Perfect Pitch

[dmdrummer]

So, what are your guys opinion on this? There's tons of programs on the internet to supposedly teach you perfect pitch, yet a lot of people argue that you can only be born with perfect pitch, and you can't learn it. I've also heard the opposite, too. What do you guys think?

[Willith]

Jesus Christ....

You can't learn perfect pitch- you have to be born with it.
You can learn RELATIVE pitch. Although it is highly unlikely that "many programs on the internet" will be able to teach you.
This is not opinion, this is fact.



/thread

[Pwnsauce]

perfect pitch would suck

[Chilidem]

Originally Posted by Willith

Jesus Christ....

You can't learn perfect pitch- you have to be born with it.
You can learn RELATIVE pitch. Although it is highly unlikely that "many programs on the internet" will be able to teach you.
This is not opinion, this is fact.



/thread

Actually, research into this subject has led to idea that it is very much a learned phenomena. They found that like 75% of Chinese, as in grew up in China/spoke a native language, music students had this ability and that only like 7% of Western music students had it. The theory is that their language is tonal. The pitch a word is spoken at implies as much meaning as the actual syllable spoken. It's kind of interesting actually.

If you're interested I could up the audio file of the radio program where this was discussed. I'm sure I have it somewhere around here. Let me know.

[ChAAPY]

@ Chilidem: did you get that info from radiolab?

[Naitz]

Yngwie Malmsteen has perfect pitch. I doubt he learned it...

[Willith]

Originally Posted by Chilidem

Actually, research into this subject has led to idea that it is very much a learned phenomena. They found that like 75% of Chinese, as in grew up in China/spoke a native language, music students had this ability and that only like 7% of Western music students had it. The theory is that their language is tonal. The pitch a word is spoken at implies as much meaning as the actual syllable spoken. It's kind of interesting actually.

If you're interested I could up the audio file of the radio program where this was discussed. I'm sure I have it somewhere around here. Let me know.

uh huh, uh huh...which music school did you go to again?

[Djeez]

Originally Posted by Willith

uh huh, uh huh...which music school did you go to again?

Way to counter his valable argument with an egotistical self-glorifying answer.

[Pwnsauce]

Originally Posted by Willith

uh huh, uh huh...which music school did you go to again?

lol

[Willith]

Originally Posted by Djeez

Way to counter his valable argument with an egotistical self-glorifying answer.

You know if you're going to try to respond using a bunch of big words you don't fully understand, you may want to make sure they are words that even EXIST.


Edit- you're french, double fail. Why would you throw in french into a sentence full of English and expect anyone to understand it? What a fucking twat. (pardon my french...)

[Chilidem]

Originally Posted by ChAAPY

@ Chilidem: did you get that info from radiolab?

Yessir.

[Chilidem]

Originally Posted by Willith

uh huh, uh huh...which music school did you go to again?

This actually has very little to do with music. We're talking about perception and tone recognition. Take musical ability out of the equation as it's really not relevant in this argument. Face it, musicians aren't scientists.

[stabwound]

You definitely don't have to be born with perfect pitch, at least from all I've heard/read. Early musical training and genetics help I think. My friend and his brother who both started playing piano at 3 have perfect pitch, but his other brother that didn't have any musical training doesn't.

[Djeez]

Originally Posted by Willith

You know if you're going to try to respond using a bunch of big words you don't fully understand, you may want to make sure they are words that even EXIST.


Edit- you're french, double fail. Why would you throw in french into a sentence full of English and expect anyone to understand it? What a fucking twat. (pardon my french...)

Way to avoid his valable argument yet another time by pointing out that I'm french.

You know, I still haven't decided if you're a troll or a really, reaaally proud Berklee student.

[Willith]

Originally Posted by Chilidem

This actually has very little to do with music. We're talking about perception and tone recognition. Take musical ability out of the equation as it's really not relevant in this argument. Face it, musicians aren't scientists.

