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40hz:
Most street musicians tend to annoy me, because they - sorry to say it - suck. And mimes should be banned by law. Whenever there's a musician that doesn't suck, I don't have any cash on my, doh. (Which I rarely have, btw - debit cards ftw.)

Interesting that people just stress by without even taking a look at the guy, though. Just how much in a hurry can one be?
-f0dder (January 13, 2009, 07:23 PM)
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In just enough of a hurry to avoid getting annoyed perhaps?  ;D

Paul Keith:
Ok, it seems everyone wrote what I wanted to add so I'll opt for a jerkier perspective.

The reason few payed attention isn't just a flaw with demographics but also because all music is overrated in general.

Yes, music is an acquired taste and you have to understand it's structure to fully appreciate it but at the same time it's only really valuable if you have never heard of it before and felt something special about it.

This doesn't mean all music is bad inherently, just that all music is based around a structure of nostalgia. Even the creation of music requires one feeling "special" upon hearing and combining the right sounds.

Because of this inherent structure, if you took all the marketing and consumer packaging away from any music, it's only sound. Just like if you took away the points and stats in basketball, it's just a game of putting a round object into a small circle. Sure, some people will like it but it's inherently not going to motivate anyone to feel special about their AND1 dribbling skills or Larry Bird-like shooting accuracy.

Music, without the right marketing or the wrong passion, is just...sound

One other thing that has been ignored was how the musician approached his work.

More times than not, people who get discovered in subways are more passionate about their playing with a decent capability in producing the right sounds that people walking by who might be interested get attracted to both the body language and the sound.

Musicians who come by and play some music in a place as if they came in to do their jobs often won't get noticed no matter how talented they are. Yes, a maestro might notice their talents but they rarely would ever string a large crowd along. Another thing to note is that people who want the people around them to enjoy their music tend to change their songs until they see a reaction. Even a talented musician can't just play a pre-set number of tunes in an environment where he's not pandering to a crowd but trying to appeal his taste to them.

CleverCat:
If I had been there, my little scooter would have been parked for 45 mins! :Thmbsup:

I used to play the Violin at school - I love all violin music!

app103:
I've found that to slow down long enough to appreciate and experience beauty -- in art, philosophy, music, in laughter, in the strangeness that is folk, in literature -- you have to arrest novelty; that is, the lure of the latest 'new thing.' There have been many songs written about this, one being Carly Simon's The Stuff that Dreams are Made of.

Tech and computer life drowns us with novelty.
-zridling (January 12, 2009, 09:10 PM)
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I have seen & heard my share of street musicians in my lifetime, performances that were both good and bad.

But the single performance that stands out in my mind and was the most memorable, was a guy that was not only good, he had novelty, as well.

He was a drummer that created his drums from buckets, laundry baskets, pots & pans. With a certain child-like playfulness that we all can identify with from our youth, banging on mom's or grandma's pots & pans in the kitchen, he seemed like a guy that just never stopped.

He had fun and we had fun, watching & listening. And although it was around 20 years ago, I still think about it every time I am at that location waiting for a bus.

This drummer had crowd appeal and was a skilled street musician.

It takes more than good playing and a good instrument to be a successful street performer...as a matter of fact, neither is a requirement at all. It takes something much different to command a crowd in a subway station or on a street corner.

Joshua Bell may be one of the greatest in the world, but he makes a lousy street musician. If he had wanted to get attention, he should have done what a good street musician might have, and dress up like a cricket or something...or maybe play Hendrix on an electric violin.


Or like this guy that has no trouble finding an audience on the street, eager to be around him when he plays his violin.

I am sure the results would have been quite different.

But on the other side of the coin, would anyone pay $100 to hear a good street musician play in a concert hall?

Grorgy:
I thought the point of the piece was more  that the things around us need to be cherished more, sure they focus on music, but they are I think focusing on the idea that we rush here and there, we don't take the time to stop and listen to the music, or to look at the art or the trees.  There are a lot of bad street musicians, lot of bad ones in concert halls to in my opinion, and the same for artists authors and so on,  but if we take the time to look and listen we might find some real gems just in our daily lives.

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