[pianotech] Perfect Pitch (revisited)

[Carl Teplitski]

I liken pitch recognition similar to , ( many young people will not know this),
before technology helped us tune in a radio station, we used to turn a dial,
which eventually put the dial at the best reception point. Station XYZ would 
be at a point on the dial which we recognized as station XYZ, but it was 
necessary to fine tune the control to where the signal was at it's best. The 
area " AROUND " that best point was the station, but noisy.  The noisy area 
was the correct station, but not at exactly "( XYZ )" , so the signal wasn't clear. 
When we finally got it clear, we could consider it at (XYZ). Before that , it 
would have been XYY or XYW.   Of course, 443, or 439 would be clear, but 
at an incorrect frequency .There are many untrained people who can't tell the
difference when 2 notes played one after another, as 2 different notes. I used
to do work for a professional musician in my area who didn't know things were
out of tune, but the instrument didn't sound good.   After I tuned, he said it now
sounded sweet. ( his term ).    He told me that I fix them, and he plays.  ( Fair. )

He didn't want to be bothered with the mechanics of tuning . 

Carl Winnipeg, Canada.  


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: David Love 
  To: pianotech at ptg.org 
  Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 9:34 PM
  Subject: Re: [pianotech] Perfect Pitch (revisited)


  Look at the studies on "perfect pitch" (check the one going on at UCSF) and you'll find that for the most part people with PP hear within a range of A's or whatever.  They don't hear A440 they hear a note which they recognize as in the A range of what has imprinted on their pitch memory (a better and more accurate description).  One with perfect pitch could not, for example, go through and simply tune a piano (or any other instrument for that matter) note by note based on their notion of what the pitch of each note should be and have all the intervals line up correctly.  It's just not that accurate.  

   

  David Love

  www.davidlovepianos.com

   

  From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Piano Boutique
  Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 12:43 PM
  To: pianotech at ptg.org
  Subject: Re: [pianotech] Perfect Pitch (revisited)

   

  Ed,

   

  What comes to mind is when earlier on this list, they posed the question:  (what about when A was 435?)

   

  Just a thought.

   

  William

   

   

   

    ----- Original Message ----- 

    From: Ed Foote 

    To: pianotech at ptg.org 

    Sent: Monday, July 05, 2010 10:40 PM

    Subject: Re: [pianotech] Perfect Pitch (revisited)

     

    Gordon wrote:  

     

      Anyway, I just said all that to reiterate the fact that there is no such thing as perfect pitch.  Relative pitch, yes.  Pitch memory, yes.  But perfect pitch, no.

    How close does it have to be to be called "perfect"?   I ask because I once encountered a student oboe player that could hear the pitch of A as flat when it was, (according to my SAT), 1.5 cents flat.  This is close enough to "perfect" for me...

     

    Ed Foote RPT
    http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html

     

         

     
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