Check out this press photo for the ‘singing string quartet’ Well Strung.

According to a recent study published by the National Academy of Sciences, what we ‘see’ trumps what he ‘hear’ in choosing music that we like. For gay guys, it’s a tantalizing prospect – nerdy classical musician types transformed into porn stars. For fans of classical string chamber music, however, this marketing strategy may leave one cold – a gimmick to get in Lady Gaga fans to concerts. Even though the dude’s ripped look good to my eye, the truth is that his musculature probably detracts from his playing as it limits the mobilty and dead arm weight needed to produce a great tone. Do gay fans care? Nah. The pecs trump our interest in tone.

Sight over sound in the judgment of music performanceDepartment of Management Science and Innovation, Faculty of Engineering Science, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom Edited by Dale Purves, Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Singapore, Singapore, and approved July 12, 2013 (received for review December 21, 2012) Abstract Social judgments are made on the basis of both visual and auditory information, with consequential implications for our decisions.

via Pnas