Nubian Spirituality Meets Scalable Business Models / The Boredom Principle
It is interesting to observe audience behaviors, particularly at free concerts.
On Thursday evening I attended a free concert by the esteemed Sun Ra protege, Kelan Phil Cohran ("Koran'). While Cohran's ensemble was attempting to levitate the stage with intoxicating African and Sumerian grooves, the gentleman in the seat next to me was totally engrossed in marking up his business plan, 'Scalable Business Model'. So while Phil played his harp with his King Tut head dress, this fellow hardly noticed.
It is also interesting to observe when people leave, and at what points in the music this occurs. 15 minutes into the performance the ensemble played a slower tempo piece, based on an ostinato/drone that lasted approximately 10 minutes. Apparently the boredom response kicked in at about 2:30, as many people started to exit at that point.
This is an excellent lesson (or scalable business plan) for any composer or songwriter: reward your audience and your players with interesting ideas, and avoid boring them. This particular piece should have had a duration of 2:30, not 10 minutes.
On Thursday evening I attended a free concert by the esteemed Sun Ra protege, Kelan Phil Cohran ("Koran'). While Cohran's ensemble was attempting to levitate the stage with intoxicating African and Sumerian grooves, the gentleman in the seat next to me was totally engrossed in marking up his business plan, 'Scalable Business Model'. So while Phil played his harp with his King Tut head dress, this fellow hardly noticed.
It is also interesting to observe when people leave, and at what points in the music this occurs. 15 minutes into the performance the ensemble played a slower tempo piece, based on an ostinato/drone that lasted approximately 10 minutes. Apparently the boredom response kicked in at about 2:30, as many people started to exit at that point.
This is an excellent lesson (or scalable business plan) for any composer or songwriter: reward your audience and your players with interesting ideas, and avoid boring them. This particular piece should have had a duration of 2:30, not 10 minutes.
