# Perfect Pitch!



## Craig Sharmat (Mar 21, 2006)

OK, most of us have seen all the ads in mags and the music union paper, the David Burge thing...I know no one who has tried it.

Any info?

thanks

The sharmster


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## choc0thrax (Mar 21, 2006)

I heard once you get perfect pitch you go insane and kill your family. Once I get enough money i'm definitely buying it though.


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## Jackull (Mar 21, 2006)

i'm not sure if this is the same one that came out more than 10 years ago with this funny guy playing guitar as part of the background grapix. if so, i had & tried it...
it's more like learning a relative pitch than to master a perfect pitch. i never heard of anybody who suceed on that tape...


jackULL


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## synergy543 (Mar 21, 2006)

The funny thing is the guy "pitching" the ad never grew any older even after 30 years. I remember seeing him as a kid. So I want to know his secret to enternal longevity - he should sell that. He'd have a much bigger market too. :mrgreen:


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## choc0thrax (Mar 21, 2006)

Well he probably killed his family and has sewn on his little brothers face onto his to preserve his youth.


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## José Herring (Mar 21, 2006)

Awe man, I thought it was a thread on the "Perfect Pitch" that will land you the best jobs in Hollywood.  :roll: 

I learned perfect pitch on my instrument once. I don't know if I still have it but I did for a long time. The only bummer part is that it's a transposing instrument so when it came to the piano I was a wreck because everything sounded a step down from what I was use too.

Another weird thing that happened is that I could sing the correct pitch for any tune, so I then went and memorized the note names of which the tune started on that way I could find any pitch.

Now I'm learning to transfer that to the written page so that I can write music away from the Keyboard.

I've thought about that course many times but something about it looks like a sham and since I haven't heard any rave success stories I figured it was a bit of a scam. And, plus no matter how hard I listening I don't hear that each note has it's own color signature. I think that's what's turned me into a skeptic on this course.

Jose


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## Evan Gamble (Mar 21, 2006)

I dont have perfect pitch by I can recongnize pitches most of the time by remembering tunes such as-

Fmaj="Smells like teen spirit"

Gmaj=Van Halens "Jump"

D=the begining of pirates of the carribean

ext ext ext basically same way people know relative pitch-a maj4th="here comes the bride" and such

I have also wondered if that course helps though as well.


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## fitch (Mar 21, 2006)

i hear that "Aaaaay" every morning @ 10 o'clock . 

Oboes over here are at 442 ( LOL the rest of the orchestra too, hopefully ) and it doesn't half sound strange when i've been working abway with sampled libraries which are at 440 

i have 2 cellos now .. one at 440 and one at the "orchestra" pitch .. it's easier than constantly tuning up and down 

factory tuned ! that'd be a cool new thing !


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## Markleford (Mar 21, 2006)

Uht-oh, time for the favorite old semantic arguments:

Perfect Pitch? Relative Pitch? Pitch Sensitivity? Pitch Memory?

Grey area mixtures of all those?

Definitions?

- m


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## TheoKrueger (Mar 21, 2006)

Only a few people have absolute perfect pitch meaning they can identify a frequency just by hearing it. Most people have relative perfect pitch, which is knowing a frequency in their heads perfectly and comparing other pitches with that one to find what they are.

It's common for violinists and others who are very close to their instrument to develop it, especially if they started doing it at a young age 3-5 years old. As violinists always tune against the G4 and A4 of their violin, they know that pitch inside out after a while so they can recall the sound in their heads.

Most of them fall off a couple of hertz when recognising (double that for each additional octave), so they might identify a 442 like a 440 to them.

It is also likely for Asian people to develop it unknowingly (Eg: Chinese) as their language is very musical and has a lot of subtle pitch intonations. 

People with perfect pitch can also hear the "beat between different notes" down to a % of a single HZ, just like piano tuners do. Derived from the math function:

A + B and A - B
A being one frequency
B the other
like 400 +300 and 400 - 300
you get the 700 and the 100. 


