Street performance of music on Tehran streets: report

Hans Christian Anderson once said ‘where words fail, music speaks’. That seems to be just right. With fall already here, nature’s music with colorful maple leaves dancing in the breeze is complemented with the ear-catching melodies the young artists play on the streets of the capital. But the audience is beyond the folks around, as the migrating birds are also out there and hear the soft tunes flying with the wafting autumn winds, and I stop by for a listen of just a couple of minutes!

As people walk by, they come to a stop at the corner to listen to the live street performance. What the songs do to them is alleviation. It often has, and continues to. The stage is theirs, and keen people listen in. Here’s the stream that helps you relax and get more focused as you commute on the capital’s sidewalks and overhear the busking of those artists.

It’s folk music played most of the time, and the gratuity is primarily the smile that allures on your face as you’re entertained for a few minutes. From young musicians doing a degree in music and playing a guitar or another modern instrument, to artists as old as 60, who play the classical Iranian instruments such as Tar and Sitar (string) instruments, they're there to perk you up. Once you’ve got a shot of energy, you might like to continue to sing along as you go past the corner, with the fading out of the tunes.

Here’s a walk-through of some snapshots taken around the corner, with refreshing quotes between the lines.

Music is a safe kind of high

Music says all the things that words alone can never say

Who speaks, sows. Who listens, reaps

And what if the piece fits your mood perfectly

and last but not least, café music!

As Plato puts it, ‘music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, light to the imagination and life to everything.’

Keep calm and listen; it’s all harmony.

MF/MF