Pianotech

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Wim,

Whe you say that your old classmate was correct, did he only give the correct notes or was his pitch accurate?

Could you guess or remember how close your tuning student was in cents or beats?

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I am currently reading "Musicophelia" by Dr. Oliver Sacks.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicophilia

In it is a chapter on synesthesia (i.e. fusing of senses) in which (largely but not exclusively) people "see" or sense colors with various pitches. If an individual has this particular form of synesthesia it would be quite easy for them to identify pitches (seemingly mysteriously) since each pitch (to them) has its own "color" or shade. 

To a synesthete, this is quite normal and they often assume that everyone "sees" things this way. 

Dr. Sacks shows that it is not only colors associated with different pitches but even smells, scenes, feelings, etc "fused" to musical pitches. He also discusses the fact that some research shows that degrees of "synesthesia" is much more common than previously assumed. It can be mild or intense, depending on the person. What brings this "fusing of senses" (which can also be more than simply two senses) is still not understood, but the brain is an amazingly complex design and structure that continues to perplex researchers. 

Do we have any synesthetes among us?

Peter Grey Piano Doctor 

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I don't have synesthesia, but they way I think about tuning and music is often through color. 

I may be weird but in my mind octaves are blue and 5ths are yellow and where I balance the two is a shade of green. Some tuning systems shade to the blue-green side. Others to a yellow-green side. When I tune for my Perfect Pitch violin client I shade the treble to a yellow-green and the bass to a blue-green and try to blend it smoothly between the two.  

I think of thirds as being bright and dark. The shade of things like fifths, octaves and 12ths change according to the 3rds and 6ths that accompany them. Of course a minor third will darken the sound of a 5th considerably. But a 5th with a slower beating Major 3rd to me sounds a little darker than a 5th with bright, faster beating 3rd. 

This is why I have trouble wrapping my head around  arguments that all pianos should be tuned the same way. Some people and some pianos prefer the right down the middle green with slightly brighter 3rds of the perfect 12th tunings. I think P12 tunings are beautiful tunings.

But I also love listening to recordings of the old masters of piano like Horowitz. These were made before P12 tunings, and traditional tuning was slightly more to the blue-green side than P12. But they are beautiful and acceptable way to tune as well. 

Even UT tuning with their S-curves that goes from the yellow-green to the blue-green side, with some brighter 3rds and some darker 3rds has its place. I really enjoy listening to this as well.

It is my goal to be able to have enough understanding and control of the way everything affects each other to be able to shape the colors of the piano to make it sound it's best, or at least exactly how the pianist wants it.

I am currently reading "Musicophelia" by Dr. Oliver Sacks.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicophilia

In it is a chapter on synesthesia (i.e. fusing of senses) in which (largely but not exclusively) people "see" or sense colors with various pitches. If an individual has this particular form of synesthesia it would be quite easy for them to identify pitches (seemingly mysteriously) since each pitch (to them) has its own "color" or shade. 

To a synesthete, this is quite normal and they often assume that everyone "sees" things this way. 

Dr. Sacks shows that it is not only colors associated with different pitches but even smells, scenes, feelings, etc "fused" to musical pitches. He also discusses the fact that some research shows that degrees of "synesthesia" is much more common than previously assumed. It can be mild or intense, depending on the person. What brings this "fusing of senses" (which can also be more than simply two senses) is still not understood, but the brain is an amazingly complex design and structure that continues to perplex researchers. 

Do we have any synesthetes among us?

Peter Grey Piano Doctor 

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I have had a few clients with Perfect Pitch. It seems each person with Perfect Pitch wants something different than the others with Perfect Pitch 

But they all have one major thing in common.The way they want it tuned is "The One and Only True Way."

I am more than happy to tune it however they like. It is just a matter of trying to figure out what sounds perfect to them. But I can't help feeling a little embarrassed for them. They are usually excellent musicians, but they have a lack of understanding of tuning. Last month I tuned for a regular customer who teaches violin at a college and plays in an orchestra. She said she had spent a lot of time tuning each string on an autoharp to Perfect Pitch. And it blew her mind that it sounded so horrible when she played them all together.

It usually isn't a matter of how close to 440 the piano is tuned. Orchestras often don't tune to 440. For her as a concert violinist, Perfect Pitch means very pure 5th's in the treble. But this doesn't carry over to the bass. In the bass she is very sensitive to the double octave. That is fine by me I will tune it however they want it.

My sense of Perfect Pitch is that it is similar to Tetrachromacy. It is estimated that 12% of the population can see extra shades of colors and they may be able to distinguish between two colors of red that may appear the same to the rest of us. They may be able to see the color in your living room and then go to the hardware store and can pick out the exact same color by memory. Perhaps if they are scientifically inclined they can tell you about the nanometer of that wavelength of light.

But what they can't do is decide the One and Only True Shade of Blue and any others are wrong. 

