to say anything ... except that I don't know what I see or am talking about?
 
The audience thing is addictive, but also a curse.
 
In general, I never look for a response or expect any appreciation. Why? Gads ... 400 poems and 8 siblings, famous father writer in the world of literature and all that crap, and many of the things I write are an extension of what I see ... specially having to do with the arts where I experiment the most ... it's my livelihood.
 
Some places, and on occasion, the CH as well, are not good places to try things, suggest, and sometimes opine. Why? ... few folks have the ability to say ... I feel and think differently ... they say ... you're wrong because you do not have a 20 inch basscock, or a 24 fret dillidoe! ... and this is always sad.
 
I come and enjoy, the older ... somewhat old-fashioned ... European thing, where we can sit and discuss ideas, and they all lead to us getting better in our own work ... and the CH is such a place for me ... but it will be a cold day in heck that Bapu will say something like ... that's a nice poem ... or not the way I would write it, but I like it ... because it is not in his nature, and of all the poems I ever posted here ... I think I have one comment that is very dear to my heart ... that I will forever remember and that person is special to me!
 
Between you and I, we have lost the ability to connect with the "father" if you will, as the old expression goes, and it makes it harder to understand and know what you are doing ... and if you do, you do not need the affection and the adulation ... because YOU are about YOUR own inner work ... has nothing to do with the audience. Thus Syd Barrett's famous line ... people have stood, and cheered, something they did not understand ... rings so true ... to the point where it is really sad ... you endup applauding the hit only ... not the musician! ... you are a nobody behind that song/image that folks are projecting into you!
 
You folks, here, are my "Cafe" to learn and learn and discuss things, and as such you are all important ... but not as an audience ... since, be it a poem, a discussion, or a guitar, I can not fit into the club because I don't measure up to the 24 inchbasscock required by many folks here that hide behind their notes and chords and Sonar ...
 
Nothing personal ... but I am naive when I say ... we, as artists, can have dinner, beer, or pizza or Bapu around for some fun ... but it doesn't mean they are wrong, or are not good, or great ... but around here respect (sometimes) is like kissing ... that ... ____ and I don't need that for/from an audience!

Hi,

Big story on an experiment Speech-Philosophy at UCSB ... that they decided to also use the actors in the department ... and we blew the experiment in half!

You were paid to wait or not wait ... for Godot! (as I like to say!) ... and the expriment showed that the more you got paid, the more bored and frustrated you got. Except most of the actors ... who spent their time playing around with lines or studying their lines for their next scene ... and so forth. I just sat, crossed my legs and meditated. It was great tripping around with all the bugs in the ceiling and such!

Needless to say, the folks that got paid the least had the most fun!

I learned about "expectations" right then and there!

Busking is akin to running a market stall.  You've got to create some kind of distraction in order to get noticed even.

I'm not surprised someone playing a violin didn't get a hatful of coins.

I know people that can busk for a day and make as much as most people will in a week and they travel from town to town to do just that.  Those people are all good players but they've developed a show-business style that suits the environment, they know where to pitch up for best effect and they've developed a repertoire that works with the 'act'.

A classical violinist is going to fare no better than say the sound of Pavarotti being played in an elevator, it doesn't mean the music hasn't touched somebody on some level it just means they weren't the draw that made folk stop, stare and toss a few coins into the hat.

As a result, I don't even know what the experiment shows.

That somebody that normally works in a plush exclusive showroom most days is not likely to sell much from a stall on the street without a bit of experience there?

Where's my Pulitzer Prize?  I'd probably get at least £20 for a nice vase like that down the local market.

Man, Roger Daltrey has hit some hard times.

foxwolfen


A few years ago, the Washington Post won a Pulitzer Prize for an article they did about a world famous virtuoso violinist playing in a subway station as a social experiment. The experiment was to determine if the worlds most beautiful music performed by the greatest artist on the planet would still be considered such if taken out of context. 

Prior to the experiment, the paper spoke to some leading sociologists to see if they could predict the outcome. Some said the beauty of the music would overcome any obstacle, predicting that "busking for cash" would net the artist hundreds of dollars. Interestingly, very few stopped to listen to this absolutely brilliant solo performance. Of more than one thousand passersby, only six stopped to listen. He made about 30 bucks.

The Virtuoso made one comment that stood out to me. He found the most painful (his word) part of the whole experience the silence between pieces played. He was used to thunderous applause and standing ovations... its absence left him somewhat rattled. He found he did not know how to act as people just continued on with their busy day, oblivious to what was before them.

As time went on, he began to be grateful and appreciative of the one or two listeners who did stop. He drew the same inspiration from them as he did performing before and adoring crowd. It made me realize that sometimes it just takes one other human being to support another and make that person's world a better place. No crowd needed.

(Its a grey rainy day here, so I am sorta waxing philosophical hehehe)

You know, there's such an old homeless sort of guy playing violin in the subway station right next to where I used to live back in Montreal. He's amazing, and plays pretty much anything from Bach to bluegrass. 

A few years ago, he fell (he's almost blind) and broke his violin. When he showed up again in the station a few days later, he had a sign that said "Broken Violin". People were so used to hearing him there and appreciated him so much that a young couple managed to find a new violin for him.


I remember an interview he gave to the local paper - the article ended relating that someone had thrown him a dime.  His reflexion was: "You play Vivaldi for them and they throw you a dime? Might as well spit on you."