# Musician's Claim on Stradivarius - Does it Make Sense? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 6, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961 "2025-02-06T17:06:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/61 "2025-03-10T22:35:59Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Perhaps the most important attribute a Steinway 274 D has is that it is consistent. Consistently very good, sure. But if you are the typical concert pianist, you get off a plane at the start of the week, rehearsals mid week, and performances at the end of the week. And repeat. Something you are going to really appreciate is knowing what you are going to be playing on. Bonus if the rehearsal room has a nice piano too. I still remember a line from the program at one of the P.D.Q. Bach concerts I went to. > [@](#): > > Professor Schickele plays whatever piano is available, exclusively. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/62 "2025-03-11T16:19:14Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Professor Schickele What a significant loss to the world. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/63 "2025-03-14T19:41:57Z")
An interesting etymological point is the words “violin” and “fiddle” probably derive from the same word, Latin _vitula_ or _vidula_. In Italian and Spanish, it developed into _viola_, while in German it became _fidula_. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/64 "2025-03-19T00:11:04Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > In Italian and Spanish, it developed into _viola_, while in German it became _fidula_. Does that mean that a “fiddle” is actually a viola, rather than a violin? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/65 "2025-03-19T01:02:10Z")
Uneducated guess, a “violin” is a small viola, (words ending in “-in” can be diminutives), ej: “Espadin” (little espada (sword)). ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/66 "2025-03-19T07:51:52Z")
And, if I remember correctly, a violoncello is a “little big violin”. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/67 "2025-03-19T08:56:11Z")
Names for instruments are all over the place. They can vary dramatically between languages as well. _Piccolo_ is another stupid one. It just means _small_. Small what? Piccolo flute. But we don’t usually call it that. Better known is _piano_. Means _soft_. Or its proper name _piano forte_. Soft loud. As opposed to the _forte piano_, which is a different instrument. The progenitor instrument for modern violin, viola and cello is the basic viola. But the modern viola is the version played da braccio - on the arm. As opposed to vertically - something which allowed for a larger instrument. Violin describes a design. The cello is properly called the _violincello_. Because it has the same design elements as the violin. The violin family is clearly based on earlier _viol_ instruments. But with updates. A viol is technically different, they have flat backs and the body at the neck joint is necked rather than meeting the neck at a tangent. The modern double bass is of this family. Thus it is not the same family as it’s bowed brethren in a modern orchestra. Some older instruments we would recognise as violas also follow this design. Modern violas are really an instrument that doesn’t want to exist. Played da braccio it is almost impossible to make an instrument that has a good sound and is physically viable for an ordinary sized person with ordinary arms and hands to play. So there have been lots of attempts to tweak and fiddle with the design to make the body bigger without compromising the playability. You see some interesting designs. The very early violas from the Amati brothers - who were basically responsible for working out the modern form of violin style instruments - were huge. Most of them got cut down and rebuilt centuries ago, but there are a very few unscathed. They need seriously big players. But a _viola de gamba_ aka _viol_ breaks this naming. It is a viol family instrument, closer to a modern cello in size. With frets, and played de gamba - between the legs. It probably acquired the extra _a_ by mistake sometime in lost history. And don’t even start on the names of horns. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/68 "2025-03-20T08:38:52Z")
Maybe interesting: there is a documentary on Janine Jansen playing twelve different Stradivarius violins, where they discuss the characteristics in playing and sound. It is currently free on [Roku](https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/3ad07ceb78975fe2a1cd52d1900931cd). It won’t convince skeptics (the documentary is very much from a ‘believers’ point of view) but it does show what people believe sets these violins apart from others. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/69 "2025-03-20T09:30:10Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > The cello is properly called the _violincello_. Nitpicking, but the proper name is [viol **o** ncello](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/violoncello), and was borrowed from Italian. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/70 "2025-03-20T09:34:12Z")
Come and see the violins inherent in the system! ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/71 "2025-03-21T17:07:33Z")
Golf clap! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961/72 "2025-04-29T19:16:49Z")
My wife just got a notice of an upcoming presentation. I thought some of you might be interested in the abstract as it suggests the difficulty of objectively measuring such things. **Developing methodologies to study perceived sound qualities of violins** **Claudia Fritz** Friday May 2, 2025, 1-3pm Eastern US Time … Violin makers and acousticians have long sought correlations between sound qualities, construction parameters and vibroacoustic measurements. This is challenging for three main reasons: it is difficult to build violins reliably enough to ensure that the change in the sound is only a result of the intended change of construction parameters; no clear link has been found so far between measurements and perceived qualities; and when listening to violins being played, differences tend to be smoothed out by the players who adapt very quickly. Therefore, while we have previously preferred using players in our experiments to maximise ecological validity and account for the complexity of the interaction between the player and the instrument, in this study we test whether other methods that reduce the player’s influence, though more artificial, may be useful for exploring the impact of certain construction parameters on the sound. In the context of a set of violins built with controlled thickness variations in their plates, we conducted two listening tests, based on real recordings of a player and a bowing machine, along with synthesised sounds created from an excerpt recorded with piezo sensors by convolution with radiation measurements in an anechoic chamber. The hybrid synthesis was found to be the most effective of the three in highlighting instrument differences, capturing properties perceived in the actual instruments, and correlating with radiation measurements. This work, conducted with George Stoppani, has led to an article which is currently in press: Fritz C. Stoppani G. Igartua U. Woodhouse J. (2025) Developing methodologies to study perceived sound qualities of violins. Acta Acustica. When published, it will be freely available here: [https://doi.org/10.1051/aacus/2025014](https://doi.org/10.1051/aacus/2025014) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-claim-on-stradivarius-does-it-make-sense/1013961.md?page=3)