If we tune A4 to 440. What is the exact Hertz that E6 is perfect? Is a 3:1 12th always the perfect Htz? Or perhaps a 6:2 12th is perfect? Or is it perfect to tune A5 to A4 with a 4:2 octave and then tune E6 with a 3:2 or a 6:4 5th from A5? Or is it perfect to tune A3 from A4 and the  E4 from A3 with a 3:2 or 6:4 5th and then tune E6 with the double octave? Or is the perfect E6 htz a compromise somewhere in between all of these? We haven't even considered the inharmonicity of the piano. Does the acoustics of the room or the wonkiness of the soundboard bring out certain inharmonics more than others? Should this be a consideration?

So when a client says they have perfect pitch and that a certain hrtz is the Only True One. To me they might as well argue about why a certain wavelength of blue is their favorite color. 

------------------------------
Gannon Rhinehart
Santa Fe NM
(505) 692-8385

Original Message:
Sent: 05-17-2024 02:05
From: Blaine Hebert
Subject: Perfect Pitch?

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

------------------------------
Blaine Hebert RPT
Duarte CA
(626) 390-0512
------------------------------

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

All this talk of perfect pitch seems to be focused on A440. How about focusing on C-3

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

All this talk of perfect pitch seems to be focused on A440. How about focusing on C-3

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

If we're going to talk about this seriously, we should start by using the correct terminology. Ryan Sowers and David Hughes and others are technically correct that there is no such thing as a "perfect pitch". Perfect Pitch is a misnomer. What we are talking about is called "Absolute pitch" and there's a Wikipedia article about it here. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_pitch?wprov=sfla1

One thing the Wikipedia article says that I found helpful was this: 

Generally, absolute pitch implies some or all of these abilities, achieved without a reference tone:

• Identify by name individual pitches played on various instruments.
• Name the key of a given piece of tonal music.
• Identify and name all the tones of a given chord or other tonal mass.
• Name the pitches of common everyday sounds such as car horns and alarms.

There's nothing there about being able to tune A4 to 440.0 Hz. 

I personally found Gannon Rhinehart's color analogy helpful. A person with absolute pitch can hear a note and say "That's an A" or "That's a G#" in the way that you or I can glance at the sky and say, "That's blue" or "That's gray." Scientifically there's a range of colors that can be called "blue" just like there's a range of frequencies that can be called "A". But A is clearly different from B, in a way that's as clear as blue being different from orange. Some people may be able to distinguish more accurately between different shades of blue, just like some people with absolute pitch may be able to distinguish between A440 and A442. But it shouldn't be that kind of accuracy is what we're talking about when we say "perfect pitch." 

All this talk of perfect pitch seems to be focused on A440. How about focusing on C-3

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

If we're going to talk about this seriously, we should start by using the correct terminology. Ryan Sowers and David Hughes and others are technically correct that there is no such thing as a "perfect pitch". Perfect Pitch is a misnomer. What we are talking about is called "Absolute pitch" and there's a Wikipedia article about it here. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_pitch?wprov=sfla1

One thing the Wikipedia article says that I found helpful was this: 

Generally, absolute pitch implies some or all of these abilities, achieved without a reference tone:

• Identify by name individual pitches played on various instruments.
• Name the key of a given piece of tonal music.
• Identify and name all the tones of a given chord or other tonal mass.
• Name the pitches of common everyday sounds such as car horns and alarms.

There's nothing there about being able to tune A4 to 440.0 Hz. 

I personally found Gannon Rhinehart's color analogy helpful. A person with absolute pitch can hear a note and say "That's an A" or "That's a G#" in the way that you or I can glance at the sky and say, "That's blue" or "That's gray." Scientifically there's a range of colors that can be called "blue" just like there's a range of frequencies that can be called "A". But A is clearly different from B, in a way that's as clear as blue being different from orange. Some people may be able to distinguish more accurately between different shades of blue, just like some people with absolute pitch may be able to distinguish between A440 and A442. But it shouldn't be that kind of accuracy is what we're talking about when we say "perfect pitch." 

All this talk of perfect pitch seems to be focused on A440. How about focusing on C-3

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I know a good number of people with perfect pitch. I'll write Blaine privately with details. I even wrote a story about one of them for the Journal.

My experience with them is as follows: Their degree of accuracy varies from individual to individual. Most of them have a range of "correct", just like the rest of us have a range of correct with color. When does the hue of red change to pink or orange? It varies between individuals.

As far as their attitude, most of them were quite flexible. For example, two in particular were fine with listening to a clarinet jury when the music they were looking at didn't match what they were hearing. Once they knew, they were fine. One freaked out for a second when I asked him to play a piano that was tuned a half step flat. Once I explained the situation and apologized for not warning him, he was fine. The couple people who were arrogant &/or sticklers about it were, IMO, arrogant (or insecure) and sticklers in other areas of life so this was just their personality, not directly related to the fact they had absolute pitch. People with absolute pitch are not immune to personality quirks, just like the rest of us. 

I have read stories from the time of Bach where people with absolute pitch from different regions would argue about what was a particular pitch was, because they grew up with the pitch standard in their town, and different towns had different pitch standards, partly dependent on how the church organ was tuned. 

