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

Buzzerbee · Before February 2015

Hello, forums! (What a brilliant and original introduction)

>>>THIS TOPIC IS ABOUT MUSIC!!!!!11!!! ;DDD YAAAY!!EAWUAISUF iosdjfmsodifusd<<<

Okay so recently I figured out that I have relative pitch (I can figure out chords and crap) and I've been training myself to get perfect pitch.

What is Perfect Pitch?
Basically it's when you can recognize musical notes as you would recognize colors; hearing an F# would be recognized in your mind as an F#.

And I was wondering if anyone on the forums have it? (About 1 in 10,000 do)
Also, if you have it, were you born with it or did you train to get it?

Does anyone have relative pitch, like me?
Does anyone have both?

Other:
1) Most people have neither relative nor perfect pitch. /To Notsobad

2)It is either impossible or nearly impossible to obtain perfect pitch at an older age, but you can work to be more accurate. /To sensei1

When I say TRAIN, I mean train myself and others to be more accurate. Not to fully develop perfect pitch. (see OTHER #2)

Discuss! (What a brilliant and original conclusion)

Last edited by BuzzerBee (Nov 17 2012 11:29:09 am)

Notsobad · Before February 2015

I didn't quite understand what you were talking about when I read this (I don't really think about music) so I Googled it. That didn't help so I hit YouTube and watched a video. I would never be able to identify pitches based on their sound alone. That can be a very useful skill to have if you put it toward a purpose BuzzerBee.

I have no clue if I'm perfect, relative, both, or neither (if thats possible). How would I find out?

Buzzerbee · Before February 2015

Notsobad wrote:

I have no clue if I'm perfect, relative, both, or neither (if thats possible). How would I find out?

Yes, most people have neither.

You would most likely know if you had perfect pitch, but you could find out by:

1a) Finding a piano (there are some online)
1b) Closing your eyes and playing a note
1c) Seeing if you can determine what note that is

or

2a) Finding a piano (there are some online)
2b) Humming a note and try to determine what it is
2c) Play that note on a piano to see if you are correct

Notsobad · Before February 2015

Well, I would be a neither. I found an online piano and I don't know any music notes so I struggled identifing any... I'm sure if I studied the notes and taught myself their sounds, I would gain relative or perfect pitch (whichever is easier).

Oh and I have a question (off topic sorry): What happened with the merchant competition?

Last edited by Notsobad (Nov 10 2012 11:09:19 pm)

JadElClemens · Before February 2015

Did a test. 2/12 for perfect, 4/12 for relative.
Swag.

Notsobad · Before February 2015

I got a 9/10 here... well, I kinda cheated since you could just compare the notes on the test to the ones at the top of the page. Oh well, I feel special now

Buzzerbee · Before February 2015

Using notsobad's link, I got 10/10 after using only ONE reference note (C), declaring that I have very good relative pitch (:

Notsobad wrote:

Oh and I have a question (off topic sorry): What happened with the merchant competition?

Pshhh... What merchant competition... I don't know what you're talking about...

Last edited by BuzzerBee (Nov 11 2012 12:17:59 am)

ThuggishPrune · Before February 2015

Hearing C works for me too with pitches. I'm working on being able to hear it. Band class helps me considering I play Sax, Bassoon, Ocarina.

Nickolai · Before February 2015

I've always been good at recognizing chords and notes. Didn't really train for it just kinda know it I guess.

Got 10/10 on that thing btw

Last edited by Nickolai (Nov 11 2012 2:25:50 am)

Buzzerbee · Before February 2015

Nickolai wrote:

I've always been good at recognizing chords and notes. Didn't really train for it just kinda know it I guess.
Got 10/10 on that thing btw

Must be perfect pitch o:

RhazzleFrazzle · Before February 2015

my orchestra teacher verified my perfect pitch, but ive always been good with notes. ive had perfect pitch since i was born. if i hear a song and have the melody in my head, i can quickly transpose it to viola.

Zoey2070 · Before February 2015

I got 7 out of ten on the absolute pitch test but I sort of cheated just to get the first note but after that I just compared them.
So I guess I have 'good relative pitch'? I really can't play any instrument though and if I try to play the first five notes of Still Alive (which is all I know) on a piano I usually end up having it be too high and not on the right notes at all. But the intervals between the notes would be right.

Deetz · Before February 2015

Relative pitch, although I am subconsciously training to be perfect.

xzeldax · Before February 2015

ive been learning piano for 11 years, violin for 5 years, and guitar for 2 years.
easily got a 10/10
i guess its somethin that i just gradually learned without noticing it, in fact, if you mash 3 or 4 random notes all at once, im pretty confident that i can recognize all of them.

