Perfect Pitch

[Michel Lachance]

Richard,

Pitch memory is only one of several abilities the ear can develop.  
There are some others (I may not have the right english terminology):

Inner hearing:  The ability to "hear", "sing" or "play" *inwardly* a 
melody, a rythm, etc, previously played or heard.

Ear memory:  The ability to recall a series of sounds previously heard.

Harmonic sense:  The ability to recognize which degree a chord is in a 
given tonality.

Interval sense:  The ability to distinguish an interval.

I was a crack of music dictation at University and never had perfect 
ear.  I rather used the previously mentionned skills to take down on 
paper any melody or chord progressions.  I have what we call a very good 
"relative ear".  I only need to know the first note and I take care of 
the rest.

Michel Lachance, RPT

Richard Moody wrote:
> 
> Hi Phil
>         I have a question that has been bugging since I wondered about it
> due to a tune I couldn't get out of my head.  If a person has perfect
> pitch, pitch recognition,or tonal recal, or tonal recognition, or
> whatever you want to call it,  can he or she upon hearing a tune,
> write down the notes, especially if they can hum it to themselves.
> I  have no idea if a note being played is C or A, so that precludes
> me from knowing what key the song is in.   I have heard that with
> training one can recognize the interval of the next note played. I
> think it is easier to produce the interval musically than to name it
> upon hearing it. I can tell most triads esp if they are in tonic.  Of
> course rhythm or timing is important, other wise Joy to the World
> would sound only like a descending C major scale.
> 
> Richard Moody