One more story to share publicly: I have a student with phenomenal pitch memory. I hesitate to say she has absolute pitch, but it's hard to say because her default is what she learned first from a beloved, Suzuki violin teacher who passed. Although I have been teaching her to read music, her default is to still identify pitches by the string letter and finger number she would use on her violin to get that pitch. She can tune her violin accurately without a starting pitch. I can count on her for a consistent pitch standard. However, if she hears a note on a piano or is asked to sing a note, she has to "translate" it in her head first, pretending to hear it on her violin. She may not have classic absolute pitch, but that kind of tonal memory is still very interesting. 

Happy tuning!

If we're going to talk about this seriously, we should start by using the correct terminology. Ryan Sowers and David Hughes and others are technically correct that there is no such thing as a "perfect pitch". Perfect Pitch is a misnomer. What we are talking about is called "Absolute pitch" and there's a Wikipedia article about it here. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_pitch?wprov=sfla1

One thing the Wikipedia article says that I found helpful was this: 

Generally, absolute pitch implies some or all of these abilities, achieved without a reference tone:

• Identify by name individual pitches played on various instruments.
• Name the key of a given piece of tonal music.
• Identify and name all the tones of a given chord or other tonal mass.
• Name the pitches of common everyday sounds such as car horns and alarms.

There's nothing there about being able to tune A4 to 440.0 Hz. 

I personally found Gannon Rhinehart's color analogy helpful. A person with absolute pitch can hear a note and say "That's an A" or "That's a G#" in the way that you or I can glance at the sky and say, "That's blue" or "That's gray." Scientifically there's a range of colors that can be called "blue" just like there's a range of frequencies that can be called "A". But A is clearly different from B, in a way that's as clear as blue being different from orange. Some people may be able to distinguish more accurately between different shades of blue, just like some people with absolute pitch may be able to distinguish between A440 and A442. But it shouldn't be that kind of accuracy is what we're talking about when we say "perfect pitch." 

All this talk of perfect pitch seems to be focused on A440. How about focusing on C-3

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

If we're going to talk about this seriously, we should start by using the correct terminology. Ryan Sowers and David Hughes and others are technically correct that there is no such thing as a "perfect pitch". Perfect Pitch is a misnomer. What we are talking about is called "Absolute pitch" and there's a Wikipedia article about it here. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_pitch?wprov=sfla1

One thing the Wikipedia article says that I found helpful was this: 

Generally, absolute pitch implies some or all of these abilities, achieved without a reference tone:

• Identify by name individual pitches played on various instruments.
• Name the key of a given piece of tonal music.
• Identify and name all the tones of a given chord or other tonal mass.
• Name the pitches of common everyday sounds such as car horns and alarms.

There's nothing there about being able to tune A4 to 440.0 Hz. 

I personally found Gannon Rhinehart's color analogy helpful. A person with absolute pitch can hear a note and say "That's an A" or "That's a G#" in the way that you or I can glance at the sky and say, "That's blue" or "That's gray." Scientifically there's a range of colors that can be called "blue" just like there's a range of frequencies that can be called "A". But A is clearly different from B, in a way that's as clear as blue being different from orange. Some people may be able to distinguish more accurately between different shades of blue, just like some people with absolute pitch may be able to distinguish between A440 and A442. But it shouldn't be that kind of accuracy is what we're talking about when we say "perfect pitch." 

All this talk of perfect pitch seems to be focused on A440. How about focusing on C-3

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I agree with Anthony Willey. There is no such thing as "perfect" pitch. We mustn't use that term, unless we have someone who can distinguish between (as merely one example) A440.0 and A440.2.These individuals are in a category all their own. I think "pitch recognition" is the best term that applies to what we, and the world, are trying to define. "Absolute" pitch ain't so great, either, as it implies a finite condition. If any of us can identify and/or sing all pitches in the chromatic scale of Equal Temperament as utilized in Western music, I say we possess "pitch recognition". To label this ability something more glorified is misleading, and thus worthless.

If we're going to talk about this seriously, we should start by using the correct terminology. Ryan Sowers and David Hughes and others are technically correct that there is no such thing as a "perfect pitch". Perfect Pitch is a misnomer. What we are talking about is called "Absolute pitch" and there's a Wikipedia article about it here. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_pitch?wprov=sfla1

One thing the Wikipedia article says that I found helpful was this: 

Generally, absolute pitch implies some or all of these abilities, achieved without a reference tone:

• Identify by name individual pitches played on various instruments.
• Name the key of a given piece of tonal music.
• Identify and name all the tones of a given chord or other tonal mass.
• Name the pitches of common everyday sounds such as car horns and alarms.

There's nothing there about being able to tune A4 to 440.0 Hz. 

