Perfect Pitch/a bunch of hogwash

[Richard Brekne]

Grin.... might I suggest that this has to do with whos money the teacher is spending
??? Gentelmen... lets get this clear. There is of course something found amound some
people we refer to as perfect pitch. Few have it, and a good portion of those never
find out about it, or never have opportunity to use it.

Just exactly what perfect pitch is has never been exactly nailed down, and I am far
from sure it is necessary to do so, tho it might satisfy somes curiosity.

That we see in so very very many pianists, teachers, etc. etc. ad absurdum an
apparent lack of ability to recognize whether a piano is significantly out of tune or
not has to do with several things, not the least a reluctance to open their pocket
book, coupled with a long standing, almost historical misunderstanding of what a
piano is. A misunderstanding, I might add, fueled by a maze of dis-information spread
by sales people, manufacturers, and to no small degree by piano techs themselves.

I often say to folks who scratch their heads when their piano goes out of tune, "what
is the first thing a, say, guitar player does when picking up the instrument to play
? or a violinist, or for that matter any instrument you can think of. Even "fixed
tuned" instruments must have their basic pitch adjusted in some manner when moving
from one climate condition to another. In fact the piano is the only instrument in
the world (aside from electronics) that for some "reason" or another should be able
to just sit there and stay in tune for ever. I ask such customers to consider for a
moment just how on earth this idea ever got started, or why it should be such. That
almost always does the trick, and in the few cases that it doesnt, the old pocketbook
is always the reason why. At some point, some folks just plain dont want to
understand. We usually call this being unreasonable, irrational, or something of the
like.

None of this, of course, removes the fact that there are indeed those who display an
uncanny ability to identify correct pitch by use of ear only. For those who dont
believe, I can only say that at least this much has been demonstrated many times for
many people and is simply no more or less then a matter of fact.

Richard Brekne
I.C.P.T.G.  N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway

"Jim Coleman, Sr." wrote:

> Hi Matthew:
>
> One of the things that strikes me as curious is that when I worked at
> the local college, the teachers wanted their pianos tuned every month or
> two, but they only had their home piano tuned once a year. I wonder why
> that is.
>
> Jim Coleman, Sr.
>
> On Tue, 14 Dec 1999, Matthew Todd wrote:
>
> > You have to also keep in mind that some people people are not fit to be piano
> > teachers.  It is obvious if they want to get their piano tuned only once every
> > two to three years.
> >
> >
> > Matthew
> >
> > RptBob1@AOL.COM wrote:
> >
> > > In a message dated 12/14/99 10:19:10 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> > > caute@accessnt.com.au writes:
> > >
> > > <<
> > >  > My piano teacher, when she was asked what is the prerequisite of
> > >  > becoming a musician, would answer that one must have a good ear. At the
> > >  > beginning of a master class with new students, the first order of
> > >  > business would be to check for perfect pitch. This was how she knew who
> > >  > was talented.
> > >  > >>
> > >  List:
> > > This is so much hogwash. Not wanting to add fuel to the fire but....  in my
> > > long experience, I have found a tremendous lack of pitch knowledge especially
> > > amongst pianists and piano teachers.  Why else would so many of them have
> > > their pianos tuned once every two or three years whether it is needed or not.
> > >  And how can one explain the large numbers of vocal teachers I have
> > > encountered who really are totally unaware of whether or not not their school
> > > piano is in tune.  The only time I get a call is when a unison has really
> > > slipped badly and is obvious to everyone in their classroom or something is
> > > not working properly and I get a call to fix a note that is "out of tune".
> > >
> > > This is the rule rather than the exception- in over 30 years of Tuning.
> > >
> > > Firehoses to the ready!!
> > >
> > > Bob Bergantino, RPT
> > > Willoughby Hills, Ohio
> >