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Violinists can’t tell the difference between Stradivarius violins and new ones

So says a new double-blind study pokes a big f-hole in the assumption that legendary, vintage instruments like Stradivari make any discernable difference in playing quality. By taking six instruments (three new and three of the most rare, worth $10 million together) and putting them blindly in the hands of 21 expert players, the researchers found that violinists couldn’t tell the old from new.

Ever since the early 19^th century, many tests have questioned the alleged superiority of the old Italian violins. Time and again, listeners have failed to distinguish between the sound of the old and new instruments. But critics have been quick to pick holes in these studies. In most cases, the listeners weren’t experts, and the players and researchers knew which violin was which – a flaw that could have biased the results.

What’s more, no one has tested whether violinists themselves can truly pick up the supposedly distinctive sound of a Strad. The common wisdom is that they can, but Fritz and Curtin showed that this isn’t true. “Many people were convinced that as soon as you play an old violin, you can feel that it’s old, it’s been played a lot, and it has a special sound quality,” says Fritz. “People who took part in the experiment said it was the experience of a lifetime when we told them the results. They were fully convinced they could tell the difference, and they couldn’t.”

During the Eighth International Violin Competition of Indianapolis – one of the world’s most important competitions – Fritz and Curtin persuaded six violinists to part with their instruments. Three of the violins were new; one was made a few days before. The other three had illustrious, centuries-long histories. Two were made by Stradivari and the other by Guarneri. One of the Stradivari, denoted “O1”, currently belongs to an institution, and is loaned to only the most gifted players. All three have featured in concerts and recordings, bowed by famous violinists. Their combined value is around 10 million US dollars, a hundred times more than the three new ones.

Of course, as Ed points out, this self-deceptive behavior is common, from wine to women’s shoes. He pointed out this piece from Jonah Lehrer that suggests although we are fooling ourselves by going for rarity over actual quality, we feel a certain psychological reward from giving ourselves a treat, no matter if it’s real.

(via Not Exactly Rocket Science)

Source: blogs.discovermagazine.com