(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: This is the sound of the greatest violin ever made. (violin music #1 in full then fade gently out completely)

Or maybe it is this one. (violin music #2 in full then fade)

It could be a Stradivarius, or an Amati, or a Guarneri made hundreds of years ago. But it might also have been made just last year by someone whose name is not nearly so famous. And that leads us to ask the following. Can you tell, just by listening, which is the best violin? If so, what makes it great?

MARIO RITTER: It all began over three hundred years ago in the town of Cremona in northern Italy. If you wanted to buy a really good musical instrument, you probably visited Antonio Stradivari, Girolamo Amati, or Andrea Guarneri. Many people said they made the best violins that money could buy. Today, many still think of those violins as the greatest of all time. Those that still exist can sell for millions of dollars.

Itzhak Perlman playing a Stradivarius violin from the year 1714

For years, scientists and musicians have sought to discover the secrets of the master violin makers. They know that most of the time, spruce, willow or maple wood was used. Some people have thought that chemicals like borax were added to the wooden parts. Others have said that honey, or even the white of an egg was painted on the parts before they were put together.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Still

other researchers say that a special kind of glue was used to connect the parts. Some think the secret is in the varnish, the nearly clear liquid that was used as a final cover to protect the wood. Or maybe the wood was special because it grew at a time when the weather was colder than it is today. In the end, no one knows for sure.