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From: ads@aber-cs.UUCP (Adrian Shaw)
Newsgroups: comp.music
Subject: Re: Perfect Pitch
Message-ID: <2398@aber-cs.UUCP>
Date: 8 Apr 91 12:30:13 GMT
References: <3qaBZ2w164w@arkham.wimsey.bc.ca> <3744@ssc-bee.ssc-vax.UUCP> <1991Mar27.122408@Think.COM> <886@mrcu>
Reply-To: ads@cs.aber.ac.uk (Adrian Shaw)
Organization: Coleg Prifysgol Cymru, Aberystwyth, Cymru
Lines: 44

In article <886@mrcu> yj05@uk.co.gec-mrc (Steve Collier) writes:

>A recent textbook (Boff, Kaufman, Thomas (1986) Handbook of Perception and
>Human Performance) refers to a number of old studies. I quote:
>
> "Some of the more comprehensive among the older studies were done by Bachem 
> (1937, 1940, 1954). He examined a large number of people who claimed to have 
> absolute pitch. ..he established three categories of people: (1) those with
> genuine absolute pitch, [presumably intends to mean hereditary] (2) those with
> acquired absolute pitch, and (3) those with imagined absolute pitch. People
> in the first category can make absolute pitch judgements quickly (within two
> seconds) and accurately..Those in the second category are slower.. and seem to
> use some learned reference such as a concert 'A'..or vocal chord position.   
> Those in the third category show average errors of five to nine semitones, 
> which  is close to random performance...  

This is interesting. I definitely come under category (1) (I instantly
know what the note is) _provided the instrument it is played on is a piano_.
Sometimes I will immediately know the note on other instruments, but if
I don't recognise it immediately, I can only guess and will not be confident
about being right. When I recognise a note immediately, I have no doubt about
it.

Needless to say, my main instrument is the piano, which I started playing
at the age of six. I think I have always had this ability. I can remember
thinking in my early days of playing the piano what a strange sound the note
G was! 

In recent years I have done a lot of singing, and can now pitch some notes
with my voice. On a good day I can do it with confidence, but more often
I find myself trying to hear the note on the piano in my head and humming 
that - which usually works!

I too have difficulty in playing a piece on a piano which is tuned down
a semitone. It is very offputting.

What kind of perfect pitch does this count as? How common is this
instrument-specific kind of perfect pitch?

Adrian-- 
Adrian Shaw          | Grwp Ymchwil DA a Roboteg | AI & Robotics Research Group
ads@cs.aber.ac.uk    | Adran Cyfrifiadureg       | Computer Science Department
UK:ads@uk.ac.aber.cs | Coleg Prifysgol Cymru     | University College of Wales
Ffon: +44 970 622450 | Aberystwyth, Dyfed, Cymru | Aberystwyth, Dyfed, Wales