Perfect Pitch

[Tony Caught]

Hi Tom,

I guess I am about to put on my flame suit but here goes.

You wrote

"In my opinion, it is an important ingredient in both tuning and
musicianship. Anyone with ordinary abilities (and the desire) can learn to
play well enough to please most people or tune competently enough to pass
the tuning test and make a good living at it. But to achieve a level of
artistry in either requires a high level of sensitivity to the audible
spectrum and perfect pitch is an aspect of this sensitivity."

I am not pitch perfect and I believe that I am more that just a tuner that
is competent in my profession.  In fact I will have to ask that you rethink
your statement as it may offend many a tuner who thinks or has been told
that he or she is more than competent to tune pianos at what ever level and
does not have perfect pitch either.

Yes I have customers who are very close to being pitch perfect. One singer
in particular.
This one has a small Baldwin piano and always tests the piano after tuning
by playing individual notes.    Plays C1,G1, A1 etc. and says 'Tony these
notes sound flat'  'yes' says I 'they are flat. Its called inharmonicity.'
After an 1 1/2 hour demonstration of tuning to chromatic pitch, playing the
piano and retuning the customer agrees that the notes are better off being
tuned flat.

Your statement " But to achieve a level of artistry in either requires a
high level of sensitivity to the audible spectrum and perfect pitch is an
aspect of this sensitivity." may be correct for many musicians but pianists
and piano tuners (particularly the good ones) understand how inharmonicity
changes the perfect pitch (chromatic) and that PP must be ignored in favour
of the harmony of the harmonics.

I am glad I am not pitch perfect.


Tony Caught caute@accessnt.com.au


----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Cole <tcole@cruzio.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, 14 December 1999 5:17
Subject: Re: Perfect Pitch


> Brian,
>
> This was demonstrated at a national convention 4 or 5 years ago. Isaac
> Sadigursky gave a class entitled, I think, Demystifying Perfect Pitch. I
> don't recall that he succeeded in demystifying anything but, at any
> rate, proved that some people do have good pitch "memory". There were 3
> people in the class who claimed to have the ability and they were asked
> to tune A440 on different strings of the A4 unison on an old grand. Two
> of them were successful and one tuned a few cents flat.
>
> My piano teacher, when she was asked what is the prerequisite of
> becoming a musician, would answer that one must have a good ear. At the
> beginning of a master class with new students, the first order of
> business would be to check for perfect pitch. This was how she knew who
> was talented.
>
> In my opinion, it is an important ingredient in both tuning and
> musicianship. Anyone with ordinary abilities (and the desire) can learn
> to play well enough to please most people or tune competently enough to
> pass the tuning test and make a good living at it. But to achieve a
> level of artistry in either requires a high level of sensitivity to the
> audible spectrum and perfect pitch is an aspect of this sensitivity.
>
> Tom