1 out of 10000 have it? i dont quite believe in that, unless you meant 1 out of 10000 are born with it, because all musicians SHOULD have a perfect pitch. if they dont, then how the hell do they tune their instruments.

imtn · Before February 2015

As long as the bell in my school is ringing, I have absolute pitch for the first B natural above middle C. I don't know why the bell has to be ringing, but when it does, I do get these miraculous powers.

Sensei1 · Before February 2015

I have a relative pitch, I need an absolute pitch (*>.<*)
I would like to know the best ways to get it
Because i want it o(???)o

@xzeldax
with an instrument thats already tuned.

Last edited by Sensei1 (Nov 14 2012 11:24:56 pm)

Buzzerbee · Before February 2015

You can't get it, but you can work to be more accurate. It must be developed as a child.

Notsobad · Before February 2015

Wait how can you tell which note it is just like how colors come to mind almost naturally? Does it really come that easy to you because I couldn't ever tell any differences between them (other than comparing which was higher/lower).

Oh and one other thing, aren't there multiple types of notes, and the test I took was only C notes? I'm so confused...

AzurePudding · Before February 2015

Cool forum didn't send my post.

Anyway time to retype

I identify sounds as either music or noise. I would classify a lot of modern music as noise.

I don't understand the OT. All instruments aren't spot on with each other. It's like how with shoe sizes, at one store you could have a size 18, but at another store the same size would be a size 16. You can never measure something perfectly.

Koya · Before February 2015

Perfect pitch! I just picked it up from a lot of music and school bands etc..
The only way I can suggest helping is just to be around music a lot (and to know what they're playing, so you can log away all of the different notes from different instruments)

Sythe5665 · Before February 2015

Well, I don't know if this counts for anything, but if I hear music, If I try to sing it, I can sing it without getting any notes off.

RavaTroll · Before February 2015

Perfect pitch is terrible whenever you have to play baroque music since the A was set at 415Hz instead of 440Hz.
So basically, it wont sound good for you. It may also ruins the pleasure of listening to music if you focus your attention on the tonality and the note played instead of the music itself.

BUT, it helps a lot if you have to sing - which is one of the most important thing to do : Musicians should always sing ( btw, back in the 18th century, "musicians" was the word for singers ), because it helps a lot making the music more alive and connected to you in some way. Absolute pitch also helps a lot for instruments where you have to find the notes using your ears ( Violin for exemple ). It's also very usefull if you have to rewrite something you've listened.

I have a relative pitch, and I've been working for the last 3 months on my absolute pitch - mostly to recognize the 440Hz A.
Both need work though, but as buzzerbee said, it's almost impossible to get it once you get old. You can work to get some notes that you can identify, and then learn with your relative hear how to find the other notes.

Here's pachelbel's canon in D with an A at 415,3Hz :
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvNQLJ1_HQ0[/youtube]
Now with an A at 440Hz :
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dljMm6Ry-wA[/youtube]

And if you want to hear the differences :
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9bIb7UAMHw[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFOl-9SNxLY[/youtube]

Buzzerbee · Before February 2015

@Rava: The 415 HZ sounded to me like a G or maybe an Ab; so I don't understand how it can be called an A natural.

RavaTroll · Before February 2015

Well, harmonicaly speaking, it's the "A 415" D.
It's written in D, it's just that the instruments where made to play the A at 415 instead of 440.
So the 1st degree chord will be D F# A, even if it doesn't sound like this to you and you might hear C# F G#.

It's important to know there is a difference between the note you hear and the note that is played. Example : In C Major, a E# ISN'T an F. It's an augmented third. D double flat isn't a C, it's a D. It's a big difference in harmony because the name of the note tells you if the note is in the chord or not.
Another example : in the D sharp major scale, you have these notes : D# E# F## G# A# B# C##
Ofc, it's not used a lot since people will use flats instead of sharps ( So it'd be Eb major with three flats in the key signature ). But it's important to know that difference.
That's why absolute pitch can suck if you don't know anything about musical theory.

Also, you're aware that some instruments plays different notes for the same sound. There are different kinds of clarinets for example. The layout on the instrument is the same, but the note played will change, so you'll hear a C when they'll play a Bb on their clarinet - and in their head. OFC the music sheet will be adapted to the music so that they'll actually play in the same tonality, but they'll think "Bb major" instead of "C major". ( I don't know if the examples used here are correct, I'm not a Bb soprano clarinet player haha )

But I agree that this is a bit advanced and you don't need to know that as an amateur musician.

So, if you have to sing/play the partition, and you sing/play it with an A at 440, it wont sound how it was supposed to sound for the composer.

I hope you can understand, it's the first time I explain musical theory stuff in english.

Legoking2000 · Before February 2015

Nah, but I can sort of mimic songs I've heard on my cello, but I wouldn't call that relative pitch.

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