The Washington Post recently published an article outlining what happens when you present a few thousand busy people with some of the most beautiful music on earth.

What happens?

Nothing.

They engaged violinist Joshua Bell to play a few of the most reknowned musical pieces on his 3.5 million dollar stradivarius in a Washington subway during the morning rush.

Only a few people stopped to listen and he earned a whopping $32. His performances normally command up to $1000 per minute.

So what does mean for you?

Even the greatest musicians in the world can’t redeem a bad gig. Learn to identify gigs that are outside your target audience or that are likely doomed from the start (like rush hour subway gigs.)

Come up with a few creative ways to get the attention of your audience because great music sometimes isn’t enough.

And if you have a bad show, be encouraged that it happens to the best. 

Hi Kat,

Thanks for sharing this article.  I found it affirming, because I spent a couple of years busking part-time on the Toronto subway and writing about it in my blog.  The powerful connection I made with a FEW listeners--and my commitment to keep playing even when people did not listen--strengthened my musical life in a way nothing else could.  Fact is, all little-known artists find themselves “underground”, “below the radar” and “ignored” in today’s commercially-driven culture.  That doesn’t mean we need to give up what we do, give up on beauty and truth, or get gimmicky.  It requires that we play full out, with all our heart and soul, with our eyes open...knowing that, in Einstein’s words, “not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted, counts.”

Hope all’s well with the babe, btw!

Lynn

Thanks Lynn! What great insight. I especially love that Einstein quote you shared. I’d not heard that before. What a great nugget of truth.

I found that article to be profoundly interesting, I’m glad you found it affirming as well.

Apart from a bit of sleep deprivation and little time to blog, all is going quite well with my new son. Thanks so much!

There is really nothing worse for your self-esteem than a bad gig. lol.

But you wouldn’t know that from personal experience Seth…

Everyone loves Five Cent Stand!

Hi Kat,

A friend of mine sent me this today:

..I don’t know the answer, still turning it over in my head, don’t know what is the best direction to go.  The rules have changed.  I just saw a GREAT jazz show Sunday, the players played with feeling and talent and skill, it was polished and tight, well rehearsed but loosely executed, not a darn thing could have been done much better, by anybody I know.  They played their a---s off. That’s the good news.

The unsettling part is it was done by 4 scientists from Argonne Labs, and a sax player I know, Al Miller, was band director, now a Special Ed teacher.  Called the “Nuclear Quarktet.” It’s a hobby for them.  It was at a library in Lisle, 2:00 in the afternoon, free admission, the audience was mostly senior citizens ranging between 65 and deceased.  When they served up the cheap generic punch and cookies at intermission, these folks attacked like rabid dogs; don’t ever get between a senior and anything free, or they’ll have to scrape you up off the carpet.  Point being, this was live music at its best but still, reduced to playing afternoon library gigs for great grandma.  Made me wonder. 

At which point I returned…

Well as I see it people leave the comfort and certainty of their lazy chairs, and TV’s to go out into the night for SOMETHING: s-x.  followed by intoxication. Music is more of an excuse than a reason to go someplace. “Let go to O’Sullivan’s--gman is playing” sounds so much better than “let’s go out and see if we can get laid, and if not at least catch a buzz...”.  That really is what is happening though.

But I maintain that the only reason that people listen to music at all is to evoke an emotional state change, angry, jubilant, up, down, justified, identity to their own predicament, whatever.  Our charge is to induce those state changes. Right now for reasons that I haven’t figured out yet is that I’m fighting their wills. We have had marginal success, sometimes people will emotionally attach to a song, but the challenge is to attach them and not release them.

That is why I feel that heavy metal is so popular. They cannot really touch people intellectually, but they can keep them plastered to the wall with sound, and kind of have a weird control, no real conversation etc.  Yet music affects me so profoundly, and I know that it does so many people--the question at hand then is--how do we package sound to be unwrapped by the listeners emotions?

Gman Blues,
I hear what you’re saying and I agree at some level, but I think there is another kind of music lover who attends concerts and virally promotes their favorite music because of their “relationship” with the artist.

That’s why I think artist blogs, websites, social networking pages and such are so important. To have a show that transcends background music, it’s important to establish a connection with your audience.

Likewise, at shows, make sure that no one leaves without knowing how to connect with you after the show. Pass out business cards or postcards with your internet information and perhaps a link to a free song. Do what you can to establish that connection with people.

My 2 cents.