Joe Garrett wrote: > The piano is NOT TUNED PERFECTLY! > IMO, anyone who espouses to have perfect pitch, actually does not, > otherwise they could not stand to listen to tempered intervals. Somehow I knew you'd come back swinging..put up your guard. Perfect Pitch, Pitch Recognition, or whatever the catch-phrase of the day is, has nothing to do with piano tuning or one's ability to do so. My mentor made sure of that on Day 1 when we were tuning unisons and I recognized the piano being used as very flat(to A=440) - of course I was correct and it led to a discussion about how my affliction could hinder my ability to tune a piano in the future. The first time I went to set a temperament, I wanted to hear that F-A3 pure, and I was reminded that it can not be pure(in ET). This was one of those eye-opening experiences that makes one take notice about one's ability, or affliction..whichever. The F was still an F, and the A was still an A to my ear. > It really frosts my b$%^s when someone says they "have perfect > pitch"!!! It's truly an ego thingee and most of the time they're full > of s^^^! The next time someone says they have perfect pitch, ask them > to sing A440 and check them with your ETD. They won't even come close! To say what I have is an "ego thingee" is truly subjective. If an instrument is properly tuned to today's Standard Pitch, anyone with the ability to recognize a note, notes, or chords will be able to do so without reference. _IF_ the instrument is purposely tuned flat or sharp and a note, notes, or chords are played, anyone with this ability should be able to recognize that the instrument in question is flat or sharp. My recognition of 'flat' or 'sharp' runs somewhere in the +- 15cent area, especially on the sharp side..in other words, I will recognize sharp long before I recognize flat. After a day of tuning, I will admit my recognition of A=440 WILL run on the flat side..meaning, If tested, my ability to produce aurally a A=440 WILL run flat. I call it ear fatigue. That's where, perhaps, your distaste for the term Perfect Pitch comes into play..guess what? Mine too. I much prefer the term Pitch Recognition. It just doesn't sound as good as the term Perfect Pitch. I have tested my new knowledge of cents(new almost 8 years ago now) on floor tunings. When a piano comes into the dealer, I will play A4 and determine how flat(usually) the piano is. Joe, sometimes I am right on the money, and sometimes I am off by around 15%. The flatter a piano is, the better chance I have of predicting almost to the cent how flat a piano is. Perfect? no. Pretty darn close? Even you won't argue that. As far as your 'challenge' to produce a A=440, this pitch is at the tippy tippy top of my personal ability to produce aurally. I have tested myself on my SATll, and the lights on that particular ETD have a hard time recognizing my slightly wavering voice to produce it. I'm definitely 'in the ballpark' of producing A=440. Ask me to produce A=220 and I will have a much easier time. I will agree with you that the term Perfect Pitch is somewhat bunk, but I said somewhat. I believe Dave Nereson said it very well, and I will quote him here without permission: >I happen to have what my piano teacher and cello teacher called "perfect pitch," but what I, as a piano tuner, would call only "very good pitch recognition." I'm never "dead on," just "very close" most of the time. But it doesn't cause any mental anguish for me to hear out-of-tune pianos or old recordings that aren't at A=440, or pianos or guitars or whatever that are a quarter- or half-step flat; I just recognize them as such. < "I just recognize them as such" is perhaps the best way to describe it. Way to go Dave. Phil Bondi(Fl)
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