perfect pitch in animals

[Z! Reinhardt]

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Don't forget that the sound of a car engine is really an aggregate of =
sounds in which pitch is probably not the most important component.  I'm =
sure there's a wide difference between the sound of a Ford Taurus and a =
Toyota Camry and a ___________ (name your vehicle of choice) that all of =
us can discern.  The perfect pitch component would be to determine the =
rpm of the engine just by hearing it.

Z! Reinhardt  RPT
Ann Arbor  MI
diskladame@provide.net
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Billbrpt@AOL.COM=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2001 12:56 AM
  Subject: Re: perfect pitch in animals


  In a message dated 5/11/01 11:21:12 PM Central Daylight Time, =
Tvak@AOL.COM=20
  writes:=20

   Wim wrote:=20

    << When we come home in my car, our dogs runs tot he=20
    door, expectantly. When any other car comes in the driveway, he =
sounds an=20
    alarm. The dog recognizes the pitch of the engine.  >>=20

    Our dog does the same thing, although I never thought of it as a =
pitch=20
    recognition phenomenon.   It could be a squeak or some other sound =
that=20
    accompanies the engine, inaudible to us.  Or it could be the "way" =
we pull=20
    into our driveways.  I know I pull in at the same speed every time, =
same=20
    braking rate, creating a pitch envelope which might create a =
signature=20
    sound=20
    identifiable to the dog independent of actual pitch recognition.  =
Then=20
    again...maybe he does have perfect pitch.  =20

    Tom S.


  It's not so much the pitch as the *whole* sound as Virgil Smith =
suggests.  I=20
  distinctly recall as a boy in Los Angeles, that I had a Los Angeles =
Times=20
  paper route which required me to be up and working at 5 AM.  I lived =
in a=20
  residential area and at that time of day, the city noise was at its =
lowest.  =20
  I could hear the boss's car coming when it was a mile away.=20

  It was a Ford which had a distinctive sound and just like pianos, each =
one=20
  still has its own sound that anyone and also household pets can =
recognize.  =20
  My Dad always bought Fords and if it was quiet at the moment, I could =
hear=20
  his car driving up when he was coming home too.  I remember a =
distinctive=20
  whine from the engine, gears and drive train from all the many miles I =
rode=20
  in our Ford station wagon on family trips.=20

  I've owned other makes but currently I have a year 2000 Ford that has =
a 5=20
  speed manual transmission.  That distinctive sound is still there!  It =
is one=20
  of the best cars I have ever owned.=20

  I don't have any dogs but I have two cats who react to sounds rather=20
  predictably.  They always know when I am coming to the door and are =
there to=20
  greet me.  I don't have to call them to be fed, they know I am getting =
their=20
  food for them just by the sounds I make doing so.  =20

  Blind people have to rely on all of the other senses.  That is why =
they are=20
  often believed to have "superior" hearing.  They don't really, they =
have just=20
  learned to use and focus on the aural stimuli more than the average =
person.=20

  Household pets and other animals probably do use their sense of smell =
and=20
  hearing in a far more sensitive and developed way than humans do.  I =
don't=20
  find it surprising that animals react to certain sounds at all, I more =
or=20
  less expect it.  I do, however, still find these anecdotes amusing.=20

  In my early days of aural tuning, I had learned from George Defebaugh =
to tune=20
  the octaves wide or sharp during a pitch raise.  One of my earliest=20
  experiences trying this newfound technique caused the big mastiff type =
dog=20
  that was in the house to howl.  For quite a while thereafter, I had =
the idea=20
  that in a pitch raise tuning, the amount to tune sharp was whatever it =
took=20
  to make a dog howl.  =20

  It worked then and although somewhat refined, still does now.=20

  Bill Bremmer RPT=20
  Madison, Wisconsin=20

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