I personally found Gannon Rhinehart's color analogy helpful. A person with absolute pitch can hear a note and say "That's an A" or "That's a G#" in the way that you or I can glance at the sky and say, "That's blue" or "That's gray." Scientifically there's a range of colors that can be called "blue" just like there's a range of frequencies that can be called "A". But A is clearly different from B, in a way that's as clear as blue being different from orange. Some people may be able to distinguish more accurately between different shades of blue, just like some people with absolute pitch may be able to distinguish between A440 and A442. But it shouldn't be that kind of accuracy is what we're talking about when we say "perfect pitch." 

All this talk of perfect pitch seems to be focused on A440. How about focusing on C-3

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I agree with Anthony Willey. There is no such thing as "perfect" pitch. We mustn't use that term, unless we have someone who can distinguish between (as merely one example) A440.0 and A440.2.These individuals are in a category all their own. I think "pitch recognition" is the best term that applies to what we, and the world, are trying to define. "Absolute" pitch ain't so great, either, as it implies a finite condition. If any of us can identify and/or sing all pitches in the chromatic scale of Equal Temperament as utilized in Western music, I say we possess "pitch recognition". To label this ability something more glorified is misleading, and thus worthless.

If we're going to talk about this seriously, we should start by using the correct terminology. Ryan Sowers and David Hughes and others are technically correct that there is no such thing as a "perfect pitch". Perfect Pitch is a misnomer. What we are talking about is called "Absolute pitch" and there's a Wikipedia article about it here. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_pitch?wprov=sfla1

One thing the Wikipedia article says that I found helpful was this: 

Generally, absolute pitch implies some or all of these abilities, achieved without a reference tone:

• Identify by name individual pitches played on various instruments.
• Name the key of a given piece of tonal music.
• Identify and name all the tones of a given chord or other tonal mass.
• Name the pitches of common everyday sounds such as car horns and alarms.

There's nothing there about being able to tune A4 to 440.0 Hz. 

I personally found Gannon Rhinehart's color analogy helpful. A person with absolute pitch can hear a note and say "That's an A" or "That's a G#" in the way that you or I can glance at the sky and say, "That's blue" or "That's gray." Scientifically there's a range of colors that can be called "blue" just like there's a range of frequencies that can be called "A". But A is clearly different from B, in a way that's as clear as blue being different from orange. Some people may be able to distinguish more accurately between different shades of blue, just like some people with absolute pitch may be able to distinguish between A440 and A442. But it shouldn't be that kind of accuracy is what we're talking about when we say "perfect pitch." 

All this talk of perfect pitch seems to be focused on A440. How about focusing on C-3

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

If we're going to talk about this seriously, we should start by using the correct terminology. Ryan Sowers and David Hughes and others are technically correct that there is no such thing as a "perfect pitch". Perfect Pitch is a misnomer. What we are talking about is called "Absolute pitch" and there's a Wikipedia article about it here. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_pitch?wprov=sfla1

One thing the Wikipedia article says that I found helpful was this: 

Generally, absolute pitch implies some or all of these abilities, achieved without a reference tone:

• Identify by name individual pitches played on various instruments.
• Name the key of a given piece of tonal music.
• Identify and name all the tones of a given chord or other tonal mass.
• Name the pitches of common everyday sounds such as car horns and alarms.

There's nothing there about being able to tune A4 to 440.0 Hz. 

I personally found Gannon Rhinehart's color analogy helpful. A person with absolute pitch can hear a note and say "That's an A" or "That's a G#" in the way that you or I can glance at the sky and say, "That's blue" or "That's gray." Scientifically there's a range of colors that can be called "blue" just like there's a range of frequencies that can be called "A". But A is clearly different from B, in a way that's as clear as blue being different from orange. Some people may be able to distinguish more accurately between different shades of blue, just like some people with absolute pitch may be able to distinguish between A440 and A442. But it shouldn't be that kind of accuracy is what we're talking about when we say "perfect pitch." 

All this talk of perfect pitch seems to be focused on A440. How about focusing on C-3

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Anthony,

Your post exactly describes my personal experience with absolute pitch.  I could always recognize and name pitches instantly, from out of the blue, with no other reference tone necessary.  I didn't even have to think about it, it seemed completely instinctual and instant.  That's not to say that I could have tuned A440 perfectly from "memory", which I never tested out, but which I doubt I could have done.  It was always a matter of, "A sounds like A, until it doesn't anymore."  And I agree with a previous post wherein it was stated that this ability has little to do with tuning a piano, other than dealing with situations like extreme pitch raises, etc.  But it did have very much to do with my experience musically.  More than I realized.  Until seemingly overnight, I started perceiving everything a half step sharp. 

Now, I have to stop and think for a small moment when I'm trying to discern a pitch I'm hearing out of the blue.  Is it F#, like it sounds, or is it really F?  I can figure it out quickly enough, and can even temporarily reset my "absolute" perception, but it's fleeting.  I have to admit that my new-found, un-absolute pitch is very difficult to deal with, like I've lost some part of what is to be me.  What's more, I've since discovered that losing this absolute pitch ability, or having it shift (my case) is quite common with aging.

