"Live" vs "Recorded" Emotional Response

[Tomg1]

I had seen the Joshua Bell video before of him being all but ignored in a busy station. At first I had the reaction that the sharers of the video wanted. Then I thought a little about it.

It was a busy station - they were setting people up to walk by (I assume to prove a pre-desired point). The place was noisy. If a performer of half his ability had done something more along the lines of Orange Blossom Special or another catchy tune, he may have gotten a much bigger response. A performer of a quarter of his ability who played something catchy and had an infectious stage presence would have gotten a better response.

In the end I believe it was a set-up.

It also reinforces my thought that more often than not personality, circumstances, presentation, luck, and general public mood determine the success of a performance and performer.

[Tom Munch]

Well said, Tomg!

[Oldghm]

The paragraphs below are excerpts from something I posted a while back in another thread. I think it is appropriate here


......... A couple of years back I played for the same international audience two days in a row.

The first evening was billed as a concert with four acts. It was in a theater with proper sound and lighting. Perfectly quiet, attentive, responsive, grateful, audience.

The next evening it was cocktail hour after a day of meetings, they barely noticed it was the same guy they all wanted to talk to and shake the hand of the night before.

I think when playing to a mixed attention audience we become much like a street singer. Those that want to participate will make their way to a vantage point, those that don't will move away or be oblivious to whatever we do.......


Venue atmosphere has a tremendous effect on the way we are recieved as performers.

O..

[roy_2]

I have seen other musicians, myself included, play to a crowd and get a good response, and then during the break they are dancing to canned music and when the song is over they applaud. Go Figure.

[colandy]

That means you've trained them well Roy.

Respect,
Col. Andy

[captacoustic]

Oldghm:

quote:

I think when playing to a mixed attention audience we become much like a street singer. Those that want to participate will make their way to a vantage point, those that don't will move away or be oblivious to whatever we do.......

Yes, and I try to find them and play to them. If they make eye contact, smile or start tapping their foot it can create that cycle of energy that goes back and forth. I find if I can get that, I improve (at least I feel like I do...maybe it's more of an emotional thing.)

I have told my wife that at least in terms of performer/audience, that there isn't a lot of difference between what I do and Elvis did or Springsteen does; we're looking to connect and deliver to the best of our abilities (we won't discuss abilities here...) and in that sense, we are after the same thing.