This shows that no matter how talented you are but if you’re not in the right environment no one will see the true worth or even understand the potential you have. That’s why you gotta get your self out of places where you’re not appreciated

Station is a busy place where we are in hurry to catch our specific train. This shows the discipline with no distraction. if the same experiment would have taken place at a mall the scenario would be different and people would have appreciated.

the man plays so well that he even controls the speed of time

That one lady stopped and listened although people were walking through her. Then we understood she recognized him and loved his talent. Amazing!

I would not stop. I don't know music enough to know the difference between a good violinist and a world class violinist. I would enjoy the music while passing by, like I always do, but I would continue on with my day

I sold photographs and drawings in the Bart Stations in San Francisco, along Market Street (1999-2000). At one of the stations, there were two guys who used to play guitar. They would alternated days... one guy would play one day, the other guy would be there the next day. Guy A had a white guitar, he was in good shape, would wear a sleeveless shirt, stand up when he played, pace around, and make eye contact with everyone who passed by. He would play the same song the whole day... or maybe he played two songs, but he sang and his voice carried really well in the train station. Guy B could play every Beatles song, without flaw. Im sure he knew many other songs, but he would usually stick to Beatles songs. He would bring a chair with him and sit down, sometimes facing the wall. He wore drab clothing and hardly lifted his head the whole time he played. People would stop all day for Guy A... they would put money in his guitar case, stand and listen, strike up conversations with him. People very seldom stopped for Guy B. This is just an estimate, but I would guess Guy A would make 10x what Guy B made on any given day. People would just pour out money for the guy with the white guitar while people hardly noticed the guy who was actually a far superior musician. There is so much psychology that goes into busking, panhandling, street sales. Even I was aware of this at the time; I could send a friend around the corner and have them come and stop to look at my photographs. The chance of other people stopping to look and buy photographs was much higher if someone else was already there looking. You can see this effect at the end of this youtube video. When one woman stops, other people (not many but some) stop to listen.

Im so happy he was recognised

I love that Josh Bell went to this effort explore how we value art .... artists ....and our ourselves.

A grand experiment of selective perception. The environment plays a massive role in how we are perceived by those around us; this is key to understanding when not to take things personally. Furthermore, it shows how essential to insert oneself in the proper context to get the most out of our lives or risk being largely ignored.

A very plausible explanation for people not stopping to hear this exceptional musician could be simply the fact that most people have no time to do anything else than catch their train and go to work...

My daughter age 1 goingvon 2 stopped and danced with you back then for a few mins and today at 14 she still dances. Thank you!

I agree with the message, but not stopping doesn’t mean not appreciating. People in subway are often in a rush. If he played on a Saturday at the mall, I’m sure a lot more people would’ve stopped. That being said, I do agree with the message and of course, he would NOT have gotten as much recognition even if he played it at the mall.

Everyday when I ride the metro into D.C I hope that this will one day happen to me.

Brings tears to my eyes to see one of the world's finest musicians sharing his gift with all those people in a place like that. Even if those people were in a rush to get somewhere and didn't have time to stop, I'm sure the few notes they heard had an effect on their day.

God bless the woman that listened

this brings tears to my eyes, I could have only dreamed to have this experience of hearing the Chaconne live for free.

The response of the passers by is quite expected; how many would have time to stand for a moment to listen even if they like it? To be appreciated, you have to be at the right place- my take!!!

A handful of people stopped, a couple clapped, and the violinist raised about $30 in tips. No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. In that subway, Joshua played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before he played in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out a Boston theatre, and the seats averaged about $100. The experiment proved that the extraordinary in an ordinary environment does not shine and is so often overlooked and undervalued. There are brilliantly talented people everywhere who aren’t receiving the recognition and reward they deserve. But once they arm themselves with value and confidence and remove themselves from an environment that isn’t serving them, they thrive and grow. Your gut is telling you something. Listen to it if it’s telling you where you are isn’t enough! Go where you are appreciated and valued. Know Your Worth.

They need to do more of these experiments around the world.

I really don’t know if I would stop as well. 😞 We are all immersed in our lives and don’t stop to enjoy it enough...

Fantastic Joshua Bell, everyone runs, they don't hear, they had a beautiful free concert, by a great artist, but it was in the Metro, not in a prestigious theater, where you pay 100 dollars, for listen to him. ....with a 3 million dollar Stradivarius. ...❤️🎻💯😘❤❤

Beautiful just beautiful. Many are right that kids don’t have the opportunity to really listen and feel the music. Growing up, my parent would take us to concerts in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Her and dad had chairs and a blanket was for us to sit on. So many times we went and the beauty of the music has stayed with me my whole life. It would lull us to sleep.

This experiment just shows that people commuting are busy and have places to go. Not to mention the fact that they are saddled by countless other street performers on a daily basis. Would be like me pausing at a stop sign to appreciate the symmetry.

This shows that people are really good at not walking over a lady who stopped in the middle of the floor. They should be applauded.

