tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post240331462810153985..comments2024-01-12T00:48:55.192-08:00Comments on Music and Brain Blog at University of Toronto: Perfect Pitch: An unexplainable phenomenon or a musical gene?Lee Bartelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06727468225852676801noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post-27341651754998454782010-11-10T23:33:29.320-08:002010-11-10T23:33:29.320-08:00This subject is also of interest to me... there se...This subject is also of interest to me... there seems to be agreement on the idea that perfect pitch must be developed through training, while some people may have more of an innate ability to develop it than others. What I haven't heard addressed is the degree of a person's absolute pitch recognition. For example, having played guitar since I was quite young, I can quite accurately tune it (to a=440) without a reference tone, and recognize pitches played on it. This must be because I recognize the timbres of the notes of the guitar, because I've tried to recognize pitches played on the piano and have been far less successful. This ability has developed over years, and I suspect that people with much better absolute pitch than me have just developed it faster and to a higher degree. I suppose the researchers have designed their test to identify what they consider to be "perfect" pitch, but this makes it seem like either you have it or you don't... I feel that this ability must be found in varying degrees in everyone, probably depending on both genes and musical training. I also wonder if researchers have considered the role of timbre in pitch recognition.Michael Kolkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03248801455190410945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post-23180755791599639812010-11-02T13:07:02.687-07:002010-11-02T13:07:02.687-07:00@Lisa
I was having an interesting conversation th...@Lisa <br />I was having an interesting conversation the other day with someone in our class about how perfect pitch is dispersed among students in music programs. First, it seems that the rate of perfect pitch in university music students is much higher than the average population which could be an argument in favor of it being something we learn. Second, it seems that there is an uneven distribution of perfect pitch among different types of instrumentalist. My own experience is that I have known many violinist and pianists with perfect pitch but there seem to be fewer numbers in other instruments. Again, this could favor perfect pitch being a learned skill. In most schools it seems that it is hardest to get in as a violinist or pianist since there is so much competition. The students who started their instruments at a young age are likely to get into university programs.<br /><br />@Leila<br />Perfect pitch is the ability to recognize the precise frequency of a note without first hearing a reference pitch. For example someone with perfect pitch can hear a note out of the blue and be able to name that pitch. For most people (myself included) we can guess at what we think the note is, but need to hear a reference pitch to be sure. Perfect pitch is like the aural equivalent of knowing exactly which way north is without the help of a compass. Your question brings up to the other side of the argument. Although I haven't witnessed this myself, I have heard stories of relatively unmusical people discovering that they have perfect pitch later in life. These people usually discover by accident that they think about pitch differently from most other people. In these rare cases, there must be some other factor at play. Perhaps genetics.Lucas Marchandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00589317734093226949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post-72543495441436035272010-10-30T23:15:33.374-07:002010-10-30T23:15:33.374-07:00Thanks a lot for the beautiful topic Lisa. I reall...Thanks a lot for the beautiful topic Lisa. I really enjoyed reading and watching it. I believe species traits are the result of their genes and environment ( here; learning music). I don't think a perfect pitch without training and praticing will be recognized,neither a person without perfect pitch gene will get this ability with an ordinary practice. But I still don't have a precise definition for "Perfect pitch" in my mind. Who is called to have a perfect pitch, and what level of music knowledge do persons participated in this study have?Leilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00080116441325391389noreply@blogger.com