Author: mrn
Date: 2009-07-15 15:16
Bluesparkle wrote:
<<I don't claim to have perfect pitch, but if asked to sing, say a middle C, I can get pretty close, sharp or flat, so I don't think A=440 matching really applies. When thinking about what that pitch will be prior to humming it, I find I have to think about what it "feels like" in my vocal chords and "ear memory," much like you can sing a song in your head. Haven't tried just picking out notes played by an instrument that I recall.>>
People also have this ability to varying degrees. Some can identify pitches they hear (this is called "passive AP"), while others are able to produce a named pitch without a reference (this is called "active AP"). Not everyone with AP can do both.
When I sang in a choir I was able to give starting pitches from memory without a reference--I just remember what it sounds like in my head. What I have never quite done, however, is learn to associate pitches with note names. I can often recognize whether a given note is the first note of a tune, and if you ask me to sing a tune from memory without a reference pitch, I will sing it in the right key. But I don't associate pitches with letter names unless I just happen to know from the score, for instance, that the first note of the clarinet parts to the Copland and Mozart Concertos are the same concert E. (but see how transposing instruments confuse this--you finger it as a "G" for Mozart and an "F#" for Copland, even though it's the same note)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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