Jump to content

Perfect pitch


GPH

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 63
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I dont see it that way.

OK, he may not be able to name the note, but to have perfect pitch, shouldn't he be able to tell if it is 'correct' or not?

How would I know? I can listen to a song and tell if the note is off in relation to others, but how would I have any idea if its perfect? Musically trained is more than naming a note, in addition. Unless I was trained to know what a note is supposed to sound like, I'd have no idea.

Again, I'm not saying I have it. Judging by my superb lack of musical ability I highly doubt I have it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im not saying you're wrong, just how I interpret perfect pitch.

I dont know, it just seems like you would pick up what the right notes are by listening to music over time, and recognize the incorrect ones.

Its not like I'm talking about having lived in a vacuum and suddenly being exposed to music for the first time.

I guess I'm saying that, if you have perfect pitch, you should be able to learn what the right notes are without musical training.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im not saying you're wrong, just how I interpret perfect pitch.

I dont know, it just seems like you would pick up what the right notes are by listening to music over time, and recognize the incorrect ones.

Its not like I'm talking about having lived in a vacuum and suddenly being exposed to music for the first time.

I guess I'm saying that, if you have perfect pitch, you should be able to learn what the right notes are without musical training.

But isn't that a relation thing, not a perfect pitch thing? I thought Jacob was saying something similar. I have listened to music all my life, and I can tell when someone is butchering the Star Spangeld Banner, but that doesn't mean I have perfect pitch. That means I know what its supposed to sound like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, perfect pitch is absolute. If someone were to play an F# on a piano hidden from view, you should be able to -- without floundering around -- hit an F# on a neighboring piano, merely by hearing the first one. That's perfect pitch. So it does require enough musical training to know what the notes are. Being able to identify which note it is by trying different notes -- I.E. establishing that it is higher or lower -- only means that you're not tone deaf.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i know A440 by heart (if you sit in enough orchestra rehearsals you learn it), and am able to figure out pitches in my head around that. not the same thing, of course.

Oh god, sometimes I hear concert A's as I'm waking up in the morning.... still. At one point I dated the concert master (oboist, never date an oboist) and that's what really drilled it in.... I was not just paying attention to the note, but to her too.

the vast majority don't.

Nope, but from teaching a sightsinging class for two years I found that pianists and violinists tend to have better aural skills when they arrive in college than other musicians (in general, not a scientific survey, just observation and obviously there will be exceptions).

I suspect it is because these folks probably started playing a lot earlier than others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have relative pitch, like Reks. Relative pitch is not telling whether a note is right from other notes, but being able to "find" other pitches from one pitch.

I taught myself concert E, and I can find any other pitch from that.

For what it's worth, concert E is the first note from the song "Airbag" on Radiohead's Kid A. That's how I learned it.

My understanding is that perfect pitch is much more common in societies that have a pitch-based language, which leads me to believe that it is not totally nature (as opposed to nurture).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.