---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Hi Jean, Just to answer your questions: > However,=A0 Bec's mail raises another question : Can one develop some=20= > internal "automatic translate function" I'm not sure I'd call it a translation, but maybe something like that.=20= I had to learn the french horn well enough to play in a concert once, I=20= only spent a few weeks on it. It was a real pain to read the music=20 since the horn is in F - i.e. reading a D but hearing a G, but using=20 the same fingerings from a trumpet in bflat! Though, toward the end of=20= playing it, I felt the very beginnings of starting to feel the horn's C=20= (an F) as a C. > Now, does Bec imply that his perception of pitch is related to the=20 > sound of the instrument ? I mean, does a (standard) C, played on a=20 > trumpet, sound like a D to him ? I wouldn't say it's related to the timbre of the instrument, but at the=20= time listening to or playing the trumpet definitely would shift my=20 perception of what a C is. And yes, at that time a standard C would=20 sound like a D if played on a trumpet. > And what about the same pitch played on a Eb Euphonium, high up the=20 > scale ? I think it's related in some weird way to reading music. I've never=20 played and read music for an instrument in eflat, so a C on an Eb=20 instrument would sound like an eflat to me. - John > Hi list, > > The evolution of one's AP (absolute pitch) ability with aging is a=20 > common observation. > My mother (82 and still playing ) hears a B as a C, although all her=20= > pianos have been tuned to A=3D440 (at least once in a while :-) ) > > An article in=A0 : = http://www.musicianbrain.com/projects_absolute.html=20 > says that=A0 "AP possessors might hear sharp when they become older=20 > (Vernon, 1977). A mismatch might develop between the internal=20 > representation of a tone (after seeing this tone on the staff or after=20= > being given the name of the tone) and the auditory percept. The cause=20= > for this mismatch is a loss in the elasticity of the basilar membrane=20= > in the inner ear with aging, which might change it's resonance." > > I still prefer this other theory relating to the perception of time :=20= > Seems that the older you get, the faster time seems to flow, be it for=20= > large scale events (months looking like weeks) or smaller dimension=20 > events (the ability to perceive very small time intervals) . Can't=20 > remember where I read that -probably in Science or Nature or La=20 > Recherche ( French equivalent of the formers) but I will have a look. > > Giovanna Marini, the great Italian singer and composer, says she=20 > can't listen to her childhood preferred classic tunes because they=20 > sound "out of tune", about a semitone sharp.=A0 She now composes = without=20 > a keyboard... > > However,=A0 Bec's mail raises another question : Can one develop some=20= > internal "automatic translate function" ? Playing a transposing=20 > instrument represents a challenge. Jazz saxophone players tend not to=20= > double on different pitched instruments. A Tenor (Bb) sax could double=20= > on the soprano (Bb, one octave higher) but rarely on the alto or=20 > barytone sax (Eb).=A0 > Now, does Bec imply that his perception of pitch is related to the=20 > sound of the instrument ? I mean, does a (standard) C, played on a=20 > trumpet, sound like a D to him ? That would be interesting (and,=20 > besides, confusing when listening to a trumpet concerto...)=A0 And = what=20 > about the same pitch played on a Eb Euphonium, high up the scale ? > > However, a conductor has to read scores with quite a few transposing=20= > instruments mixed together. How do they achieve that when silently=20 > reading the score ? > > AP can obviouly be a blessing (some relate to it as "colourful=20 > listening" as opposed to "black and white"), but also a big problem=20 > when this ability cannot be disconnected. Church organ players can be=20= > in big trouble on ancient, historical instruments. I have an exemple=20= > nearby, where an 18 th century organ has been restored, and playing a=20= > C will give you an E flat...=A0 Go for=A0 some intricate Bach's=A0=20 > contrepoint on it : When your hand goes from keyboard to keyboard,=20 > you're bound to be a minor third away from where you intended to=20 > land... Then your feet will freeze and your mind will melt. > > I still remember my piano teacher, who when asked to "transpose"=20 > Bach's Db Prelude in C# , found it=A0 very difficult (wow ! 12 sharps = to=20 > add !) and, most intriguing, ended up saying it sounded "sharper",=20 > "brisky", "too brilliant", even "out of tune".=A0 For me, she was just=20= > doing the same movements, still playng the same pitches on the ET=20 > tuned keyboard, although rather clumsily... Music is a mind bizzness. > > Jean Debefve > Belgium > > PS sorry, but shouldn't this thread be=A0 O.T. -labelled ? > > =A0 > =20= ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 4784 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/79/79/dd/74/attachment.bin ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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