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From: throopw@rtp47.UUCP (Wayne Throop)
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: Speeding up turntables (perfect pitch)
Message-ID: <115@rtp47.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 26-Jul-85 16:43:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: rtp47.115
Posted: Fri Jul 26 16:43:36 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 28-Jul-85 09:17:26 EDT
References: <496@leadsv.UUCP> <430@enmasse.UUCP> <9281@Glacier.ARPA>
Organization: Data General, RTP, NC
Lines: 25

> > [...] there is some evidence [perfect pitch] can be taught rather than
> > only acquired thru the genes.

> I dunno about this idea that [perfect pitch is] only teachable.  My
> mother has perfect pitch.  Now, she's been highly trained, but that's
> not the whole story.

Note that the first poster here said "can be taught", that is, it can be
taught *or* it can be "intrinsic" or inherited.  I remember an
interesting article in Science News a while back about experiments on
people who had perfect pitch, and these seem to confirm this notion.

The experiments had to do with memory, and preliminary results seemed to
show that when some people were listening to notes and attempting to
distinguish the pitch, memory was active.  In others, it was not.  The
interpretation given was that some people memorize pitch relationships,
and some people have them "hard wired", and don't need memory to
distinguish pitch.

The term "perfect pitch" is often restricted to mean only those with
intrinsic perfect pitch, which does not rely on memory.  However, I
suppose that the separation of these categories of pitch recognition is
quite fuzzy.
-- 
Wayne Throop at Data General, RTP, NC
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