ear training

[just_me]

Hi. I am trying to acquire perfect pitch, focusing on one note at a time. I hope this will help me (eventually) compose. However, I am confused on how to reinforce this at the piano. Meaning that, how can I get my ear up so that I can hear several notes at once? Should I keep focusing on one note at a time, zeroing in on where those pitches occur in the piece I am working on? OR is there a way to practice ear training such that you focus on the chords? Should I make outlines of my pieces and just focus on hearing the chordal structure, (say, learning the "feel" of I-iii, etc. in the key the piece is in) rather than note by note? Thanks!

[healdie]

this is a very common topic and if you do a search you should find all the answers you are looking for,

but perfect pitch will not help you compose if anything it may hinder your ability especially when writing for orchestra and you have transposing instruments such as horns clarinets

the ability to compose comes from a good knoweldge of theory and harmony and from your own imaginination

[healdie]

just thought to back my point up niether Berlioz, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Stravinsky had perfect pitch but the history of music would not be complete without them

so i would say PP is certanly not neccesary to compose

[db05]

I'm confused. Do you want to hear one note at a time with perfect pitch, or chord structures?

I myself don't have a very good sense of pitch. So I like to better my listening skills (more on recognizing timbre, dynamics, style). Listen to ensemble/ orchestra/ band music. Try to hear all the instruments. Never mind the exact pitch. Without putting labels to notes, you find some are there for consonance, some for dissonance. This is most basic! I have the worst ears in class, but I can feel that. So first off, sharper hearing. (Dropping bombs, shooting guns, listening to live band or clubbing without ear plugs are big no-nos!) Then go on to pitch training.

I'm not sure if you can develop perfect pitch. Here's a thread about it:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,29156.0.html
Can Perfect Pitch be Taught?

btw perfect pitch is also known as absolute pitch.

Do you have an ear training method/ routine? Some ideas:

https://www.aruffo.com/eartraining/theories.htm
Acoustic Learning. A theater actor/ acting teacher's research regarding pitch learning. Very long and detailed, but the site looks "cheap" (not my description; I actually read most of the site and found it informative). OR just go straight to the Ear Training Companion link and get the free demo. Don't let the childish-looking games fool you. I've had this for a year, and I still haven't finished all the levels. 

btw, I suggest you get all the free help you can find... DON'T waste your money!

https://www.miles.be/
Functional Ear Trainer. There's Basic and Advanced program. Plus there are some good articles well worth reading. 

https://www.iwasdoingallright.com/tools/v2_23/ear_training.aspx
I Was Doing All Right. Online ear trainer with many training options with focus on call-and-response ear training. See the notes below the page for more info. Intervals, Chords, Melodies, Rhythm Section, Advanced (with modulation). You can also download an offline version. I don't think I'll graduate from this one.

I don't think you'll graduate from this one as a pianist:
https://members.aol.com/chang8828/contents.htm
Fundamentals of Piano Practice. An online book about piano with lots of information. Again, you may want to read everything OR jump to the parts that interest you. The premise of the book is that you must learn to memorize and mentally play the piano pieces you learn and you'll develop absolute pitch from there. Because Mental Play doesn't really work well with absolute pitch.

Finally, don't forget that our purpose is to make music (in your case, to be able to compose) and not simply to name notes/ intervals/ chords. Keep on practicing and playing, and listen to yourself. Study music theory and relate it to what you hear. Hope this helps.

Good luck to you, and have fun playing piano!