The brand and model of strings used on violins are considered to play a significant role in their playability and sound quality. An experiment was designed to test the perceptual quality of different violin strings. A professional violinist selected two violins, from a set of the same make/model, that had similar sound and playing qualities. Three different types of strings were chosen for this study: Dominant, Kaplan and Pro-Arté strings. Professional and advanced student violinists were invited to play and evaluate the violins. Two violins were both strung with Dominant strings initially (session labelled D1-D2). Subjects rated the difference between the two violins (violin 2 compared to violin 1) according to eight criteria. Then the strings of violin 2 were changed to a different type. Subjects rated the difference between the two violins again. In Oberlin, subjects compared Dominant and Kaplan strings in two sessions (called respectively D1-D2 and D1-K2). In Montreal, subjects compared Dominant, Kaplan and Pro-Arté strings in three trials (D1-D2, D1-K2 and D1-P2). Results showed no significant differences between the experiment conditions in either place except that the brightness difference ratings in D1-D2 were found to be significantly higher than in D1-P2 based on the Montreal results.
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5 November 2018
176th Meeting of Acoustical Society of America 2018 Acoustics Week in
Canada
5–9 Nov 2018
Victoria, Canada
Musical Acoustics: Paper 4aMU3
June 13 2019
How different strings affect violin qualities
Lei Fu;
Lei Fu
1Department of Music Research, Computational Acoustic Modeling
Laboratory, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT);
Schulich School of Music,
McGill University
Montreal, Quebec,
H3A 1E3, CANADA
; lei.fu2@mail.mcgill.ca; gary@music.mcgill.ca
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Gary Scavone;
Gary Scavone
1Department of Music Research, Computational Acoustic Modeling
Laboratory, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT);
Schulich School of Music,
McGill University
Montreal, Quebec,
H3A 1E3, CANADA
; lei.fu2@mail.mcgill.ca; gary@music.mcgill.ca
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Claudia Fritz
Claudia Fritz
2Lutheries-Acoustique-Musique,
Institut Jean Le
Rond d’Alembert, Unité Mixte de Recherche
7190, Sorbonne Université,
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, FRANCE
, 75005; fritz@lam.jussieu.fr
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Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 35, 035003 (2018)
Article history
Received:
June 04 2019
Accepted:
June 08 2019
Connected Content
This is a companion to:
How different strings affect violin qualities
Citation
Lei Fu, Gary Scavone, Claudia Fritz; How different strings affect violin qualities. Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 5 November 2018; 35 (1): 035003. https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001007
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