Perceptual Evaluation of Musical Instruments: State of the Art and Methodology

Abstract

An object of study in mechanics for more than three hundred years, the violin has only recently been scientifically studied from a perceptual point of view. A range of investigations which have been conducted since 2005, complemented by a few studies of other instruments, offers an illustration of possible methodologies, and serves as a basis for discussing their respective advantages, as well as their limitations and issues. Since methodological choices depend on the goals of the study and on the theoretical (conceptual) choices, this review focuses on new methods borrowed from recent research lines developed in contemporary psychology.