I found the following video interesting and helpful for me to realize that my current plight is not at all abnormal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRaACa1Mrd4

If we're going to talk about this seriously, we should start by using the correct terminology. Ryan Sowers and David Hughes and others are technically correct that there is no such thing as a "perfect pitch". Perfect Pitch is a misnomer. What we are talking about is called "Absolute pitch" and there's a Wikipedia article about it here. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_pitch?wprov=sfla1

One thing the Wikipedia article says that I found helpful was this: 

Generally, absolute pitch implies some or all of these abilities, achieved without a reference tone:

• Identify by name individual pitches played on various instruments.
• Name the key of a given piece of tonal music.
• Identify and name all the tones of a given chord or other tonal mass.
• Name the pitches of common everyday sounds such as car horns and alarms.

There's nothing there about being able to tune A4 to 440.0 Hz. 

I personally found Gannon Rhinehart's color analogy helpful. A person with absolute pitch can hear a note and say "That's an A" or "That's a G#" in the way that you or I can glance at the sky and say, "That's blue" or "That's gray." Scientifically there's a range of colors that can be called "blue" just like there's a range of frequencies that can be called "A". But A is clearly different from B, in a way that's as clear as blue being different from orange. Some people may be able to distinguish more accurately between different shades of blue, just like some people with absolute pitch may be able to distinguish between A440 and A442. But it shouldn't be that kind of accuracy is what we're talking about when we say "perfect pitch." 

All this talk of perfect pitch seems to be focused on A440. How about focusing on C-3

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I recommend talking to RPT Dean Petrich in Whidbey Island WA. He has the most precise PP i have ever witnessed. I asked him to tune a note out of the blue by ear. I had my ETD on. I watched the needle go back and forth and watched him zero it out. He did this several times which convinced me, and amazed me of the accuracy he has. He speaks at least nine languages fluently and plays several musical instruments. Most likely the PP ability has helped with those too.

-chris

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

The two terms, absolute and perfect, are used interchangeably. "Pitch memory" does not quite do justice to the complexity of what's involved.

UCSF (university of California San Francisco medical center) did a research project, some years ago now, on the genetic component (there  seems to be one) as well as the critical period in which this skill must be learned. The woman who ran the study is someone I know and we have had several conversations about her testing and findings.  

The skill set varies considerably from person to person from those who have PP only on their own instruments to the highest level (and most difficult test) of those who can identify pure electronic tones.  The accuracy varies too but most people hear within a range of A's, A435-A445 will all be identified as As, for example.

For most, if not all, PP would certainly not be helpful, or accurate enough in tuning a piano, perhaps for obvious reasons-pianos are tuned imperfectly (tempered).  Might also be important to remember that we don't really listen to pitch when tuning, we listen to the characteristic relationship between two (or more) coincident harmonics, i.e., "beats" or the sound of coincident frequencies being out of phase with each other, though we do identify intervals.

In fact melodic tuning (playing one pitch and then playing a note, say an octave above) is notoriously inaccurate when compared to "harmonic tuning (playing  the notes together). In the case cited  above, melodic tuning will almost always result in the upper note being sharped  

I would suggest for those interested, start by searching "ucsf studies in perfect pitch". Here's one article.  

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/01/98114/genetically-set-perfect-pitch-you-might-be-without-early-training-dont-expect

 But there are many citations. 

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Everyone: my main bone of contention is the use of the the word "perfect". Definitions matter.

The two terms, absolute and perfect, are used interchangeably. "Pitch memory" does not quite do justice to the complexity of what's involved.

UCSF (university of California San Francisco medical center) did a research project, some years ago now, on the genetic component (there  seems to be one) as well as the critical period in which this skill must be learned. The woman who ran the study is someone I know and we have had several conversations about her testing and findings.  

The skill set varies considerably from person to person from those who have PP only on their own instruments to the highest level (and most difficult test) of those who can identify pure electronic tones.  The accuracy varies too but most people hear within a range of A's, A435-A445 will all be identified as As, for example.

For most, if not all, PP would certainly not be helpful, or accurate enough in tuning a piano, perhaps for obvious reasons-pianos are tuned imperfectly (tempered).  Might also be important to remember that we don't really listen to pitch when tuning, we listen to the characteristic relationship between two (or more) coincident harmonics, i.e., "beats" or the sound of coincident frequencies being out of phase with each other, though we do identify intervals.

In fact melodic tuning (playing one pitch and then playing a note, say an octave above) is notoriously inaccurate when compared to "harmonic tuning (playing  the notes together). In the case cited  above, melodic tuning will almost always result in the upper note being sharped  

I would suggest for those interested, start by searching "ucsf studies in perfect pitch". Here's one article.  

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/01/98114/genetically-set-perfect-pitch-you-might-be-without-early-training-dont-expect

 But there are many citations. 

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I suppose definitions matter. Then again, there is nothing "absolute" about "absolute pitch" since we currently have in use anything from A432 to A445 and temperament tuning v just interval playing that renders any notes in a given octave between two instruments different. Meanwhile people who engage in Indian classical music with its endless division into microtones are rolling their eyes at this discussion. 

