Pre-Ramble:  This story appeared in my inbox the other day and it was so compelling, I wanted to share it with you.

One cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces in a Washington D.C. subway station. He played for a total of 45 minutes during which time approximately two thousand people walked through the station, most of them on their way to work.

“He emerged from the Metro at the L’Enfant Plaza Station and positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play…

• After three minutes, a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing, slowed his pace, stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried along.  
• Four minutes later, a woman threw one dollar into violinist’s opened case, and, without stopping, continued to walk.
• Six minutes later, a young man leaned against a nearby wall to listen to the music, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
• Another ten minutes went by and a three-year old boy stopped to listen, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The child turned to look at the violinist again, but the mother continued to pull him along.  The child continued to walk, but twisted his head around to get another glimpse of the violinist the whole time.
• This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
• During the 45 minutes of continuous playing by the musician, six people stopped and listened for a short while and about twenty gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The violinist collected a total of $32.
• The violinist finished playing and silence took over the station.  No one noticed.  No one applauded. There was no recognition of any kind.

The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest 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, Mr. Bell played to a sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.”

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception and people’s priorities.  The questions raised where these: In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? … If so, do we stop to appreciate it? … Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

The Take-Away:  If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made … How many other things are we missing?

Post-Note:  The Washington Post won a Pulitzer prize for Gene Weingarten’s story about this experiment.

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