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Re: Blow-Out

Author: mschmidt
Date: 2005-07-21 22:18

For years people insisted that gold flutes and silver flutes had different timbres. Well, this was obviously based on subjective impressions over years of hearing different flutists on different flutes in different places.

So some scientists had two flutes made by the same maker, with identical physical dimensions in all respects. One was gold, the other silver. Two professional-level flutists played them. The sound waveforms were recorded on an oscilloscope. There was no measurable difference between the sounds of the two flutes as played by the same player. By contrast, there was a huge difference between the two players.

I offer this as an example of how common myths about instruments don't always stand up to scientific scrutiny.

Mike

Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore

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Blow-Out new

Bill_D

2004-06-21 09:32