Nobody knew, one of the best musicians in the world. In this metro, Joshua played one of the most complex pieces ever written on a $3.5 million violin. Two days before he was due to play on the subway, Joshua Bell sold out a Boston theater and tickets averaged $100. This experience proves that the EXTRAORDINARY in an ORDINARY Environment DOES NOT SHINE and is often NEGLECTED and UNDERVALUED. There are brilliantly talented people everywhere who are not getting the recognition and reward they deserve. But once they arm themselves with worth and confidence and withdraw from an environment that does not serve them, they thrive and grow. If the environment where you are does not recognize your value, change places. Like everything is on the other side of fear.

I got to know about this artist and his performance playing the violin at the subway station through a book titled Good morning, I love you. I often used to miss beautiful things around me. This video makes me reflect on my daily life.

Most important skill of any street musician is knowing where and when to play…

I have no clue whatsoever about classical music but this moved me to tears 🥰This will always be a reminder for me to appreciate the simplest of pleasures that is around me. There is none so blind than those that choose to not see.

It wousdn't matter where I was or on what instrument (violin, guitar viola etc) that it was played on, just hearing those opening chords of the Chaconne would stop me in my tracks. Then again, I studied classical guitar at Sydney Conservatorium and that piece gets me every time. It's a monster both to play and to listen to.

I know this post is 14 years old . But my learning from this case study is as below: many people are thinking that subway is busy place so people will be busy and don’t stop, however, i argue that if there would be banner identifying him behind him and made a small stage for him then number of people waiting and listening to his music will be different. Hence, for this in our gujarati we have very wise saying “utryo amaldar kodi no”, that means when a person leaves his high position (in our case his stage and became a common man) no one will value them..

To me, part of people walking by is that the piece he is playing is not something someone untrained in music would understand or even possibly like. Not all music is accessible to everyone. Being a genius doesn't necessarily mean that people are aware or capable of recognizing or appreciating the genius. Even in the right environment, it still takes effort on the part of those around to understand and recognize the gift.

Mesmo que não o reconhecessem, é incrivel como tanto talento passou despercebido... 😢

some people wrote "it's not about the musician, it's not stopping because the people there are in a hurry". but but if those people knew who the musician was, would they do the same thing again?

The music is so beautiful it made me cry!! I would’ve stop and listen! Take that regalo of life and say THANK YOU!!!!❤

Today 2 March 2023. Salute to the people who can admire such skills on every place you come across.

What a beautiful melody!!

I always imagine this particular scene unfolding in front of my eyes. Maestro violinist, Bach solo violin chaconne in the indoor subway..wishing I were there..

Probably my favorite article of all time, and beautiful music as well.

Without the media, people will not pay attention to you.. This is one of the most famous musicians, and he has an instrument worth more than 2 million, and he could not even collect 34 dollars.

I would definitely stop and donate. The music here is phenomenon.

tears in my eyes, hauntingly beautiful. I for one would have stopped, no matter how busy I was. Saw a struggling busker outside a shopping center the other day playing guitar and singing. He was doing an Eddie Vedder song from Into the Wild, "Society." Such an odd choice for a busker, but I knew it and it was brilliant, lad did a great job. I slipped him $50 and said thanks. We chatted for a while and I recommended some good places where I lived that he should approach as they appreciate good musicians and we went our separate way.

right person at wrong place at the wrong time

I'm here after reading Gaur gopal das ji's book "Life's amazing secret".. he mentioned this story in his book to teach us that we have to spend time on what we like or to take a break from life and enjoy your life... I really appreciate it❤

I was able to play violin when i was i child, sadly i stopped and never tried again... But i regret with all my heart when i listen to peaces like this... Absolutly marvellous.. if i was there, i would sitted on the floor just to listen to him. Bravo!!!

The sound quality of this instrument would say enough

Even Helen Keller could hear this ‘guy’ is SOMEONE. Insane that people are so caught up in their own little world they didn’t even pay attention to something as incredible as this. I would have been front and center, not budging an inch if I came across this. Work, etc doesn’t even matter…it can wait!

Joel Olsteen makes reference to this experiment in one of his talks, did not know the violinist was Joshua !!!

This makes me feel good about playing the violin for 63 years. I feel overlooked as a musician at times.

This is wisdom!! It tells you sometimes you are not in right place. Make a change, you will get different results!

An article on this experiment was part of my country's English Olympiad. Fascinating stuff!

This shows how we are gifted in so many ways but we are unaware of these gifts. It really is important to stop and smell the roses.

They should do this experiment in a park or mall. A metro is a place people don’t come out to relax or stay long - there’s usually a place they must get to for work or whatever, so they can’t even stay if they wanted to

У меня на глаза навернулись слезы ,играл бесподобно.

If I heard anyone playing the chaconne, or any part of the partita, I would stop in a heartbeat. That is one piece that if you can play it at any level above butchering it you are a great if not amazing violinist.

Damn that lady who was a fan was super lucky to experience his performance first hand in person directly and basically only for her who could appreciate greatness

We live such a busy life, that we ignore how beautiful it is

I would surely stop and listen for a while and cautiously ask him if he was Joshua Bell!

He has to hustle on the weekends to pay off that violin.

He's incredibly gifted. I'd have been mesmerised stopped in my tracks like that lady. Though I didn't know of him.

