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 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"
Author: rgames 
Date:   2007-09-05 16:53

An interesting recurring topic - keep a few things in mind:

While the relationships among notes are clear, are based in physics, and are common among all cultures (e.g. fifths, octaves, implications of the overtone series, etc.), the idea of "absolutes" is absurd. Even within western culture, the idea of absolutes is nonsense. If you have perfect pitch, to which common tuning reference are you "perfect"? And to which temperament?

What we call "perfect pitch" is just a form of memory; it's not based on an absolute reference. I'm certain there are people with perfect pitch in all cultures, with many different pitch standards. A person may be genetically predisposed to remembering the pitches to which he is exposed but the idea that there is some genetically-based absolute is unfounded (at least, there's no evidence of it that I've seen).

Everybody has some degree of perfect pitch. If I play you a note on a tuba and ask you to come back the next day and repeat it, are you going to do it on a piccolo? Of course not, you remember that it was a "low note". People with perfect pitch are just able to localize it with a much higher degree of accuracy. Ask someone with perfect pitch to identify 10 microtonal variants of A=440 Hz. I bet his/her pitch will seem a bit, well, "imperfect" shall we say?

Consider this paradox: if you are a clarinetist with perfect pitch, are you going to insist on playing your note in tune to a reference A=440 Hz and an equally tempered scale at all times? What if two of those people try to play a major third apart? Uh-oh - now one is out of tune...

rgames

____________________________
Richard G. Ames
Composer - Arranger - Producer
www.rgamesmusic.com
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 Topics Author  Date
 Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
DavidBlumberg 2007-08-28 15:54 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
skygardener 2007-08-28 16:29 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist  new
ChrisArcand 2007-08-28 16:39 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
DavidBlumberg 2007-08-28 16:44 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist  new
Ski 2007-08-28 19:01 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
skygardener 2007-08-29 03:08 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Paumartin 2007-08-29 04:09 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Ski 2007-08-29 08:53 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
ned 2007-08-29 23:15 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
DavidBlumberg 2007-08-30 00:12 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
ned 2007-08-30 06:05 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Ski 2007-08-30 06:53 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
ned 2007-08-30 08:12 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
DavidBlumberg 2007-08-30 12:02 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
tictactux 2007-08-30 12:18 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Ed Granger 2007-08-30 16:24 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
ned 2007-08-30 22:27 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Koo Young Chung 2007-08-31 00:41 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Ski 2007-08-31 01:11 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Koo Young Chung 2007-08-31 02:57 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist  new
Ski 2007-08-31 04:48 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist  new
MichaelR 2007-09-04 18:33 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist  new
Ski 2007-09-04 18:43 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
clockwiser 2007-08-31 10:05 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
DavidBlumberg 2007-08-31 12:00 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Ed Granger 2007-08-31 11:00 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
vin 2007-08-31 14:18 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Mark Charette 2007-08-31 14:22 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
DavidBlumberg 2007-08-31 14:35 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist  new
Ed Granger 2007-08-31 15:08 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist  new
Ski 2007-08-31 16:13 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist  new
Ed Granger 2007-08-31 16:23 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
joannew 2007-09-02 11:44 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Koo Young Chung 2007-09-02 14:50 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist  new
Ski 2007-09-02 15:45 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Koo Young Chung 2007-09-02 14:54 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
diz 2007-09-04 05:05 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist  new
Ski 2007-09-04 18:59 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Paumartin 2007-09-05 06:09 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
DavidBlumberg 2007-09-05 11:43 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist  new
skygardener 2007-09-05 08:36 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
rgames 2007-09-05 16:53 
 Re: Perfect Pitch Gene and Clarinetist "perfect pitch from tonal timbre"  new
Ski 2007-09-05 18:53 


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