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From: graemem@cs.hw.ac.uk (Graeme McLean)
Newsgroups: comp.music
Subject: Re: Perfect Pitch
Message-ID: <2598@odin.cs.hw.ac.uk>
Date: 21 Mar 91 12:06:32 GMT
References: <1991Mar18.195507.25639@odin.corp.sgi.com>
Sender: news@cs.hw.ac.uk
Reply-To: graemem@cs.hw.ac.uk (Graeme McLean)
Organization: Computer Science, Heriot-Watt U., Scotland
Lines: 25

I discovered about 10 years ago that I have perfect pitch. Since I made no
effort to learn it, it must have been inherited in some way. I had been 
playing piano, recorder and bassoon previous to that so maybe it developed
sub-conciously.
Although I can tell to the nearest semitone what pitch a note is, I cannot
tell whether a note is perfectly in tune.
Obviously, playing in orchestra's lets you know whether you are playing in tune
but not whether the whole band is in perfect tune (if you see what I mean).

Some people seem to have perfect pitch on some notes but not others.
eg. I know a flautist who could tell whether an A 440 was in tune but not
any other note. I suppose that came from tuning up.

So, all I know is that perfect pitch can certainly be inherited and then
developed through practice. I don't know whether it can be learned - I'll
leave you people to decide that one ;-)

Graeme.



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|  Graeme McLean 	     		        JANET: graemem@uk.ac.hw.cs  |
|  Comp Sci, Heriot-Watt Uni, EDINBURGH                                     |
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