perfect pitch defined/Hughes Reply

[David G. Hughes, RPT]

David Love,

    I LOVE you for composing and posting this. I have always cringed upon hearing the term "perfect pitch".
    Your definitions and explanations are perfect. Permit me one suggestion to the entire musical community: we drop the term perfect pitch and substitute it with "pitch (or note) recognition". This is, after all, what we're talking about. There never has nor will there ever be anything perfect about musical pitch.
    I don't know how to post messages to the PTG list. If you could do so for me with this response I'd be most appreciative.
    Many thanks.

    Dave Hughes, RPT 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Love" <davidlovepianos at comcast.net>
To: "'Pianotech List'" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 11:43 AM
Subject: RE: perfect pitch defined


> This whole thing of relative versus perfect pitch is getting a bit
> convoluted.  Now we even have some using the term "relative perfect pitch"
> (a bit of an oxymoron).  As someone pointed out, perfect pitch simply refers
> to pitch memory, like the ability to identify a color, one who possesses
> "perfect" or "absolute" pitch can identify a pitch when heard in isolation.
> There appears to be a strong genetic component for this ability but it seems
> to also have a critical period for development (like certain language
> skills).  Claims that you can teach yourself "perfect pitch" are bogus.  The
> accuracy of so called perfect pitch is another matter.  A person who has
> this ability generally can't identify or hear the difference between A440
> and A339 or A442 for that matter.  They simply hear the three notes as an A.
> Those who are musicians (and not all those who possess this ability are)
> might very well have a strong sense of flat or sharp based on their own
> intimate sense of their instrument.  Many violinists, for example, can hear
> differences within their own instrument if it is tuned slightly sharp or
> slightly flat.  One assumes that the subtle difference in the quality of
> sound at different tension levels accounts for that.  Woodwind players can
> often hear the difference as well and in both cases having perfect pitch
> doesn't seem to be a prerequisite.  I doubt whether they could tell you
> exact cents deviations.  Pianists, in my experience don't experience
> differences in tuning the same way.   There is an ongoing study at UCSF
> (University of California San Francisco Medical School) on this very subject
> (perfect pitch, absolute pitch, pitch memory--however you choose to call it)
> with extensive testing done on these individuals who have it and who claim
> to have it.  I know the scientist in charge of the study and have had many
> lengthy conversations about her findings.  It's really quite interesting
> should anyone wish to look into it.  I don't know how much of the study is
> actually published.
> 
> Relative pitch, on the other hand, is a learned skill and refers to the
> ability to identify any particular note after being given a reference note.
> Most well trained musicians have relative pitch, or should.  
> 
> The term "relative perfect pitch" makes no sense in this context.  
> 
> David Love
> davidlovepianos at comcast.net
> www.davidlovepianos.com 
> 
> 
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> 
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> 
>
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