perfect pitch

[Clyde Hollinger]

Dave,

You remind me of a high school cellist I had as a student.  He also sang in our
choir, which was good enough to garner us state-wide acclaim.  During rehearsal
he provoked me by laughing, so I stopped and asked him what was so funny.  He
responded, "We are going so flat!  Can't you hear it?!"  Well, no, I hadn't.  I
wasn't nearly as aware of that as he was, since he had "perfect" pitch.

The guy loved his cello, won top honors in high school and eventually played
with a professional orchestra in Malaysia.  He was such a charming person, too;
it was a pleasure to have learned to know him.

Regards,
Clyde

Dave Nereson wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Robert Wilson <pianotechnicianuk@yahoo.com>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Monday, November 05, 2001 1:47 AM
> Subject: re: perfect pitch
>
> > I would also imagine that for a musician perfect pitch
> > could be as much a curse as a blessing!
> >
> > Bob Wilson
> > London
>
> Yes, sometimes.  It used to bug me to play piano at Sunday school, 'cause
> the piano was a quarter or half step flat.  I would have to do some curious
> "mindsets" to "pretend" I was hearing the key of C, when it was actually
> closer to B.
> Also, when I first started tuning and had to sometimes tune old pianos "to
> themselves", rather than raise pitch, it was hard to hit the right notes
> without looking at the keys, because I'd be playing one thing and hearing
> another.  But now, I'm so used to it that it doesn't matter.  However, it
> bothers me to play an out-of-tune piano more than when I wasn't a
> uner.  --Dave Nereson, RPT