To play it is to improve it: An analysis of the ‘‘playing-in’’ phenomenon of stringed instruments
Andrew A. Piacsek · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2007
There is a growing interest in resolving the question of whether, and how, the act of playing a stringed instrument (in the violin and guitar families) improves its sound and playability over time. Although generally accepted by musicians, the causal connection is difficult to test due to the very large number of potentially relevant parameters, both physical and psychological. This presentation describes various historical references, interviews with musicians, and recent research on the subject of the ‘‘playing-in’’ phenomenon. Results will be presented from new experiments on the response of spruce panels subject to mechanical stimulus.