[pianotech] Perfect Pitch / Children

[David Ilvedson]

"Western musical pitch sensitivity in extreme cases where a person 
actually experiences much of our best music as horribly out of tune.... 
strikes me as more of a handicap then anything else."   

Exactly my thoughts...Phil Bondi should be in our prayers... '-]

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA  94044

----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "Richard Brekne" <ricb at pianostemmer.no>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Received: 3/19/2009 12:02:44 AM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Perfect Pitch / Children


>It would be a good trick considering there are no perfect-pitched tones 
>or set of tones in the physical world that corresponds.

>I just finished brushing up a rock hard older rather neglected Petrof a 
>couple days ago and as I was finishing the organist from the church 
>walked in and asked a question about Rønisch pianos. He wanted to know 
>why other pianos were not built so that they never had to be tuned like 
>the Rønisch, declaring it had been moved from the store he bought it new 
>25 years ago to his country home and tho it had never been tuned it was 
>still perfectly in tune. And.... he knew this to be the case because he 
>had perfect pitch. 

>I said nothing of course.... anyone knowing  Rønisch instruments from 
>the last 25-50 years would know how perfect this fellow pitch was.  Ok 
>an extreme example but just so.

>Pitch memory to varying degrees exists... and its not exactly the same 
>for every note in every instance for every person... and it varies 
>around the world.  Languages that utilize pitch inflection as part of 
>context for word meanings apparently have more instances of the 
>phenomenon and to a greater degree of sensitivity I'm told. Vietnamese 
>comes to mind.

>Western musical pitch sensitivity in extreme cases where a person 
>actually experiences much of our best music as horribly out of tune.... 
>strikes me as more of a handicap then anything else.

>Cheers
>RicB


>    Is there really such a thing as "perfect" pitch?  Is there anyone
>    who is, perfect?
>     
>    I think individuals possess "relative" pitch, such as you described
>    people being able to name notes played on a piano, or to be able to
>    sight sing.  But to have perfect pitch, to me, would mean they would
>    have to be able to tell you the cents sharp or flat a particular
>    note is, without looking.
>     
>    IMHO!