Question about perfect pitch

[tw0k1ngs]

Ok, I do not believe I have perfect pitch (I may, but I doubt it). Thing is, if a series of notes are played on a keyboard for me, I can name every one of them. But, if you were to switch tonal centers, it compltly throws me off, which makes me bleive I have perfect relative pitch. It starts off like if you play a D, I can say, "D4", but once you play an E major chord, my head starts ALWAYS finding tonic, and the D previously played doesnt now sound like a vii and want to resolve, but just sounds nothing like the D I had just heard. It is almost like perfect pitch escapes me as soon as I hear the slightest bit of harmony. I cannot escape tonic!

My question is, how do those with perfect pitch escape tonic? No matter what note I hear, my head will find a tonic, even if there are no chords involved so there is no tonic, and the weird thing is, my tonic won't be the same (like I won't always hear the note as a fifth from tonic) the same note could one time be a iii-I or the next time a vi-I in a different key.

If it wasn't for my mind continuously finding a tonic or progression (which is GREAT for composing ) then I would have perfect pitch.

Also, what is it called when you can predict where music is going if you have never heard it before? For example, if I am playing a piano piece i have never heard before, I will "feel" the song will go a certian way, and 95% of the time it does, and if it doesn't, my way sounds better. (or so everyone I know says) Is that some kind of perfect pitch, or more like an active composition?

[henrah]

Perfect pitch is when you link colours and feelings to each individual note on the keyboard, so when any note is played you can name it by reading what feelings you feel and colours you hear. You do have perfect pitch, but it is easily thrown off. Still perfect though....lucky son of a..*mumbles off*

The answer to your question is to hear each individual note in a chord, and figure out which note is which. You can use your ability to find the tonic to help you, as you don't have to work at finding it. When you hear a chord, and know the tonic, instantly concentrate on the other notes. With enough practice, you'll be able to hear and distinguish each note in a chord.

As for your predictions of music, I also get that sometimes. But it mostly comes about when I'm listening to classical, not romantic, pieces. Mozart is one I find particularly fun to follow with my mind, and predict where he might be going; but sometimes that tricky little devil goes somewhere unexpected, which is what I like about him. Always suprising me As you are able to hear where something goes - and if your improvisation skills are fairly good - you can do a Liszt and ask some people to give you a set of themes and motifs and you can improvise around them on the spot. Simply play each one through and see what you hear carrying on after them, and you can look very impressive
Henrah

[emmdoubleew]

For example, if I am playing a piano piece i have never heard before, I will "feel" the song will go a certian way, and 95% of the time it does, and if it doesn't, my way sounds better. (or so everyone I know says) Is that some kind of perfect pitch, or more like an active composition?

No, that's just following the logical chord progression.

You may have perfect pitch and simply need to develop it.

Henrah, you are confusing two different things: perfect pitch and theosophy. The first enables you to reckognize and memorise a note as you would recognize and memorize someone's face, and the other makes you reckognize a melody because you associate it with specific feelings or colors.

[tw0k1ngs]

No, that's just following the logical chord progression.

I'm not necessarily talking about harmony, but melody as well...

[emmdoubleew]

I'm not necessarily talking about harmony, but melody as well...

I know, but melody can be very logical when it comes to classical period music, and closely corrolated to harmony, even some romantic.

Now if you told me you could predict prokofiev, I would never beleive you.

[nanabush]

I didn't know what it was and that it was a big deal until grd 9 when we started doing ear tests in music class... I found them easy in my piano lessons, and I knew I could name the notes, but I didn't know that a very small percentage of musicians have this skill.  If something exists between relative pitch and perfect pitch, you probably have it  , and I'm sure there's alot of ppl that have the same thing as you.

[tw0k1ngs]

I didn't know what it was and that it was a big deal until grd 9 when we started doing ear tests in music class... I found them easy in my piano lessons, and I knew I could name the notes, but I didn't know that a very small percentage of musicians have this skill.  If something exists between relative pitch and perfect pitch, you probably have it  , and I'm sure there's alot of ppl that have the same thing as you.

Being that you have perfect pitch, how can you just hear an interval, then not want it to resolve to a certain note? Do you just hear every individual note as tonic?

[nanabush]

I can if I want to  , if It's a common chord, like a root position minor chord, I'll probably just think instantly, C minor, then pick out the notes, but if someone holds down a very strange chord like C, Cb, E, G, A, Bb,  ill be able to go through each individual note in my head, and I guess each note as it's own tonic...  It's kinda hard to describe, I can just tell what note it is, and if it's an interval, I could name each note... could you describe a bit more what you mean by resolve?  If you mean like minor 3rd, B-D... and wanting it to resolve to a C, then I don't do that.

