Absolute Pitch ("Perfect Pitch") - Who has it?

Sensei1 · Before February 2015

@ravatroll
I see...
Bad thing is that even though I understand musical theory, my english is so bad that i understand only half of it
But did you mean that it's A (not Ab) because it's written so in the music score? Or did I understand it wrong?

RavaTroll · Before February 2015

Yes, if it's A on the music score, it's an A, no matter if it's a 440Hz A, a 432Hz A or a 415Hz A.
So if you hear a G/Ab with your absolute pitch, it doesn't matter.

But don't worry, most of the music you can hear nowadays will have an A @440Hz, so it's ok, and it's still very very usefull for everything except baroque music.

Sensei1 · Before February 2015

Okay thanks
I remember that my music teacher has told me something like that a long time ago

Buzzerbee · Before February 2015

RavaTroll wrote:

Yes, if it's A on the music score, it's an A, no matter if it's a 440Hz A, a 432Hz A or a 415Hz A.
So if you hear a G/Ab with your absolute pitch, it doesn't matter.
But don't worry, most of the music you can hear nowadays will have an A @440Hz, so it's ok, and it's still very very usefull for everything except baroque music.

Wouldn't it be the other way around?

An A is an A no matter what, but the staff can make what would be an Ab be an A depending on the Key Signature, Accidentals, etc...?

RavaTroll · Before February 2015

No, the only thing that matters is the note written, harmonically speaking. I'm not talking about what you hear. If you write something in A minor, it's in A minor. Even if the musician plays it with an A @432Hz. It doesn't matter.

An A on the score is an A. And baroque song played today can be played with an A @440Hz, it doesn't matter, it'll still be an A, and the chords will be ( in A minor ) :
I : A minor : A C E ;
II : B diminished : B D F ;
III : C augmented : C E G# ;
IV : D minor : D F A ;
V : E major : E G# B ;
VI : F major : F A C ;
VII : G# diminished : G# B D.
( We're in minor, so there's an accidental G# because there's always a half between the subtonic and the tonic )

So, let me show you why it's important.
Back in the 17th century, it was quicker for the composer - and he was absolutly ok with this - to simply write a figured bass for the background instruments. So, if you were a harpishchord player ( most of the figured basses were played on harpishchords ), you would have something like this to play :

So, the musican only had a bass line with numbers telling what is the chord they have to play.
Why am I showing you this ? Because it's important to understand that you have to "guess" what the chords are using only the numbers. Basically, the third note - the E with the number 6 - is C E G. ( Because the "6" means that the bass note is the third of the tonic of the chord you have to play. E is the third of C so you play C E G )
So, it's written E on the score. If you play it using the A @415, it'll sound to you like a D# or a D, but it wont be a D# or a D, since it's explicitely written E. Plus this song is obviously in C major, and this is the 1st degree. B D# F# isn't in the tonality ( As you can see on my chords list ), so it "doesn't exist", even if it's what you hear, it'll still be a C major chord. And the musician will play a C major on his instrument, no matter how high it sounds.

Well, it's interesting to explain this in english haha.

Last edited by RavaTroll (Nov 17 2012 10:54:46 pm)

Sensei1 · Before February 2015

@Ravatroll
Wow, you know really much of musical theory :O
I know those things, but i often forget them

I guess for a musician, perfect pitch would be maybe best if you could turn it off, since there may come some problems, but still it would be cool to have that kind of skill

tak4n · Before February 2015

Buzzerbee, you say it is like recognising colours. If lets say I am colour blind (I am not) does that mean I have perfect pitch?
trolololol.

RavaTroll · Before February 2015

sensei1 wrote:

@Ravatroll
Wow, you know really much of musical theory :O
I know those things, but i often forget them

Well I'm studying musicology and I might end up being a music teacher so I have to know all this haha.

Buzzerbee · Before February 2015

tak4n wrote:

Buzzerbee, you say it is like recognising colours. If lets say I am colour blind (I am not) does that mean I have perfect pitch?
trolololol.

Um, wat.

Sight has nothing to do with hearing.

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