Musicophelia

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by creekster

IPU do you have aboslute pitch or relative pitch? Can you hear a single note, isolated from any other aural refernce point and tell what it is by nmae or do you need to hear some thing to set the reference?

I recall we once talked about tuning guitars. If you have perfect pitch, you would be better than any tuner! You should have stuck with piano. DO you play now? DO you find that your ability to discern pitch is differnt over time or has it remained the same? Can you tell keys or just single pitches? I have to say that this ability is fascinating and something that makes me a bit jealous.

Sorry I'm late answering this -

I am not familiar enough the terms absolute pitch and relative pitch, but I am able to hear a note and tell you what it is. To me, each note has it's own distinct sound and I can differentiate each note for the others. A "C" (or should I say "mi") sounds like a "C"; a "B" sounds like a "B", etc. I can't explain how I am able to do it, except to say that I'm able to hear the differences.

I can't tell keys by sound - far too many notes at once though I could tell you which notes I hear - though I can read music, but I have forgotten how to tell in which key the music is written.

I agree that I should have stuck with piano and I regret not doing so. I can still sit down and play, though not nearly as well as I could. I'd even say that I play like I'm a 2nd or 3rd year student in junior high school. I've started to focus more on teaching myself to play the bass guitar and now that my oldest son has started to take guitar lessons, I'm trying to figure it out as well, but I have made it a goal to start to play the piano for about 30 minutes each day.

[realtall]

Originally Posted by creekster

I am just finsihing a book by Oliver Sacks (the guy whose work was the basis for his book "Awakenings" which was made into a so-so film with Robin WIlliams playing Sacks) called Musicophelia whic is about the brain and music. Fascinating stuff. The book offers interesting insight into perfect pitch and the way it may influence how the person with it relates to music (and it's not always positive, interestignly enough), and also describes the various type of synesthesias (the quality of assocaiting and 'seeing' colors when hearing certain tones or keys).

THe book is good, esepcially if you like music (and are somewhat trained in). For a non-music lover, however, I would suggest his earlier book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat", which is also very good, or Awakenings. THe brain is an absolutely amazing thing.


I am curious if anyone on the board has either absolute perfect pitch or expoereinces synesthesia? If so, I owuld love to hear about your experiences with either or both.

I had a music professor at BYU like that, David Sargent. He was/is brilliant. He use to joke that he could tell what notes his muffler was rattling.

[realtall]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Sorry I'm late answering this -

I am not familiar enough the terms absolute pitch and relative pitch, but I am able to hear a note and tell you what it is. To me, each note has it's own distinct sound and I can differentiate each note for the others. A "C" (or should I say "mi") sounds like a "C"; a "B" sounds like a "B", etc. I can't explain how I am able to do it, except to say that I'm able to hear the differences.

I can't tell keys by sound - far too many notes at once though I could tell you which notes I hear - though I can read music, but I have forgotten how to tell in which key the music is written.

I agree that I should have stuck with piano and I regret not doing so. I can still sit down and play, though not nearly as well as I could. I'd even say that I play like I'm a 2nd or 3rd year student in junior high school. I've started to focus more on teaching myself to play the bass guitar and now that my oldest son has started to take guitar lessons, I'm trying to figure it out as well, but I have made it a goal to start to play the piano for about 30 minutes each day.

Wow, color me jealous. Perfect pitch would be immensely helpful to me as a musician as it would enable me to play everything in tune all the time. A useful skill, particularly for a trombone player(its just a giant tuning slide, after all). I do understand how a musician with perfect pitch could be driven to the brink of insanity though - depending on how perfect it was. If his 'perfect pitch' was based on A440 and the person played in an orchestra whose conductor(or oboe player) liked to tune to A442 then the pitch would be off just enough to sound 'wrong' all the time - even if the relative pitch of the orchestra was correct.

I have decent relative pitch, as I can tell you what a note is if you give me another note first and tell me what that note is - as long as the range isn't too far apart.

There has been a lot of arguement about whether perfect pitch can be 'learned' or not. I don't know but I can tell you that I've never met someone who's learned it as an adult. Most of those that I've met with perfect pitch have studied piano or an orchestral stringed instrument at an early age. Its probable part that and part natural aptitude.


One more thing.

What do you call it when you can stand in the bathroom doorway and toss a viola in the toilet without hitting the rim?


A Perfect Pitch.


*rimshot*

[creekster]

Originally Posted by realtall

Wow, color me jealous. Perfect pitch would be immensely helpful to me as a musician as it would enable me to play everything in tune all the time. A useful skill, particularly for a trombone player(its just a giant tuning slide, after all). I do understand how a musician with perfect pitch could be driven to the brink of insanity though - depending on how perfect it was. If his 'perfect pitch' was based on A440 and the person played in an orchestra whose conductor(or oboe player) liked to tune to A442 then the pitch would be off just enough to sound 'wrong' all the time - even if the relative pitch of the orchestra was correct.

I have decent relative pitch, as I can tell you what a note is if you give me another note first and tell me what that note is - as long as the range isn't too far apart.

There has been a lot of arguement about whether perfect pitch can be 'learned' or not. I don't know but I can tell you that I've never met someone who's learned it as an . Most of those that I've met with perfect pitch have studied piano or an orchestral stringed instrument at an early age. Its probable part that and part natural aptitude.


One more thing.

What do you call it when you can stand in the bathroom doorway and toss a viola in the toilet without hitting the rim?


A Perfect Pitch.


*rimshot*

Sacks' book also mentions some of the downside of perfect pitch. Sme persons with absolute perfect pitch tends who has learned scores or songs tends to think of them in the pitch in which they are learned. If the key is transposed it can cause discomfort and sometimes to a great degree, because it is all wrong. Sacks said it might be like going to the fruit stand and seeing all the vegetables but they were all the wrong color.

Realtall are you talking about interval training, or do you mean that if somebody spots you a note you can then tell what any other note next to it is? I am stating to feel like I am pitch impaired around here.

[realtall]

Originally Posted by creekster

Sacks' book also mentions some of the downside of perfect pitch. Sme persons with absolute perfect pitch tends who has learned scores or songs tends to think of them in the pitch in which they are learned. If the key is transposed it can cause discomfort and sometimes to a great degree, because it is all wrong. Sacks said it might be like going to the fruit stand and seeing all the vegetables but they were all the wrong color.

Realtall are you talking about interval training, or do you mean that if somebody spots you a note you can then tell what any other note next to it is? I am stating to feel like I am pitch impaired around here.

I can tell what a note is relative to a given pitch.

For example:

You play a 'C' on the piano and tell me that it is a C. Then you play a Gb but don't say it. I could tell you that its a Gb from the original C that you played.