The point of that comment was that this was something discussed there on almost a weekly basis that I had to hear...for nearly FOUR YEARS. I had a solfege teacher who claimed to have relative pitch, when it was actually pretty close to perfect pitch. He said he wouldn't consider himself to have perfect pitch because it was something he really had to work on, he wasn't born with it, and he would be slower to recognize tones than someone with perfect pitch would be. However when put up against someone with perfect pitch he held his ground just fine. The guy was absolutely, mind-boggling, amazing. He's in some type of beat-box band that's HUGE in Japan. He does vocal guitar.

You cannot learn perfect pitch, you can only learn relative pitch.

Originally Posted by stabwound

You definitely don't have to be born with perfect pitch, at least from all I've heard/read. Early musical training and genetics help I think. My friend and his brother who both started playing piano at 3 have perfect pitch, but his other brother that didn't have any musical training doesn't.

And what you've heard/read is wrong. You cannot acquire perfect pitch. Musical training at an early age does not help- as ONCE AGAIN, it is something you are born with. Whether or not you have perfect pitch is what can be determined at a fairly young age, through musical training. Your story is of no relevance- not everybody who is related to someone with perfect pitch (or came out of the same pusssy) has perfect pitch. I don't know why you think they would.
I too have "read stories" about people with virtually no musical training, and very little interest in music, who have perfect pitch.




And let's not forget, there are TONS of people who claim to have perfect pitch, but in reality don't even have relative pitch. I'm friends with one, and embarrass him everytime he brings it up in front of me.

[FistedSister]

Yes, you have to be born with PERFECT pitch. You can learn to catch intervals through relativity, but you cannot learn perfect pitch.

How would you know when you have perfect pitch?

Going to the best music school in the World wouldn't get you perfect pitch.

I'm not going to throw my credentials out on the table - but any dude with a Masters in Jazz from a decent school will tell you it's impossible to pick it up.

It's also moderately useless if you can't play your instrument even at a novice level.

[stabwound]

Originally Posted by Willith

The point of that comment was that this was something discussed there on almost a weekly basis that I had to hear...for nearly FOUR YEARS. I had a solfege teacher who claimed to have relative pitch, when it was actually pretty close to perfect pitch. He said he wouldn't consider himself to have perfect pitch because it was something he really had to work on, he wasn't born with it, and he would be slower to recognize tones than someone with perfect pitch would be. However when put up against someone with perfect pitch he held his ground just fine. The guy was absolutely, mind-boggling, amazing. He's in some type of beat-box band that's HUGE in Japan. He does vocal guitar.

You cannot learn perfect pitch, you can only learn relative pitch.




And what you've heard/read is wrong. You cannot acquire perfect pitch. Musical training at an early age does not help- as ONCE AGAIN, it is something you are born with. Whether or not you have perfect pitch is what can be determined at a fairly young age, through musical training. Your story is of no relevance- not everybody who is related to someone with perfect pitch (or came out of the same pusssy) has perfect pitch. I don't know why you think they would.
I too have "read stories" about people with virtually no musical training, and very little interest in music, who have perfect pitch.




And let's not forget, there are TONS of people who claim to have perfect pitch, but in reality don't even have relative pitch. I'm friends with one, and embarrass him everytime he brings it up in front of me.

Lots of people think you have to be born with it. Lots of scientists think it is genetics/culture/early training. What you're saying isn't fact, so calm down.

[discombobulation]

quite offtopic but LOL @ Willith's irritable nature.

[FecalFamine]

I believe you can learn perfect pitch. It just won't come to you as naturally as people who are born with it (duh).

I don't have it, but I can damn near always hear a C note (when played by itself) whenever it's played. I can do this because I can remember what the middle C on piano sounds like. But in practical circumstances (like a melody) I can't tell my elbow from my sphincter.

But I've hardly worked on perfect pitch.. just saying I BELIEVE!!!

Has anyone tried just listening to a note (looped) during their sleep?

[Phoncible]

Originally Posted by discombobulation

quite offtopic but LOL @ Willith's irritable nature.

sig says it all :o

would be interesting to to see some studies who support the facts presented..

[GrindYourMind]

This is the saddest fucking thing I've ever read.