Author: huboboe
Date: 2011-06-05 23:46
Mike - I like your idea of storing one instrument and playing the other. But for the test to be truly valid we need to set it up as a double blind study: the owner marks them in a way unknown to the judge and they are delivered to the judge by someone also unaware of the identity of the instruments...
Seriously, although I'm sure there is a large component of learning the subtleties of the instrument over time, there is also the 'breaking in' period in the mix. I don't thing anyone disagrees that an oboe starts off new as stuffier than it will be after a few months of playing. I'm not so sure it reverts over time if not played, but I've got no basis to make that judgment.
A string repairman friend told me there's a eccentric-weight vibrating gadget you can attach to your new string instrument which will substitute for playing and hasten the break-in period for that instrument.
There's no question in my mind that Something happens as an instrument is used, but just what I couldn't begin to speculate beyond the observation that the instrument will play more freely.
Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com
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