|
Source credit
So there's this article that's been going around Facebook and it's about a world-class violinist who disguised himself as a street performer as a social experiment. For those who haven't seen this, click on the spoiler link below.
+ Show Spoiler +
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 up 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 top 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 average $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?
Sounds pretty reasonable.
The reason why I am posting this is because I definitely had a few questions to ask as a native New Yorker who commutes to school everyday. There's definitely indeed a great amount of talent on the busy streets (and in the subway). However, people simply pass by without a second glance. In a more relaxed environment, such as the park, many more people stop around to check out the street performers.
Do you think street performers expect donation? Do you think they are there because they have no other ways to make ends meet or do you think they are there because they love what they do? This might sound a bit obvious to some but sometimes I am afraid to show appreciation towards street performers (especially the ones in the Penn Station are amazing) for free. Do you think they would be totally okay with you standing around, admiring their music without anything to give?
I usually am the type to tip street musicians I really enjoy but only when it is convenient for me. I don't always have single bills on the spot and pocket change seems too "cheap". It seems like a sign of pity rather than appreciation because there's so many panhandlers in the city. Because of this, I simply pass by like the others, without a second glance. It kind of breaks my heart because I see some amazing talent out there.
So what are your thoughts on street performers? Do you appreciate them? If so, do you usually donate? Do you not mind standing around to watch them for free?
Please expand my mind with your response. Thanks!
|
Same as you, except if I donate at all it's $5...
But my standards might be a little higher, idk.
|
My GF's sister is a street performer (singer/guitarist), but she just does it for fun on the weekends. She doesn't care if she gets tips or not. She tells me that she just want people to enjoy her music if they like it.
For me, I usually do like street performers and I tend to stick around and listen or watch (2-5 minutes) if it's something that interests me. If I like it, I will tip them, if I don't, I will just go in my way.
|
I have been a street performer before and while I never had to live off the money I got (musician, card tricks, juggling, whatever little skill I had), I never expected much of anything. I just loved meeting and interacting with people. What I did like though was if I at least made a few bucks to pay for my coffee or lunch for the day, then that was always like a bonus to me.
Some people give you money because they like what you are doing. Others give you money, so it seemed to me, because they liked the idea of street performers, and others seemed only to give money because they were with a group of friends and wanted to seem like the "nice" guy or whatever. It is a weird thing overall.
Personally though, I always took it as extra, a bonus, a compliment if I received money. Every once in awhile I still try to go out to coffee shops and make a buck or two, but in all my trips since moving to Nevada, I have not made as much as a single day back home, nor have the people around here been nearly as nice and wanting to chat or talk.
As for me giving money though, I have given as much as 20 bucks to a great performer that I really enjoyed before. I saw an awesome sax player outside of the Hollywood Bowl once playing Beatles tunes. Between the people in my group, we must have given him like 50 bucks or so.
|
I think the direct comparison between people in the metro and people buying $100 tickets to a concert is not appropriate. The latter are keen on the concert and the music (or just the image/date) whereas the passers-by may not know anything about violins or even any music besides Katy Perry, which makes it unlikely for passers-by to value (and pay) as much as concert-goers.
Also being late for work can be quite costly, too, it wouldn't make much sense to be late for work and end up paying for it with lost income/job/bonus. Finally there are fellow music lovers at a concert that you could share the experience with, but on a metro?
So from a purely economic standpoint what they did seem rational. However I suppose it's a shame that we as a society don't appreciate street performers as much?
|
On February 10 2012 16:26 Mobius_1 wrote: I think the direct comparison between people in the metro and people buying $100 tickets to a concert is not appropriate. The latter are keen on the concert and the music (or just the image/date) whereas the passers-by may not know anything about violins or even any music besides Katy Perry, which makes it unlikely for passers-by to value (and pay) as much as concert-goers.
Also being late for work can be quite costly, too, it wouldn't make much sense to be late for work and end up paying for it with lost income/job/bonus. Finally there are fellow music lovers at a concert that you could share the experience with, but on a metro?
So from a purely economic standpoint what they did seem rational. However I suppose it's a shame that we as a society don't appreciate street performers as much?
I totally understand what you mean and I agree there are factors that make music richer because of the experience. But it's easy to acknowledge great talent if one was to ever stick around. Performing at a subway station should never be a reason to diminish true talent but it does in our eyes unfortunately.
|
Korea (South)17174 Posts
they do expect $, but they don't get their feelings hurt imo if you stand around and don't give $
i think any professional street performer realizes sometimes they will get lucky and sometimes they won't and they know it'll add up somewhat throughout the day
and while i personally wouldn't ever stand around watching and then give nothing, i think it'd be really bad for a street performer to get mad at someone for doing that
|
doubleupgradeobbies!
Australia1187 Posts
I seem to recall a thread on tl about this exact topic probably about a year ago.
But in anycase, I don't think the article is making a very fair comparison.
When you pay $100 to listen to a concert, you are setting aside that time, to sit comfortably, in a well climate controlled quiet hall/auditorium to listen to the music. There is minimal distraction in forms of noise, discomfort or other priorities to occupy your mind.
In a metro station, it's drafty, noisy, your not seated, often have people jostling to get from place to place, and probably have a place you yourself want to go. You are simply not going to be in a frame of mind to enjoy music irrespective of how good it is.
In addition, for people like myself who are not experts on music/instruments, we can't tell at a quick listen how good a musician is (beyond: terrible or not terrible), and competent street musicians are a dime a dozen, so I find it completely unsuprising noone noticed.
As for your question of whether or not musicians expect donation, well I guess it depends on where you are, but I would hazard to guess the answer is, for the most part, probably not.
I mean there are probably visual clues that give you more information either way, if they are dirty and poorly dressed then there is an increased chance they have fallen on hard times, and are doing it to make ends meet. But most street performers are at least reasonably clean, well dressed, well groomed etc, and carry reasonably pricy instruments like a violin/saxophone, then my guess would be they are performing for the sake of their art rather than any expectation of payment.
Maybe this is only relevant to Australia, or only in western countries, my experience is that if you speak English reasonably, have had at least a high school education(it's illegal not to finish year 10 in australia anyway), and don't have some personality quirk that makes you REALLY unpleasant to be around, it is almost trivially easy to find a 'make ends meet' job that is more lucrative than street performance.
Now consider someone playing the violin, it takes a considerable amount of dedication and competence to even reach a skill level where a casual listener is not able to instantly pick out misplayed notes or poor technique. These are people who are not likely to have no useful skills or be able to quickly pick up useful skills in at least basic employment. They would probably not be performing in the street as a serious form of income.
That said, when I have alot of time to waste and intend to stop to listen to a good street performer for any amount of time beyond just walking by I will give a small tip, just as an acknowledgement of my appreciation. But I don't seriously beleive the actualy monetary value of my tip means much to the artist.
|
|
|
|