I was developing a ware with my brother that teaches you perfect pitch and memory. It would play a sine wave and you typed in the frequency you thought it was...if you made a mistake it would say how off you were. After 3 days of using it i started nailing most of them, but then got lazy and stopped using it. So if you practise a lot you can develop pitch memory.

Imagine that your car would have a tone of the C major scale for every 10 kilometers faster you go. So 10km = C , 20km = D, 30km = E etcetera. After a while you would know what speed you are going exactly by the sound, even if you were in a friends car with the same convention you would know his speed without looking at the dials. Even if you were not a musician. 

Famous people with perfect pitch:

http://www.perfectpitchpeople.com/


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## TheoKrueger (Mar 21, 2006)

LOL! I hate it whenever i miss the key phrase in a question and start rambling about something OT :oops: :oops: 

Sorry Craig, i haven't tried it.


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## sbkp (Mar 21, 2006)

TheoKrueger @ Tue Mar 21 said:


> http://www.perfectpitchpeople.com/



http://www.perfectpitchpeople.com/rockmore.htm

Wow, a Theremin player with perfect pitch. That must have been an experience for her....

Or maybe she played everything exactly in tune with it 

- Stefan


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## TheoKrueger (Mar 21, 2006)

Here's that program i was making with my bro:

www.theokrueger.com/main/Project_440.rar

It has txt's explaining the functions, it's real simple and you can use any samples you want for playback.

This was my progress over the first three days of using it:

Day 1: 34.8%, 73 of 210

Day 2: 63%, 46 of 73

Day 3 55.3% 52 of 94

I went downhill on Day 3, ran out of coffee you see


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## Nick Batzdorf (Mar 21, 2006)

There was a guy at Berklee when I was there who ran around with a tuning fork, trying to develop perfect pitch. That doesn't work.

What you can do is sing the note at the bottom of your register that you get when you relax, then go over to a piano and check it. Do that three times a day; you won't be off by more than a half step by the end of the first day. By the end of the second day you can identify it every time.

The catch is that you have to keep it up - it doesn't stay. I've developed and lost that skill several times.

This is what they're saying about the new pitch-identifying technique that I didn't invent:

"That's the most profound thing I've ever heard." B.J. of Left Nut, Idaho

"So fricking what." I.P. of Yellow River, NJ

Yes, you too can read this crap. And if you act now, you'll also get to read more.


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## autopilot (Mar 21, 2006)

Evan Gamble @ Tue Mar 21 said:


> I dont have perfect pitch by I can recongnize pitches most of the time by remembering tunes such as-
> 
> Gmaj=Van Halens "Jump"




Don't know about the others but 

[schild=11 fontcolor=C0C0C0 shadowcolor=C0C0C0 shieldshadow=1]Jump is In C Major!!!!![/schild]

:twisted: 

My bottom note has been more or less a G for ages - it is handy every now and then, except when I have a cold. 

:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Waywyn (Mar 22, 2006)

yeh, there is all this mystery about perfect pitch but basically it is nothing else than hearing the color tone more than the actual note.

that explains why some or many people are born with this gift. they don't know the note first but that the sound has some character and special frequencies or colors.
when they become musicians or learn an instrument, know about theory etc. they start to connect the colors with the notes and tata you have perfect pitch. some people even connect tones to colors. they see e.g. orange when they hear a F#.

so even as a non perfect pitcher, you can learn it. just sit down for hours and listen and concentrate about one or two notes of your instrument, then go on.
after a while you will identify the exact note because there is certainly some character on your instrument.

as soon as you try it on another instrument you get lost because the frequencies, the colors and the acoustic "shape" behave different.

so forget all this mystery. you just have to train it.

by the way: thanks theo for that program, i will definitely test that.

since i am working with so many samples and instruments like everyone else here too, i think it would better for me to have a good relative pitch, remind myself of certain songs and know my notes on the scale etc.

i think it is like with learning an instrument, you learn, improve and get better, after a while you don't have the time anymore, so fragments stay if you don't study on.


