Klarinet Archive - Posting 000830.txt from 1996/08

From: Starr Schaftel Wayne <starrs@-----.NET>
Subj: Re: Hearing the difference
Date: Fri, 30 Aug 1996 22:56:21 -0400

Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu wrote:
>
> Starr asks how I feel about a blind test. Given the proper controls
> and an experimenter who knows what s/he is doing, I think they are fine.
> But so far, unless I missed it, I have seen nothing on this subject
> that even remotely suggested scientifically appropriate test to
> confirm or deny any hypotheses. All I have seen (and commented on)
> are "It sounds better to me" as if that were a useful or even correct
> statement.
>
> Did I miss something about blind tests? Did I zig when I should have
> zagged?
>
> ====================================
> Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
> (leeson@-----.edu)
> ====================================
Dear Dan,

I guess if you are suggesting that we need scientific studies to
confirm what we all know we are hearing, then these studies may not,
or do not exist. Strict science will not confirm why any two
instruments sound different. I do not feel the need. Do you hear the
difference between an R13 and a LeBlanc Concerto when played side by
side in a blind test by the same player with the same setup? I am very
curious to hear(no pun intended)your answer.

Respectfully,

Starr Schaftel Wayne