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"1.) String instruments (possibly others too? I've no idea) generally improve by being skilfully played, a cello that has been played for a long time by Yo Yo M

"1.) String instruments (possibly others too? I've no idea) generally improve by being skilfully played, a cello that has been played for a long time by Yo Yo Ma will actually be better than it was before he played it." Do you have any sources for this? I've never heard this before. It's easy to imagine how unskilled players could make an instrument worse, but it's hard for me to imagine how it would work the other way. Is it really related to the skill-level of the player, or are skilled player just more likely to care for the instrument properly? I'm not trying to start an argument, I'm just genuinely curious...

corin_ 15y ago
I don't, but will have a look around in the morning as I'm about to head to bed (UK time). My source is the opinion of numerous music professionals, I first heard it at a young age from my cello teacher (a former concert cellist), and since then from a number of high-level professional cellists and violinists. That said, it's possible I was wrong to think that it is the case for ancient instruments such as strads, it might only be the case for younger instruments. I don't think it's anything to do with caring for instruments, but actually a case of the way it is played. I'll get back to you, hopefully!
- mvgoogler 15y ago
  Thanks! I'd be interested to read anything you have. I just started playing violin about a month ago, so it piqued my interest.
cperciva 15y ago
There has been a lot of research into how instruments change by being played; nobody completely understands the mechanisms involved, but it is clear that there are changes in the crystallization of the varnish which affect the sound. Any good violinist can tell you that after an instrument hasn't been played for a while, it takes a few months of playing -- the louder the better -- before it will start to "speak" properly.
- mvgoogler 15y ago
  Do you know of any papers or articles you could point me to? The only thing I could find was this article: http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/powerhousetwins.html http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/powerhousetwins.html It sounds like an interesting experiment, but probably needs more time to really provide solid data. At the time the article was written (2005) the two violins were only three years old and the results were inconclusive. It would be interesting to hear if they've done any follow-ups.
wglb 15y ago
My daughter plays the cello, and the shop where she gets it repaired has a number of moderately expensive instruments of all kinds. The shop owner has various artists who come by just to play the instrument, first for their own enjoyment at using a fine instrument, and secondly as a favor to the shop owner as playing of the instrument keeps it in good shape.
rjbond3rd 15y ago
This phenomenon is well-known among Fender Stratocasters. The guitars which have been played for years (e.g., a country musician played it every night for 20 years) are distinctly different (feel different, play different, sound different). I would never believe it myself had I not personally experienced it many times. Explanations are completely lacking, so it's just a strange phenomenon but there's no dispute about its existence among pro players.
wdewind 15y ago
I don't have a source but I did play violin for a bunch of years growing up...the wood of the instrument (in layman's terms) gets "used" to a certain set of tones (scales with specific ratios between them). When this set of tones is as accurate as possible the wood (and varnish etc.) literally gets broken in. It's not uncommon to leave violins on top of well tuned pianos while people play them to break them in as well. With a cello or a violin a better player will play the scales more accurately, more consistently, and usually (though not always), simply more. All of these contribute to the wood sounding better.
- dewarrn1 15y ago
  Not that this should necessarily be the final word on the matter, but a recent controlled study suggested that even experienced players can't distinguish old from new violins: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/01/02/1114999109 http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/01/02/1114999109
  - corin_ 15y ago
    It's an interesting study, but it's worth noting that it wasn't necessarily a great study, only 3 (I think) "old" violins were used, and performers actually bond with their instruments, you'd expect a considerably different playing experience after you've been using a single instrument for a while and got to know it fully. Of course, this doesn't mean their results were incorrect, just that they weren't entirely conclusive. Ultimately you wouldn't expect violinists to be able to tell the difference between old and new, just good and bad. It would be astonishing if every single old violin was better than every single new one. So other than the fact that price may not always corrolate with quality (what else is new, this happens in any market, from computers to cars to clothes), I'm not sure if it means that much. There's actually an old story I love, that afaik isn't true. A concert violinist got so tired of people constantly praising his stradivarius rather than him for his performances that one day he played an entire concert with a fake, a copy of his strad. The audience of course had no idea, and went mad for him at the end, then he put the violin on the floor and jumped up and down on it, before giving a speech about his point.

