I teach a similar variant to this philosophical debate question in my Technology 221 class: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one (or thing) is there to hear it -did it make a noise?” Of course it did…err… I mean in didn’t according to the third law of “what is a sound” (no reception, therefore no sound…).
Well, an OUTRAGEOUS “research experiment” was performed in the midst of downtown Washington D.C. that attempts to answer the title of this article… Joshua Bell, one of the foremost classical violin virtuosos of our time, was asked to pose as a common street musician and play for about an hour, at rush-time (8:00 a.m.), in the lobby of the L’ENFANT Plaza. Yes, you read that right, Joshua Bell as a STREET musician!
The point of the research was to find out if “gorgeous and timeless” classical music, played by a virtuoso, on a peerless STRADIVARIUS violin, would stop people in their “tracks” and have them take notice.
The musicologists at my college are going to be “aghast” and “feign injury” when they hear the results. In some ways, the results were shocking and in some ways, they were predictable (chances are you may or may not like the results! ;) ) Get it? No? … Moving on…
In summary, Joshua Bell (a child prodigy!), made in sum and total $32.00 in change and “tips” for this “stint”. A far cry from the $100.00, “middle-of the road”, cost of the seat prices to see him in concert! You won’t believe the humility of this man as he goes through 45 minutes of this “experiment”; Few people even acknowledged his existence, let alone his skill (I wrote an interesting article about the skills of a musician: Talented Musicians? Are We Simply Talented Or Is It Visible Mastery? ).
There are so many implications and thought provoking streams that this “study” will produce; Some “off my top” thoughts to ponder: Does main-stream America really care about “classical music” anymore. Are we so busy in our day-to-day, minute-to-minute, lives that we really don’t stop to “smell the flowers”. What would have happened if, instead of Joshua Bell, we had a half-naked woman (or man?) in a bikini playing the violin? Is the classical music that is part of our “canon” even “in” the culture of today’s main-stream working person? Is the “common” person no longer aware of what true musical virtuosity is? Are we still devaluing people based on their appearance and circumstance. And on an on… Im still trying to “take this all in”.
The full article (it’s long and a GREAT read) and video of the event can be found here:
Post Article
Kudos to Matt Mullenweg for sharing this GREAT FIND! I might have missed this one for awhile without seeing it on his site!
I’d love to hear your thoughts about the impact and implications of this “experiment”! Please comment about this if you spent the time to read this here; expand the dialog! :) I would love to hear from you.
[tags] Joshua Bell, L’Enfant, Washington D.C., violin, experiment, Stradivarius, classical music [/tags]
Joseph,
My friend just sent me the article and the same questions came to my mind too. One item that spoke to me was the woman with her preschooler. The preschooler, Evan, wants to listen to the music. He is drawn towards it and mom is on a schedule and has to get him to the door. I am a PreK-3rd grade music teacher and this is why I am so passionate about music being taught to this age group. They are drawn to music and want to sing, listen, and move to it continuously.
In addition, great blog!
Amy Burns
Amy,
Thanks so much for your comments. You are right on, I too have a 1st-grader and am “boggled” by how much “music” speaks to them. How much they learn better from the application of music to other subjects… Think ABCs here. As music educators “we” need to do a better job at integrating our profession into other subjects, especially in the younger children and getting that information out to the other subject teachers. Classic example of a basic music method attached to rudimentary knowledge levels: The older generations of “us” in the U.S. can tell you the basic menu at McDonalds… Big Mac, Filet of Fish, 1/4 pounder, french fries. That aside, the stride made by children who follow the Orff, Kodaly and other methods is astounding, again especiall for motor skills and coordination.
I can’t even imagine a kindergarten or pre-school class without music, I’m sure they’re out…and missing huge connective opportunities.
J. Pisano
hello joseph yuor blog is so cool i like it… feel free to visit my new blog http://mykiru.blogspot.com see you
This is troubling- I see it echoed in my own school time after time giving a state-level performance on worthy music only to have parents drop their students off for the concert and go out to dinner!
I think that we CAN change this just as education shaped (and to a certain extent helped save) Jazz. It is up to us to TEACH the LOVE and APPRECIATION of music to this generation so that in years to come they will be come educated consumers of the arts.
As I tell my students- you don’t have to major in music to make a difference- having a deep appreciation and respect for the Arts just makes us more interesting people. It is a way for us to define beauty.