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## Evan Gamble (Mar 22, 2006)

autopilot @ Wed Mar 22 said:


> Evan Gamble @ Tue Mar 21 said:
> 
> 
> > I dont have perfect pitch by I can recongnize pitches most of the time by remembering tunes such as-
> ...



the Key is Cmaj-but the first chord of the song is- G B D on an old roland jupiter keyboard-Gmaj


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## midphase (Mar 22, 2006)

Eddie Van Halen can only play on the white keys....the black ones scare him!


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## Thonex (Mar 22, 2006)

midphase @ Wed Mar 22 said:


> Eddie Van Halen can only play on the white keys....the black ones scare him!



Same with Yanni.


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## Mike Greene (Mar 22, 2006)

Well, you know what they say, there are the black keys and then there are the honkies. :mrgreen: 

- Mike Greene


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## JacquesMathias (Mar 22, 2006)

Well, when i was 14 my dream was write an entire orchestral arrangement without use any instrument to help me through...even piano, guitar.....Then to increase my "memory of notes and pitch" i recorded a tape (yehh..tape... :mrgreen: ) with notes being played...such : A_______ , A#_______, B_______,C______ all the chromatic scale. SO when i went to the bed i kept listening that while i started sleeping, but trying to listen at the same time. :mrgreen: It really helps..At least to me...The problem is that after some months i couldn't think in a C and sing a D...  

Sorry to hijack you Craig!

But, i have not used it yet!

Jacques.


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## autopilot (Mar 22, 2006)

Evan Gamble @ Wed Mar 22 said:


> autopilot @ Wed Mar 22 said:
> 
> 
> > Evan Gamble @ Tue Mar 21 said:
> ...




:mrgreen: Fair enough - misunderstood you. 

(though if I were in complete smartarse mode I'd call it a G/C - don't forget that C down below)


Anyway - enough pedantry - I can only wholeheartedly agree it's all about relative pitch rather than perfect pitch. All pitch is relative. 

Cheers


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## Mike Greene (Mar 22, 2006)

Evan Gamble @ Wed Mar 22 said:


> the Key is Cmaj-but the first chord of the song is- G B D on an old roland jupiter keyboard-Gmaj


I thought it was on an Oberheim OB8 or OBX.

- Mike Greene


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## Evan Gamble (Mar 22, 2006)

Mike Greene @ Wed Mar 22 said:


> Evan Gamble @ Wed Mar 22 said:
> 
> 
> > the Key is Cmaj-but the first chord of the song is- G B D on an old roland jupiter keyboard-Gmaj
> ...



yeah your prolly right-I just remember seeing a jupiter 8 in the music video :smile: 

man why is everyone so technical over Van Halen?! :lol:


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## FrozeN (Mar 23, 2006)

TheoKrueger @ Wed 22 Mar said:


> It is also likely for Asian people to develop it unknowingly (Eg: Chinese) as their language is very musical and has a lot of subtle pitch intonations.


Are you sure? Damn I must have very poor language skill! :shock: :lol: :razz: 

Cheers,
Frankie


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## sbkp (Mar 23, 2006)

Maybe you're not really Chinese 

- Stefan


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## José Herring (Mar 23, 2006)

FrozeN @ Thu Mar 23 said:


> TheoKrueger @ Wed 22 Mar said:
> 
> 
> > It is also likely for Asian people to develop it unknowingly (Eg: Chinese) as their language is very musical and has a lot of subtle pitch intonations.
> ...



Instead of practicing chinese you spent too much time at that Kareoke bar in your avatar singing America pop tunes. Brittney Spears isn't gonna give you perfect pitch.


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## Ian Livingstone (Mar 23, 2006)

I've been cursed with perfect pitch - was a real problem doing my exams back at school when the tape player for aural exams was running at the wrong speed, as I was constantly having to transpose in my head.

I've always put it down to learning piano at 5 on an instrument tuned to Bb, then always noticing the tonal differences when I played any other piano at school.

My dad also has it, even though he never learned an instrument and isn't a musician - if I ask him to sing the opening note to any of his favorite classical pieces he gets it bang on every-time without any reference, although he can't go the other way as he doesn't know the names of the notes.