corin_ 15y ago

I don't, but will have a look around in the morning as I'm about to head to bed (UK time). My source is the opinion of numerous music professionals, I first heard it at a young age from my cello teacher (a former concert cellist), and since then from a number of high-level professional cellists and violinists. That said, it's possible I was wrong to think that it is the case for ancient instruments such as strads, it might only be the case for younger instruments. I don't think it's anything to do with caring for instruments, but actually a case of the way it is played. I'll get back to you, hopefully!

mvgoogler 15y ago
Thanks! I'd be interested to read anything you have. I just started playing violin about a month ago, so it piqued my interest.

cperciva 15y ago

There has been a lot of research into how instruments change by being played; nobody completely understands the mechanisms involved, but it is clear that there are changes in the crystallization of the varnish which affect the sound. Any good violinist can tell you that after an instrument hasn't been played for a while, it takes a few months of playing -- the louder the better -- before it will start to "speak" properly.

mvgoogler 15y ago
Do you know of any papers or articles you could point me to? The only thing I could find was this article: http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/powerhousetwins.html http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/powerhousetwins.html It sounds like an interesting experiment, but probably needs more time to really provide solid data. At the time the article was written (2005) the two violins were only three years old and the results were inconclusive. It would be interesting to hear if they've done any follow-ups.

wglb 15y ago

My daughter plays the cello, and the shop where she gets it repaired has a number of moderately expensive instruments of all kinds. The shop owner has various artists who come by just to play the instrument, first for their own enjoyment at using a fine instrument, and secondly as a favor to the shop owner as playing of the instrument keeps it in good shape.

rjbond3rd 15y ago

This phenomenon is well-known among Fender Stratocasters. The guitars which have been played for years (e.g., a country musician played it every night for 20 years) are distinctly different (feel different, play different, sound different). I would never believe it myself had I not personally experienced it many times. Explanations are completely lacking, so it's just a strange phenomenon but there's no dispute about its existence among pro players.

wdewind 15y ago

I don't have a source but I did play violin for a bunch of years growing up...the wood of the instrument (in layman's terms) gets "used" to a certain set of tones (scales with specific ratios between them). When this set of tones is as accurate as possible the wood (and varnish etc.) literally gets broken in. It's not uncommon to leave violins on top of well tuned pianos while people play them to break them in as well. With a cello or a violin a better player will play the scales more accurately, more consistently, and usually (though not always), simply more. All of these contribute to the wood sounding better.

dewarrn1 15y ago
Not that this should necessarily be the final word on the matter, but a recent controlled study suggested that even experienced players can't distinguish old from new violins: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/01/02/1114999109 http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/01/02/1114999109
- corin_ 15y ago
  It's an interesting study, but it's worth noting that it wasn't necessarily a great study, only 3 (I think) "old" violins were used, and performers actually bond with their instruments, you'd expect a considerably different playing experience after you've been using a single instrument for a while and got to know it fully. Of course, this doesn't mean their results were incorrect, just that they weren't entirely conclusive. Ultimately you wouldn't expect violinists to be able to tell the difference between old and new, just good and bad. It would be astonishing if every single old violin was better than every single new one. So other than the fact that price may not always corrolate with quality (what else is new, this happens in any market, from computers to cars to clothes), I'm not sure if it means that much. There's actually an old story I love, that afaik isn't true. A concert violinist got so tired of people constantly praising his stradivarius rather than him for his performances that one day he played an entire concert with a fake, a copy of his strad. The audience of course had no idea, and went mad for him at the end, then he put the violin on the floor and jumped up and down on it, before giving a speech about his point.