As one of four children of an (let's just say) ardent musician and music educator, we were all exposed daily to a variety of musical infuences from classical to swing to original jazz from my dad's 33 1/3 LP's played through the biggest set of speakers he could fit in our little house, in addition to being "encouraged" to take up musical instruments at an early age. Any or all of the four of us kids could have gone on to professional careers in music, but we each chose a separate path, except for one brother who at least pursued music in college on scholarship for a couple years before turning into a club musician and steel worker. But I digress. To this day music still plays a very important role in my daily life, between the alarm clock playing "Pictures at an Exhibition" on my wake up to the drive time radio to my office stereo with eclectic choices of (right now) funky xmas music, rock, jazz, blues, funk, choral, and even bagpipes. Drive time home radio leads usually to at least a little music at home with the boy before bedtime. It may be a background effect but it is not white noise, merely a comforting and calming effect on my soul and psyche.

Having listened to literally thousands of school solo and band competitions, marching bands, bar bands, high school and college recitals, street musicians, dance bands, concert acts and formal orchestral presentations I have come to realize it takes a fine ear to tell the difference between someone with basic talent and ability who may be playing in public somewhere, and someone with exquisite artistic abilitiy to bring the music alive in the ways the finest and famous musicians can. More than 95% of the world could probably not tell the difference between Yoyo Ma and a college cellist, Joshua Bell and the guy who sat third chair violin at the same concert series, Bon Jovi from most of the bar bands on the hotter circuits.

So why should we expect them to do so in a crowded and bustling train station where the most music they are used to hearing is the over head Muzak or the group of teens drumming on 5 gallon buckets or the guy walking through with his ghetto blaster.

Music is a very personal thing to most people, who choose to enjoy what they enjoy in a way that they have become accustomed to listening to it---be that in a concert hall, a pub, an elevator, your home, your iPod, a street corner, a celtic festival or a metro station. It does not mean they are not open to other potential opportunities, just not open ALL the time, although that saddens me as much as the next man. WE so often have little time for more than what we ourselves plan rather than allowing life around us to impact us and happen TO us as well in a beautiful way.

As others have said take the time to smell the roses along the way, even if they happen to be a lone fiddler in the metro on your way to work. Enjoy.