The research suggests that people with perfect pitch would not typically be able to tell the difference between A440 and A440.2 (an example previously cited) when tested using standard scientific testing protocols. Nor is perfect pitch necessarily stable. I have a customer with PP who now says he hears things about 1/2 step off. His brain still identifies the note as having a specific pitch but it's consistently off by 1/2 step now. 

Everyone: my main bone of contention is the use of the the word "perfect". Definitions matter.

The two terms, absolute and perfect, are used interchangeably. "Pitch memory" does not quite do justice to the complexity of what's involved.

UCSF (university of California San Francisco medical center) did a research project, some years ago now, on the genetic component (there  seems to be one) as well as the critical period in which this skill must be learned. The woman who ran the study is someone I know and we have had several conversations about her testing and findings.  

The skill set varies considerably from person to person from those who have PP only on their own instruments to the highest level (and most difficult test) of those who can identify pure electronic tones.  The accuracy varies too but most people hear within a range of A's, A435-A445 will all be identified as As, for example.

For most, if not all, PP would certainly not be helpful, or accurate enough in tuning a piano, perhaps for obvious reasons-pianos are tuned imperfectly (tempered).  Might also be important to remember that we don't really listen to pitch when tuning, we listen to the characteristic relationship between two (or more) coincident harmonics, i.e., "beats" or the sound of coincident frequencies being out of phase with each other, though we do identify intervals.

In fact melodic tuning (playing one pitch and then playing a note, say an octave above) is notoriously inaccurate when compared to "harmonic tuning (playing  the notes together). In the case cited  above, melodic tuning will almost always result in the upper note being sharped  

I would suggest for those interested, start by searching "ucsf studies in perfect pitch". Here's one article.  

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/01/98114/genetically-set-perfect-pitch-you-might-be-without-early-training-dont-expect

 But there are many citations. 

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I suppose definitions matter. Then again, there is nothing "absolute" about "absolute pitch" since we currently have in use anything from A432 to A445 and temperament tuning v just interval playing that renders any notes in a given octave between two instruments different. Meanwhile people who engage in Indian classical music with its endless division into microtones are rolling their eyes at this discussion. 

The research suggests that people with perfect pitch would not typically be able to tell the difference between A440 and A440.2 (an example previously cited) when tested using standard scientific testing protocols. Nor is perfect pitch necessarily stable. I have a customer with PP who now says he hears things about 1/2 step off. His brain still identifies the note as having a specific pitch but it's consistently off by 1/2 step now. 

Everyone: my main bone of contention is the use of the the word "perfect". Definitions matter.

The two terms, absolute and perfect, are used interchangeably. "Pitch memory" does not quite do justice to the complexity of what's involved.

UCSF (university of California San Francisco medical center) did a research project, some years ago now, on the genetic component (there  seems to be one) as well as the critical period in which this skill must be learned. The woman who ran the study is someone I know and we have had several conversations about her testing and findings.  

The skill set varies considerably from person to person from those who have PP only on their own instruments to the highest level (and most difficult test) of those who can identify pure electronic tones.  The accuracy varies too but most people hear within a range of A's, A435-A445 will all be identified as As, for example.

For most, if not all, PP would certainly not be helpful, or accurate enough in tuning a piano, perhaps for obvious reasons-pianos are tuned imperfectly (tempered).  Might also be important to remember that we don't really listen to pitch when tuning, we listen to the characteristic relationship between two (or more) coincident harmonics, i.e., "beats" or the sound of coincident frequencies being out of phase with each other, though we do identify intervals.

In fact melodic tuning (playing one pitch and then playing a note, say an octave above) is notoriously inaccurate when compared to "harmonic tuning (playing  the notes together). In the case cited  above, melodic tuning will almost always result in the upper note being sharped  

I would suggest for those interested, start by searching "ucsf studies in perfect pitch". Here's one article.  

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/01/98114/genetically-set-perfect-pitch-you-might-be-without-early-training-dont-expect

 But there are many citations. 

I'll keep this brief. I maintain there is "pitch recognition" and "perfect pitch". Pitch recognition means a person can identify a pitch in equal temperament, hearing the pitch out of the blue, with regular consistency. Perfect pitch means a person can distinguish between (for instance) A440.0 and A440.2. In 45 years I have not met this person yet.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Jacob Collier is a perfect example! He has absolute pitch. For him, G half sharp major is exactly that. There are not only videos of him using his absolute pitch, but also of him vocally tempering intervals. From my point of view, he has a clear tonal discrepancy like we do with color: there are hues between red and pink we can easily use. He also has a video where he says there are "no wrong notes", although I have taken that statement out of context.

In case anyone hasn't seen Rick Beato's latest video with his son, I'd like to share: 

https://youtu.be/vXivZlPu0ms?si=FvC-Y-_25LHMh2BI 

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Jacob Collier is truly remarkable and so joyous. Thanks for the link to Dylan. His last comment is what most people with that ability have related to me, "annoying".

