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From: artm@phred.UUCP (Art Marriott)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: tone deafness?
Message-ID: <824@phred.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 14-Nov-86 14:31:41 EST
Article-I.D.: phred.824
Posted: Fri Nov 14 14:31:41 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Nov-86 01:53:02 EST
References: <2376@bu-cs.bu-cs.BU.EDU> <3808@columbia.UUCP> <210@mind.UUCP> <3817@columbia.UUCP> <510@sri-unix.ARPA>
Reply-To: artm@phred.UUCP (Art Marriott)
Distribution: net
Organization: Physio Control Corp., Seattle, WA
Lines: 26

In article <510@sri-unix.ARPA> salem@sri-unix.UUCP (Bruce B. Salem) writes:
>
>	As for the value of absolute pitch as a musical skill, I have heard
>that it is in fact not the great asset it would seem, for a person relies too
>much on it and not on interval and harmony ear training which are really more
>inportant most of the time.

In addition, someone with absolute pitch tends to get VERY irritated when
forced to deal with an out-of-tune instrument that can't be retuned immediately
i. e. a piano or organ (or an extremely stubborn singing group!).  Then not
only is absolute pitch not an asset, it's a bloody curse!

It's my personal impression that absolute pitch perception is a (learned)
special case of relative pitch.  I'm pretty sure I determine pitch by
having the sound of middle C on the piano firmly committed to memory and
figuring the interval of a given note relative to this mental reference.
I'm also involved in a choir on an intermittent basis, and I'm certain that
my pitch judgement is better when I'm singing regularly and deteriorates
when I'm not.

                                                Art Marriott
                                                tikal!phred!artm

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My opinions are strictly my own, in case anyone actually cares.
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