Anyone else here from Scott Eiler’s book ‘For when everything is burning’? This is fascinating… ‘In another context, people would have paid thousands of dollars to watch this performance. It was the environment that hid the true, spectacular nature of what most of them walked right past. This is you every day. You’re a 3-million-dollar violin in a dark, dirty subway, a world-class violinist with a distracted, impassionate audience. You pass by something extraordinary, incredible, and magical nearly every second of every day. Your missing piece. Yourself.’❤

Too cool! I would probably have noticed who he was, since I'm a big fan of his!

Joshua Bell es uno de los mejores violinistas en el mudo, el violín que tiene en sus manos solamente tiene el precio de $3.5 millones de dólares, la gente paga mas de $100 por asiento en uno de sus conciertos esto es un experimento social echo por el Washington Post.. " Si no paramos tan solo un momento para escuchar a uno de los mejores violinistas en el mundo tocando las canciones mas populares que se hayan escrito en la historia: que mas cosas nos estaremos perdiendo en esta vida??

Beautiful!

I love how KZfaq recommends this to me 16 YEARS later

Even not knowing who it was I'd have stopped for a little while. Hand to my heart and thrown love his way, I'd have moved on with tears from the beauty my ears had just experienced.

Как можно даже в этом грохоте не слышать,силу звука❤

This brought tears... This reminds me of that guy that plays the piano in public also... Can't remember his name

If I had been there. I would have stopped in awe! That good? Wow! Amazing! I love the violin!

Definitely I would have stopped even though I don't know much about violin. This is beautiful, rather be late for work or appointment,

I always stop for musicians like this. I would have loved to see him out there. I would have sat on the floor too.

It's so weird how this is only getting trending now, and I got to it not even by recommendations. I searched Joshua Bell..

Fame is limited and so is appreciation of talent .Every year there are people who win the noble prize but we hardly know them or remember their names after a few days.The video reminded me of the poem musse de beaux arts ,where people keep doing their monotonous work ignoring the fall of Icarus 😊

La persona que se detuvo y conversó con él, lo conocía y ubicaba perfectamente.. eso quiere decir que sólo los entendidos serán capaces de oír, discernir y apreciar un regalo así....

Он играет божественно!

That's a masterpiece💫

His performance was wonderful!!

Excelente sonido. Hoy dia son pocos los que aprecian el arte.

Not everybody has the luxury to STOP and be late for work@appointments..... No matter how beautiful the music is...

This shows the quality of the performer is immaterial, the cost of the ticket is the most important factor, as you will appreciate what you consider a frivolous, expensive treat more satisfying.

The experiment is correctly done. It’s in an environment where you would only stop if you recognize true talent. Most people don’t.

My Chemistry teacher once showed this to us in class. Hi, Dr Vazquez!

Well to be honest the people are at a metro and they have places to go so of course they would not notice or stop but if you go to a theatre you are going there specifically for the concert or music or whatever is playing there.

How is no one stopping! I think I would have planted myself by that pillar and just melted… lots of times it’s good to be autistic and not caring about/understanding social rules. Art in any form calms my social anxiety. ❤

Basically, "That's Joshua Bell, he doesn't need any more money. Let's catch our train"

قبل ١٣ سنه من تاريخ هذا التعليق، لم تكن هناك جودة افضل من هذه.

As someone who has made hundreds, even thousands of dollars and a CAREER by playing violin in the streets of DC and Maryland - this is WILDLY eye-opening.

excellent experiment 👌his art is in him and he enjoys it everywhere. I believe for the person of true art and pure soul the environment and public acceptance has no matter. his happiness is in him, not outside.

العبرة من هذا في فيديو هي ضع نفسك فى المكان المناسب وإلا سوف تذهب مواهبك في محب الريح

Me emociona es el instrumento de un sonido sin igual maravilloso!!!!

He obviously plays beautifully so that wouldve caught my attention and i would watch it, only if i have the time

Sometimes when we feel we're not good enough, it's not for lack of trying. it's not for lack of talent. It's because those around us are deaf to what we are trying to say.

This is no surprise, the context affects on how it is interpreted. So what if they did the opposite by sending a regular subway player to a high prized concert hall, to see if people will stay, pay money, clap and shout for a good violist who is a nobody...

한국에서 제작된 이 스토리를 담은 그림책을 보고 영상을 찾아왔습니다. ㅜㅅㅜ♥

What a humbling experience that must have been

People on their way to work don’t have time to stop and enjoy something this grand.

Bellísimo su arte.

Es triste ver la indiferencia hacia este hermoso arte..

Amazing lesson Learnt

This experiment shows a few facts: Firstly, is the market targetting. The people who use the subway may not be all music enthusiasts who would buy an expensive ticket to a concert featuring a renowned violinist. Secondly, the importance of branding. Fans might easily recognize Joshua when he performs in a band, and no one expects to see him play in the subway corridor. This demonstrates the power of branding or brand associations. Fans are used to seeing him in a band and that's the way that they identify him. Thirdly, the subway environment is so busy that one may not have the time or pay attention to what is going on around them.

Inacreditável!