I once toured with a musician, Leung Wing, who I caught using his down time with headphones on transcribing jazz ensemble scores, not just the pitches but all the rhythms as well. The only thing that slowed him down was how fast he could write. 

As Scott mentions, I suspect we are born with this native ability but it needs to be cultivated early on. Children model on their parents, all it takes is for a parent to say "oh, I can't sing" and the child is likely to follow suit.

Jacob Collier is a perfect example! He has absolute pitch. For him, G half sharp major is exactly that. There are not only videos of him using his absolute pitch, but also of him vocally tempering intervals. From my point of view, he has a clear tonal discrepancy like we do with color: there are hues between red and pink we can easily use. He also has a video where he says there are "no wrong notes", although I have taken that statement out of context.

In case anyone hasn't seen Rick Beato's latest video with his son, I'd like to share: 

https://youtu.be/vXivZlPu0ms?si=FvC-Y-_25LHMh2BI 

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Steve went: "I once toured with a musician, Leung Wing, who I caught using his down time with headphones on transcribing jazz ensemble scores, not just the pitches but all the rhythms as well. The only thing that slowed him down was how fast he could write."

Again, we have to distinguish between PP (and all the notions that people may have of it) and Relative Pitch (however well-developed it may be in individual people). Wing has his first note, and all other flow from it. That his ear was also adept at recognizing rhythmic schemes is to be expected in a well-trained and experienced musician.

I've done transcriptions as well, including all parts (drums, not included) of Herbie Hancock's "Speak Like a Child". (For the use in my ensemble, the piano part needed only the "head-in".) But the horns (flugelhorn, trombone, and alto flute) were especially tricky: all in the same range, and all with similar warm timbre.

I hope this distinction is useful.

Another transcription of mine can be found here.

Jacob Collier is truly remarkable and so joyous. Thanks for the link to Dylan. His last comment is what most people with that ability have related to me, "annoying".

I once toured with a musician, Leung Wing, who I caught using his down time with headphones on transcribing jazz ensemble scores, not just the pitches but all the rhythms as well. The only thing that slowed him down was how fast he could write. 

As Scott mentions, I suspect we are born with this native ability but it needs to be cultivated early on. Children model on their parents, all it takes is for a parent to say "oh, I can't sing" and the child is likely to follow suit.

Jacob Collier is a perfect example! He has absolute pitch. For him, G half sharp major is exactly that. There are not only videos of him using his absolute pitch, but also of him vocally tempering intervals. From my point of view, he has a clear tonal discrepancy like we do with color: there are hues between red and pink we can easily use. He also has a video where he says there are "no wrong notes", although I have taken that statement out of context.

In case anyone hasn't seen Rick Beato's latest video with his son, I'd like to share: 

https://youtu.be/vXivZlPu0ms?si=FvC-Y-_25LHMh2BI 

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

MRI research by Dr. Gottfried Schlaug and others at Harvard back in the 1990's showed that the corpus callousum (the connector of the two brain hemispheres) "has an asymmetric enlargement in musicians with absolute pitch. Schlaug et al. went on to show increased volumes of gray matter in motor, auditory, and visuospatial areas of the cortex, as well as in the cerebellum."  (Source: p. 94 of Musicophelia by Dr. Oliver Sacks)

This reminds me of the UK research that showed hippocampus enlargement in the brains of aural/analog tuners. 

Peter Grey Piano Doctor 

Steve went: "I once toured with a musician, Leung Wing, who I caught using his down time with headphones on transcribing jazz ensemble scores, not just the pitches but all the rhythms as well. The only thing that slowed him down was how fast he could write."

Again, we have to distinguish between PP (and all the notions that people may have of it) and Relative Pitch (however well-developed it may be in individual people). Wing has his first note, and all other flow from it. That his ear was also adept at recognizing rhythmic schemes is to be expected in a well-trained and experienced musician.

I've done transcriptions as well, including all parts (drums, not included) of Herbie Hancock's "Speak Like a Child". (For the use in my ensemble, the piano part needed only the "head-in".) But the horns (flugelhorn, trombone, and alto flute) were especially tricky: all in the same range, and all with similar warm timbre.

I hope this distinction is useful.

Another transcription of mine can be found here.

Jacob Collier is truly remarkable and so joyous. Thanks for the link to Dylan. His last comment is what most people with that ability have related to me, "annoying".

I once toured with a musician, Leung Wing, who I caught using his down time with headphones on transcribing jazz ensemble scores, not just the pitches but all the rhythms as well. The only thing that slowed him down was how fast he could write. 

As Scott mentions, I suspect we are born with this native ability but it needs to be cultivated early on. Children model on their parents, all it takes is for a parent to say "oh, I can't sing" and the child is likely to follow suit.

Jacob Collier is a perfect example! He has absolute pitch. For him, G half sharp major is exactly that. There are not only videos of him using his absolute pitch, but also of him vocally tempering intervals. From my point of view, he has a clear tonal discrepancy like we do with color: there are hues between red and pink we can easily use. He also has a video where he says there are "no wrong notes", although I have taken that statement out of context.

