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Agreed.

In the lousy acoustics of a subway, there's going to be no difference between Joshua Bell and any other reasonably talented busker. Bell brings a specific kind of skill, a highly refined sound and sensibility that is unique to him, but not going to be readily apparent to a casual listener.

If anything, the regular buskers might put on a better performance. That's their job. They'll select the right music for the venue and crowd. Performing is a show, not just playing the instrument, and they'll put on the show that's appropriate there and then.

It would be a bit like watching Michael Jordan shooting free-throws in the neighborhood court. I'm sure he'd do it better than the others... but not anything you'd pay attention to. Lots of people can put balls in the basket.

As a performer myself, it's always a little irritating watching people drift to the famous ones just because they're famous -- people who would otherwise attract little attention if their fame weren't called out. It's not that they're not talented; of course they are. It's just that there are many other equally talented people who never got attention. Movies feature the same A-list stars over and over, even though they could have many equally talented actors for a thousandth the price. But people wouldn't go... because they're not A-list stars.

That's no shade on Bell, though I do think that the humorist who set up the stunt missed the point. I admire Bell for going out to entertain.

this is a really good comment, and i agree with it. but i do think there is a seperate point that the experiment reinforces, which is that the perception of musical skill is highly contingent on non musical things for most people. as a musician, its sometimes frustrating because i dont want to focus on the "dumb stuff" (things that arent about rhythm, tone, melody, harmony etc), but sometimes feel like i need to. i'm not saying its wrong to meet the audience where there at, but its annoying when people overestimate their perception

I actually quite like classical music, but there are times I really don’t want to listen to a solo violin performance. On the way to the subway would almost certainly be one those times. Another such time is tonight, when I immediately had to mute my phone sound when that video started.

I took it as just an illustration of human snobbery for the sake of snobbery. There are similar experiments.

I believe Penn and Teller did an experiment on bottled water to see if anyone at a fancy restaurant could taste how much better artisanal bottled water was. All the customers commented on how much more refreshing the water was when in actuality it was all hose water filled in from the back.

There was this other experiment, I can't recall from where, where they tested if audiophiles could here the difference between an MP3 and regular uncompressed sound. None of them could tell the difference even though they all claimed before hand that they could.

>Moreover, it's a collective ritual. We don't go to the concert hall just because of the music and because of Joshua Bell, we also go because it's nice to treat yourself to an evening out, to dress nicely, and to enjoy the fancy atmosphere of the theatre with its, say, baroque frescoes or modern architectural design. Joshua Bell in that context is literally not the same as Joshua Bell in a subway, otherwise why would he dress nicely for the concert? And you know what, there is nothing wrong with that. Theatre and music have always been this way.

You illustrate my point perfectly and you partially admit my point. You say: It's not JUST about the music which makes sense. But I say, it's more than that. It's actually NOT about the music AT ALL, because the music is much more clear when listened to digitally in a private space with no distractions. People can likely get that for free with a pair of good headphones. When people buy a concert ticket they pay for the "night out" not the music.

Just replace the music with some other snobbish artsy activity and they'd still go because it's never really about the activity itself. I shouldn't just focus on rich people snobbery it happens with any type of concert or music festival or whatever. It's never about the music in actuality it's only about the music in appearance. Everyone lies to themselves about why they go.

You are obviously not a classical musician--live music in a concert hall is a completely different experience than listening to high-quality audio by yourself. I'd bet a thousand dollars that I can tell the difference between listening to music in a concert hall vs. listening out of high-quality speakers.

Of course! the acoustics in a concert hall are very different then speakers.

But I bet you that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between actual instrumentation and high quality speakers and subs if they were BOTH in a concert hall.

I'd take that bet, but more at like $300.

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy too. Any transportation facility during rush hour would be literally the best place and time to look for people too busy for (whatever your bullshit is unless it's a ride to work). It's even called "rush hour," in case you thought it was "hey everybody who came out in public, now's your chance to interact with me hour."

Not to mention it was morning rush hour. People need to get to work on time.

> Theatre and music have always been this way.

Everything has always been this way

Doing it at 8am on a Friday morning is interesting. Who has spare time then?

OT, but this reminds me: several years ago on my way to my office after getting off the subway in Times Square someone approached me looking like they had a question. I don't remember exactly why I stopped to talk to them (normally I would keep my earbuds on and just ignore people who looked like they were trying to solicit something since it's generally pretty obvious when someone is a tourist and actually needs help compared to having some other agenda), but I was absolutely thrown by them asking me "What state name ends in the letter K?" I assumed this was some sort of experiment and said "I'm really sorry, I'm on my way to work and don't have time for something like this". Before I could walk away, they asked me "What state are you from?", and I interpreted the question as being about where I grew up and not where I currently lived and said "Massachusetts". They looked at me strangely and said "the answer is New York, we're in New York right now". I told them I still had to get to work and said goodbye and rushed out due to embarrassment, and I still have no idea what their purpose for asking that was.

Money or Jesus. I just don’t know how which or how.

They were soliciting for donations for some nonprofit and that was their ice breaker.