Makes an interesting party trick, and can be usefull for transcription, otherwise it's pretty useless.

Ian


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## José Herring (Mar 23, 2006)

Ian Livingstone @ Thu Mar 23 said:


> I've been cursed with perfect pitch -



Judging from the compositions of yours I've heard thus far I'm inclined that having perfect pitch has been a blessing for you as well.

It seems in your case it runs in the family. My dad is deaf in one ear and can't sing or really hear musical pitch at all. Hope that doesn't run in the family too. :neutral: 

Jose


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## choc0thrax (Mar 23, 2006)

Perfect pitch is the reason behind Ian's nice music? Is perfect pitch that important?


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## José Herring (Mar 23, 2006)

choc0thrax @ Thu Mar 23 said:


> Perfect pitch is the reason behind Ian's nice music? Is perfect pitch that important?



Yes and no I assume. The good thing about it is that if you're hearing something in your head then I assume you don't need to then fumble around on the keyboard to figure out what notes you're hearing. You could just know the notes or just bang it out on a keyboard in no time.

When I first started to compose I'd hear something then go to the keyboard only to find out what I was hearing wasn't in any key. It was between keys. So I'd have a hard time at first figuring the correct notes for the melody I was hearing. That went away in about a month or two with experience but it was wierd at first.

Jose


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## TheoKrueger (Mar 24, 2006)

FrozeN @ Thu Mar 23 said:


> TheoKrueger @ Wed 22 Mar said:
> 
> 
> > It is also likely for Asian people to develop it unknowingly (Eg: Chinese) as their language is very musical and has a lot of subtle pitch intonations.
> ...



I just remember reading it somewhere and it moved my curiosity enough as to remember it...so it could be false


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## Herman Witkam (Mar 24, 2006)

Ian Livingstone @ Thu Mar 23 said:


> I've been cursed with perfect pitch - was a real problem doing my exams back at school when the tape player for aural exams was running at the wrong speed, as I was constantly having to transpose in my head.
> 
> I've always put it down to learning piano at 5 on an instrument tuned to Bb, then always noticing the tonal differences when I played any other piano at school.
> 
> ...



I am the other way around. My dad is a music teacher, and while he started a bit late r than I with music (violin at 12, guitar & recorder at 18 ) by 25 he had trained his perfect pitch over the years, so he is able to name them every time.

I started playing the recorder at 8, guitar at 12 and bass guitar at 16, and other instrument after that. I am able to sing them or hear them in my head, but not able to name all of them. I have been improving towards absolute pitch lately. Maybe if I train it it will develop...

On second thought, everyone with perfect pitch I know of is looked at as a wiseguy :shock:


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## Ian Livingstone (Mar 24, 2006)

> On second thought, everyone with perfect pitch I know of is looked at as a wiseguy



true! Would be interested to know how many if any A-list film guys have it - I'm pretty sure it's not that important as a composer. Can imagine it's very usefull as a string player though.




> The good thing about it is that if you're hearing something in your head then I assume you don't need to then fumble around on the keyboard to figure out what notes you're hearing. You could just know the notes or just bang it out on a keyboard in no time.



Jose - yes but you can do that with relative pitch too.

Ian


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## Waywyn (Mar 24, 2006)

well i think it can be very helpful and you might not need an instrument nor any reference note and fiddle around which key the piece is best, but in the end your images, words and ideas is all what counts.

so basically i would say, you are faster at composing that other non-pp-musicians


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## Synesthesia (Mar 26, 2006)

Since Evan mentioned Jump I have experimented with hearing it when I start each morning when I get to the studio and seeing how close I am..

Interestingly I'm always within a tone either way! Not sure what that indicates, apart from maybe you can train yourself to recognise a tone colour? Or maybe its just that you remember music in a fairly frequency accurate way, in the same way that you might remember the colours in an image?

One thing I have on my (long) agenda of stuff to do is to train myself to recognise all the chord change colours just by playing them over and over each day, although I haven't actually got round to it yet. ie: major to m7 a minor third up, a fourth up, etc etc..

Cheers

Paul :smile:


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