In case anyone hasn't seen Rick Beato's latest video with his son, I'd like to share: 

https://youtu.be/vXivZlPu0ms?si=FvC-Y-_25LHMh2BI 

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

Jacob Collier is a perfect example! He has absolute pitch. For him, G half sharp major is exactly that. There are not only videos of him using his absolute pitch, but also of him vocally tempering intervals. From my point of view, he has a clear tonal discrepancy like we do with color: there are hues between red and pink we can easily use. He also has a video where he says there are "no wrong notes", although I have taken that statement out of context.

In case anyone hasn't seen Rick Beato's latest video with his son, I'd like to share: 

https://youtu.be/vXivZlPu0ms?si=FvC-Y-_25LHMh2BI 

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

If anyone has not yet seen the video referenced above (Rick Beato's latest video with his son: 

https://youtu.be/vXivZlPu0ms?si=FvC-Y-_25LHMh2BI ) I recommend it.  It is an interesting demonstration of what some are capable of.

However, the question Rick Beato asks of his son at the end is also instructive.  He asked if he had ever used his ability in life, to which he replied "No".

Has anyone had other interactions with musicians or customers with perfect pitch (or absolute pitch) and how did it affect your service or tuning?

Jacob Collier is a perfect example! He has absolute pitch. For him, G half sharp major is exactly that. There are not only videos of him using his absolute pitch, but also of him vocally tempering intervals. From my point of view, he has a clear tonal discrepancy like we do with color: there are hues between red and pink we can easily use. He also has a video where he says there are "no wrong notes", although I have taken that statement out of context.

In case anyone hasn't seen Rick Beato's latest video with his son, I'd like to share: 

https://youtu.be/vXivZlPu0ms?si=FvC-Y-_25LHMh2BI 

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.

I have a longer background in professional piano playing and teaching than tuning.  I currently work with a handful of students with perfect pitch and have worked with many prior to these.  I have a strong relative pitch to the extent most of the time I listen to music I "see" the notes/chords simultaneously with hearing it, though this breaks down as the music gets progressively complex.

Teaching those with perfect pitch is interesting.  They hear and respond to playing the instrument differently.  Often when learning a piece, they will stop, think, then play the next note-- they are obviously hearing the note in their head which informs what will be then played on the piano.  One time when I was teaching a seven-year-old student with perfect pitch, I arbitrarily chose some pitches and sang them to demonstrate a musical idea I wanted her to try.  I did not sing the correct key, and without further thought, she played the notes in the key that I was singing (black keys and all that she hadn't really studied yet). Yet another student was obviously hearing music differently than other students, which brought me to question how she was experiencing the sounds.  She said, "it's like I'm seeing colors." I started pressing random keys on the piano and she would list each color without hesitation. I said, "(name), I think you may have synesthesia." She looked at me like I just diagnosed her with cancer, so I quickly explained that it wasn't bad, it was just a different way of experiencing sounds. I told her a little about Scriabin's color scheme.  I explained that his favorite key was F#, but stopped myself before telling her the color for F#. I played an F# and said "what color do you see" to which she said "blue." "Light or dark?" I asked, she responded "light." For Scriabin, F# was sky blue-- heaven as he saw it.  My jaw dropped.

One of my former colleagues at the college I worked at for a number of years apparently had perfect pitch to the extent she could tell how many cents sharp or flat a pitch was, although I never got to have a conversation with her about it.  None of my students with perfect pitch had that keen of a sense of pitch, although perhaps it can be developed.

If anyone has not yet seen the video referenced above (Rick Beato's latest video with his son: 

https://youtu.be/vXivZlPu0ms?si=FvC-Y-_25LHMh2BI ) I recommend it.  It is an interesting demonstration of what some are capable of.

However, the question Rick Beato asks of his son at the end is also instructive.  He asked if he had ever used his ability in life, to which he replied "No".

Has anyone had other interactions with musicians or customers with perfect pitch (or absolute pitch) and how did it affect your service or tuning?

Jacob Collier is a perfect example! He has absolute pitch. For him, G half sharp major is exactly that. There are not only videos of him using his absolute pitch, but also of him vocally tempering intervals. From my point of view, he has a clear tonal discrepancy like we do with color: there are hues between red and pink we can easily use. He also has a video where he says there are "no wrong notes", although I have taken that statement out of context.

In case anyone hasn't seen Rick Beato's latest video with his son, I'd like to share: 

https://youtu.be/vXivZlPu0ms?si=FvC-Y-_25LHMh2BI 

Forum Members,

This is a request for any opinions, experiences or information that any of you might have about "perfect pitch" as it related to our profession or to music in general.

Anyone with perfect pitch is welcome to contact me (blaine.hebert@charter.net) with your opinions or information.  If you know of someone with perfect pitch or have had experiences with musicians with perfect pitch please let me know.

I am collecting notes for a PTJ article on perfect pitch, anyone who cares to contribute or collaborate is welcome to send me your ideas or stories.