<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16674" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A subject , when it comes across, I enjoy discussing.   I have met and done work for several</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>people who have what is described as perfect pitch.  I don't think that whoever says this, means</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>that they in fact are able to discern small differences in pitch , such as being 2,4 cents flat or sharp.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>How I understand it is that this person can distingwish between notes which are in the band of</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>being a C, or D.    A  ( C) note , even 2,4,8 cents flat or sharp is still a C, till it reaches a point where it starts</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>being closer to a C#, or a B.   (  Where is that ???  Guess if we divide the intervals in cents and decide</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>when we've pasted that point.)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>They have the ability to tell the difference between these notes without a reference</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>note to help them.  I usually can't do it.  ( most times can't ).  I've also, used this example to try and</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>explain how " I " see perfect pitch.  If an artist has excellent ability to tell subtle differences in color, could </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>he be described as having (  perfect color . ) I can't do this either, by the way.   I once met a housewife</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>who had called me to tune a very ordinary piano for her. We got to talking , and she made a remark</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>that people had told her that she had perfect pitch.  Well she had the best that I personally have seen </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>or heard. I tested her with one note, a third, sixth, and a handful of notes, and after she quit being </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>defensive, she told me that she absolutely had no trouble hearing all the different notes in a handful. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I was floored by her ability .    </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>How about the people who could write music while listening to it being played !!! </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm very open minded about the </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>abilities people have.           Is it like being 5' 8',  or 6' 4'.? ? ?  How does one </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>splain these things.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I think I'd like to have P/P,   but then I'd like to be 6'0'.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Carl / Winnipeg.   </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV>---- Original Message ----- </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=toddpianoworks@att.net href="mailto:toddpianoworks@att.net">Matthew Todd</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, June 30, 2008 7:57 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Wives tales ... violin tuning</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>There is no such thing as PERFECT pitch, only relative pitch.  It someone had perfect pitch, it would mean it would have to be perfect, and besides Jesus Christ, I have yet to see a human that was perfect.  If indeed this customer had perfect pitch, they could be able to tell you that the note was four cents flat.  But because she said the note sounded like a "d", it is relative.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Matthew<BR><BR><B><I>Richard Brekne <ricb@pianostemmer.no></I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">Yes... a good sense of relative pitch memory is an interesting thing <BR>indeed. Its just that it would be best for all concerned if it were kept <BR>better in perspective... i.e. words like Perfect and Absolute left out <BR>of it. Severely extreme cases of pitch sensitivity are more a handicap <BR>then an asset. Fortunately... there are very very few on this planet <BR>that actually suffer to that degree....and correspondingly few that <BR>could with any hint of justification fnyss at someone else for erring <BR><<ABSOLUTELY>> pitchwise.<BR><BR>Cheers<BR>RicB<BR><BR><BR>I had a customer a few days ago, whose piano I tuned 2 years ago. <BR>She played some notes and said how flat they were...the piano in<BR>general sounded reasonable. I got started and the piano was indeed<BR>about 4 cents flat and 7 in the treble. When done I asked her if<BR>she had perfect pitch...wasn't sure. I played a D and she said that<BR>sounded like a D...pretty cool...<BR><BR>David Ilvedson, RPT<BR>Pacifica, CA 94044<BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>