Music Theory

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There may be some controversy over these. What's your take on them?
Gary, at this point I've only watched the first one. The only thing I know about perfect pitch is that I certainly don't have it! Nonetheless I found the video very interesting indeed. Thanks for sharing.

I remember about 30 years ago there was a guy who used to advertise in Guitar Player magazine that he could teach perfect pitch, I think it was via a series of cassette tapes. I guess Rick Beato would call him a charlatan.

I have heard of keys players who have this rare skill and can't use their keyboard's "transpose" function as the dissonance between the note they're playing and the note they're hearing is too much for them to bear.

On my "to do" list is to improve my relative pitch skills, which I think are substandard. My brother is exceptional at relative pitch and I can see many situations where improving my own ability here would be useful.
 

happyrat1

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I certainly don't have it either, but since I play by ear I do have a fair degree of relative pitch once i get warmed up.

Also I too never use the transpose buttons when I'm playing.

Beato's child, however, is truly a phenomenon of nature, able to name any note or chord or string of notes he hears on demand.

That kid is likely to go far in the music industry someday under his father's tutelage.

Gary ;)
 

Rayblewit

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There may be some controversy over these. What's your take on them?
In respect of the subject and @CowboyNQ Paul's response and watching the vids, I really think "perfect pitch" is just a desired acquisition for perfectionists and is an unnecessary requirement in life for normal people. I have good hearing and could not determine what is perfect and what is not.
They say Karen Carpenter had a voice of perfect pitch. Indeed she had a beautiful sounding voice but to my ears no better than others. Linda Ronstadt's voice is smooth and Olivia Newton-John has a voice of pure silk☺. Can you pick that the latter two are not perfect pitch but Karen's is? Not to my ears.
So with keys . . Same thing to my ears. A pianist freind of mine George, 92 yrs old, was playing at a local church fete oneday on the old church piano. There also was a keyboardist there too doing a few numbers. George's playing thought the piano was out of tune and asked the keyboardist to play an "A" on the keyboard. Then George played "A" on the piano. They alternated playing and George being the old master concluded that the Piano was out of pitch. Anyway as controversy prevails I could not pick the difference except the key sound was richer sounding from the speakers. The old acoustic piano had a duller sound but still a destinctive "A".
Perfect Pitch is not a priority of my music playing or listenining.
But an interesting subject.
Cheers Ray
 

happyrat1

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Well the other end of the spectrum is tone deafness. Something no musician could endure.

Again as Beato specified in the video, there is Absolute Perfect Pitch, which almost no one has, and Relative Perfect Pitch, which most accomplished musicians have achieved to at least one degree or another.

Also worth considering is high frequency deafness which hits almost everyone middle aged or more in years.

Your pianist friend might have a better ear than you Ray, in spite of his advanced years.

It sort of makes me wonder about professional piano tuners. Most these days rely on electronic tuners to do their job. But back in the old days it was a couple of tuning forks and a well developed sense of Relative Pitch.

I also wonder about people who have been blinded for a decade or more. It may well be that they have developed perfect pitch in spite of what Beato has to say in these videos.

Gary ;)
 

Rayblewit

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I acknowledge that perfect pitch is a rare trait in most people.
This is a view which confirms it . .

So I think I can identify the sound of C and maybe the sound of A . . so I might be in the spectrum. But no means Pitch Perfect. Play a Bb or a D and I wouldn't have a clue. Play them out of tune or as wrong notes in a song then I will surely know it!
My friend George, (master pianist) could identify any tune. He knows the key of any tune and plays it from his brain. He is absolutely pitch perfect! And knowing that the church piano (of which I spoke about) was out of pitch was bugging him as he is the perfectionist.

Well the other end of the spectrum is tone deafness.

I think some people who do not like music must be tone deaf. They do not know it perhaps! They do not know the pleasure and beauty of music and those of us that do appreciate music must have some sort of recognition of Pitch, as well as melody and harmony and beat and rhythm etc. . !

My wife and I were recently on a cruise which played a Freddy Mercury Tribute. It was a superb show. We met some friends on that cruise and we asked them the next day "did you see the show?" They said " No, we didn't bother with it! We don't like music much!"
WOW! What a rash statement to make! Those kind of people must be tone deaf!

How can anyone not like music?

Love Music, Love Life!
Ray
 

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