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Listening is different from playing. Or perhaps more precisely, the experience of passively listening is different from the experience of actively listening to
by beat 10y ago
Listening is different from playing. Or perhaps more precisely, the experience of passively listening is different from the experience of actively listening to the instrument you're creating music on.
As a guitarist, I do a lot of experimentation with picks. I can easily tell the difference between different kinds of picks by sound when I'm playing. But I can listen to old recordings of myself where I couldn't even tell you which guitar I played! Interestingly, a drummer I play with regularly can usually tell when I've switched picks, and has opinions about what picks I should be using. Such is the closeness of musicians working together.
Any of these A/B blind test experiments strongly need to be live. A recording isn't a measure of a violin... it's a measure of the violin, the microphone, the mixing board, the mastering process, the amplifier, and the speaker.
- scott_s 10y agoThe tests are live. The researchers have really bent over backwards to create fair tests, I think. Someone else in this thread linked to a good summary: http://www.thestrad.com/blind-tested-soloists-unable-to-tell-stradivarius-violins-from-modern-instruments/ http://www.thestrad.com/blind-tested-soloists-unable-to-tell...
- edbaskerville 10y agoIn case you read this thread without clicking the link: astrodust's comment might lead you to believe that professional violinists can't tell the difference between factory-made Yamaha instruments and a Strad. The instruments in this test are not factory-made Yamahas. They're hand-crafted instruments made by top masters. In other words, the best instruments now are finally catching up to the best instruments of a few hundred years ago. As for casual listeners, I'd believe that some of them can't tell the difference between a Yamaha and a Strad. But professional violinists absolutely can--both when playing and listening.
- astrodust 10y agoBlind tests seem to disagree. New but very high quality instruments vs. those considered exceptional and unmatched.
- yoodenvranx 10y ago> I can easily tell the difference between different kinds of picks by sound when I'm playing Are you sure? Since you always k ow which pick you are using it's easy for your brain to fool yourself.
- beat 10y agoOh, I'm quite sure. There are limits to the human ability to discern and judge - see the discussion of blind violin comparison. But they didn't sound the same... they just didn't always have the expected results for "best". You might have difficulty discerning between, say, Hawaiian and Columbian coffee, but you can easily discern the difference between coffee and lemonade. Except under the influence of certain medications... The point I'm making, though, is that discernment is situational. It depends on experience with the subject matter, and whether it's direct or indirect. I can easily hear the difference between two guitar picks and make value judgments - IF I'm the one playing. My drummer can tell if I switch picks, because he knows my sound so well, but he couldn't tell you which one is which. Most people could never hear the difference. When I'm playing a guitar, I can discern tiny things like moving the volume knob 10%. But two years later, listening to a recording, I couldn't even tell you which of my guitars I was playing. It's very situational.
- astrodust 10y agoThe blind tests that I've heard of are done with a screen that the listeners can't see through, but which does not affect audio quality. It's not a recording.