Content or context?

A really fascinating article in the Washington Post.

An experiment was set up to discover whether context really mattered (together with people's expectations).

A violinist was to play for an hour, unaccompanied, at the top of an escalator in a Washington subway. How many people would notice him, how many stop and listen, how much money would be put in his open violin case?

Just a busker, you'd think, not much to get excited about.
Except that the busker is Joshua Bell, playing a $3.5 million dollar Stradivarius.
The results are frankly astonishing - check out the article in question, and the videos, by clicking on the link.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

The sort of reaction you get in this situation is something that I've experienced many times.
I'm a professional musician, performing internationally, with a 20 year history of concerts and thousands of appearances in many different genres.

But as a collaborative piano player I've played in a department store, a prison, multiple village halls, and even a pothole (yes, really, 150 feet underground in the BlueJohn cavern in Derbyshire).
And when you are in a place where people don't expect to see live performers, they really can't believe that you are good, or that you earn a living doing it.

Some of the best comments I've had (and my answers):
"Have you ever thought of having some lessons?" (Yes)
"What do you do during the day?" (This)
"You're better than a conjurer" (Bring back Variety, I love conjurers)
and my absolute favourite - and one I really treasure, because of the sincerity of the speaker:
"Do you know, you're nearly as good as Richard Clayderman"
( Wow, thanks)

Sometimes it really doesn't matter how well you perform, if people can't categorise you, or if you being there doesn't fit their expectations, they tend to dismiss what you do.
And heaven forfend if you are able to do more than one thing to a high standard!

The article above is a Pulitzer prize-winner, and really deserves a read.
Well, it made me feel better!
Check it out.

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