I know little of classical music ...

[elklad]

... but this article's real subject is beauty and our modern obliviousness thereto.  I thought it was a good read; perhaps you will too.

ETA: My use of "obliviousness" above might have been misleading.  I don't think we've lost the ability to appreciate beauty, nor do I think we're necessarily foolish to make the modern trade-offs that hinder our

Comments

fascinating

[shgb]

That was a fascinating article. Thanks for sharing. The bit about context being important was especially interesting given my trip to The Clark yesterday. It made me think about all of the really amazing paintings they have there, and how, with many of them, if they were transplanted to a banal setting, a casual observer probably wouldn't recognize their greatness.

Re: fascinating

[elklad]

Indeed. A good reminder of the benefits of being a more active observer.

[ban_sidhe]

I thought it was interesting that of the four or so people who really listened three had enough music training to recognize what they were hearing in at least some form. It made me wonder if the issue was not just mindfulness (which it surely was) but also the ability to recognize something alien to your own experience as valuable?

[shgb]

I think that's a good point. I listened to the first clip before reading the article. I thought he sounded like a decent violin performer, but I never would have been able to guess that he was some amazing concert musician.

[elklad]

Seems likely, though it's also possible that their recognition just shocked them into noticing Bell's performance, much as you might catch someone saying your name in a noisy room.

[ultiville]

I've seen this in a couple of places, and I'm still trying to figure out what to make of it

[elklad]

Agreed. I think my cryptic comment in the original post came across as negative and judgmental when I didn't mean it to be. My reaction to the story was not "commuters are stupid" but "boy, I wonder what stuff I miss when I'm zoned out; I better look around more" (followed by "this Bell guy seems pretty cool").

The story also reminded me of a group of buskers I passed in the NYC subway years ago. Young girl (maybe ten) playing a huge bass guitar, even younger boy playing drums, and a woman I assumed was their mother playing some other instrument--trumpet or trombone, I think. I don't remember her as well because I couldn't get over The World's Littlest Rhythm Section, which wasn't flawless but was very catchy in an indie-rock sort of way. They were awesome, but I don't remember anyone else stopping to check them out, and I didn't linger as long as I should have.

[ltlbird]

Wow. I am so glad i took the time to read that. Just, wow.

It actually nearly brought me to tears, sort of a combination of happy tears and sad ones. Happy that a guy like Josh Bell would do that, that at least a few people took notice and were touched, that children seem naturally inclined to appreciate. Sad that so few people stopped, that our lives are so frenzied that many couldn't stop or didn't even notice him, that the children were dragged on despite their interest.

I think I may actual post my own link to the article with a bit more on my reactions, so I am really glad you passed on the link!

[elklad]

I'm glad you thought it was worth reading. Bell does come across as a very cool guy. And I can only imagine how great it must have been for Stacy Furukawa to hear him perform a song essentially just for her appreciation. There's magic to that experience.

[sylvantechie]

Very intriguing, but the results aren't too surprising (nor especially disheartening). Both in terms of presentation (i.e. not a concert hall) and situation (people who are already pressed for time and already trained to not pay attention) the context made it unlikely that many people would notice anything unusual. On top of that, there probably aren't all that many people who can distinguish pretty good playing from virtuoso playing.

I think it's a more cutting commentary with respect to the time pressure in our culture than anything about our ability to recognize and appreciate beauty.

[elklad]

I think it's a more cutting commentary with respect to the time pressure in our culture than anything about our ability to recognize and appreciate beauty.

Definitely. The story didn't make me feel like we're incapable of appreciating beauty; it did remind me, though, that we miss a lot when we're too busy or tired to take notice of the unusual. (Kind of like "stop and smell the roses", but "stop and see if you've overlooked some roses" isn't as pithy.)