Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!ncar!unmvax!bbx!bbxsda!scott
From: scott@bbxsda.UUCP (Scott Amspoker)
Newsgroups: comp.music
Subject: Re: What is perfect pitch?
Message-ID: <371@bbxsda.UUCP>
Date: 28 Nov 89 17:14:54 GMT
References: <18807@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> <365@bbxsda.UUCP> <1989Nov27.212927.3253@agate.berkeley.edu> <7051@portia.Stanford.EDU>
Reply-To: scott@bbxsda.UUCP (Scott Amspoker)
Organization: Basis International,  Albuquerque, NM
Lines: 35

In article <7051@portia.Stanford.EDU> gaia@portia.Stanford.EDU (fai to leung) writes:
>Just cursious, will listening to intervals instead of pitches enhances
>a "grasp" of music context?  Or vice versa?  I don't have absolute pitch and 
>am interested to know the other side of the story.  Or is this a totally
>different issue?

First of all, I don't have perfect pitch.  I can say that a big part of
music is about harmony and harmony is about relativity, i.e., frequency
ratios.  Over the years of playing in a band I have trained myself to
hear the relationships (intervals) without much trouble.  I could hear
a song on the car radio and mentally "feel" my fingers playing it on
a keyboard although I have no idea what key the song is in for lack
of an absolute pitch reference.

Also, many singers can sight read sheet music by seeing the *change
of pitch* between the notes (although some singers do have absolute
pitch and may very well read the notes themselves).  If the song
needs to be transposed there should be much of a problem.

From my point of view, relative pitch (which is far more common than absolute 
pitch) seems more practical.  I've always considered those with absolute
pitch to be "gifted".  They have an extra tool in their little bag of
tricks but I don't think it replaces the need for relative pitch.

Along a similar vein, consider the concept of tempo.  Tempo is also
relative - half notes, quarter notes.  Is there anyone out there
with "absolute tempo"?  In other words, if the song calls for a
tempo of 120 beats/minute can such a person *acurately*
do that without the assistance of a metronome?  Interesting, no?

-- 
Scott Amspoker
Basis International, Albuquerque, NM
(505) 345-5232
unmvax.cs.unm.edu!bbx!bbxsda!scott


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