[tw0k1ngs]

I can if I want to  , if It's a common chord, like a root position minor chord, I'll probably just think instantly, C minor, then pick out the notes, but if someone holds down a very strange chord like C, Cb, E, G, A, Bb,  ill be able to go through each individual note in my head, and I guess each note as it's own tonic...  It's kinda hard to describe, I can just tell what note it is, and if it's an interval, I could name each note... could you describe a bit more what you mean by resolve?  If you mean like minor 3rd, B-D... and wanting it to resolve to a C, then I don't do that.

With me, if someone plays a G on the piano I can instantly name it, and any other note, I can name it, but if you play an F A C triad, I will now be stuck in F major, and if you played a C now, it will sound dominant immediatly and "want" to resolve to F in my head and I will probably call it a G, since G sounds like that to me in relation to C. If I walk away for a second, and come back, that C will now sound like a C in C Maj again.

Thing is, I don't hear it as a G by going "5, 1, 5, 1" to test it in relation to tonic to make sure it is the 5th degree, it just "sounds" like a G and dominant.

Also, how good are you at quickly resolving chord progressions? Because I took a test today that had 9 chords played with a 1 second rest in between, and you had to name the scale degree, quality (including 7th) and what inversion it was in, as well as notate the soprano and bass. Needless to say I bombed it, but did very well in the section where a classical selection would be played, and it would ask you what notes were played, what starting notes would be in relation to the other instruments played, what progressions it went through, what rhythm it had, etc.

[nanabush]

I'm not sure how successful someone will be in naming the scale degree, type of chord, inversion, and soprano and bass notes, in one second...  I can do that, just not in one second per chord... not sure if that many ppl can do it that quickly, 9 times in a row.

[abell88]

perfect pitch and theosophy. The first enables you to reckognize and memorise a note as you would recognize and memorize someone's face, and the other makes you reckognize a melody because you associate it with specific feelings or colors.

Main Entry: the·os·o·phy
Pronunciation: -fE
Function: noun
Etymology: Medieval Latin theosophia, from Late Greek, from Greek the- + sophia wisdom -- more at -SOPHY
1 : teaching about God and the world based on mystical insight
2 often capitalized : the teachings of a modern movement originating in the U.S. in 1875 and following chiefly Buddhist and Brahmanic theories especially of pantheistic evolution and reincarnation

emmdoubleew, I think you were thinking of synaesthesia:

Main Entry: syn·es·the·sia
Pronunciation: "si-n&s-'thE-zh(E-)&
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from syn- + -esthesia (as in anesthesia)
: a concomitant sensation; especially : a subjective sensation or image of a sense (as of color) other than the one (as of sound) being stimulated

[emmdoubleew]

Main Entry: the·os·o·phy
Pronunciation: -fE
Function: noun
Etymology: Medieval Latin theosophia, from Late Greek, from Greek the- + sophia wisdom -- more at -SOPHY
1 : teaching about God and the world based on mystical insight
2 often capitalized : the teachings of a modern movement originating in the U.S. in 1875 and following chiefly Buddhist and Brahmanic theories especially of pantheistic evolution and reincarnation

emmdoubleew, I think you were thinking of synaesthesia:

Main Entry: syn·es·the·sia
Pronunciation: "si-n&s-'thE-zh(E-)&
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from syn- + -esthesia (as in anesthesia)
: a concomitant sensation; especially : a subjective sensation or image of a sense (as of color) other than the one (as of sound) being stimulated

Hhaha what the hell happened. I precisely looked it up and was on the wikipedia page.

I need to lay off the crack.

[franzliszt2]

I have perfect pitch, and had s imilar mystery to you. I could recognise everynote, acurattly, all the time, but stick a key signature, and I'm lost. I just give it time, listened to music with an analitical ear. It's still not accurate all the time, but my teacher says it will be with more time.

Perfect pitch is the ability to name a pitch without any referecne to anoth. I have undeveloped relative, so i am bad at intervals. well wa bad, i developed loads. Perfect oitch comes in varying degree's. Some people, usually orchestral players, can tell you exactly how far falt or sharp you are, wherea I cannot, because I do not need to know that, but I can get things preety much perfectly in tune if I try.

Just keep listening and develop