Perfect pitch, a curse?

[flashyfingers]

What if having perfect pitch means constantly hearing everything because of sounds constantly triggering your auditory memory?

What if no matter how far away (reasonably human distances, still) you always will hear the construction, the lawn mowers, the mailman car, etc. Because you know the sound, you know the pitch, and you know what it is. What if you have to hear all this awful, deafening crap for the rest of your life?

I mean, truly hear (basically, hear it so well that you can practically taste it)? No escaping lawn mowers within a 2 mile radius.

Also, when two people with perfect pitch get into practice rooms next to each other...it's enough if they don't kill each other. hahaha

[visitor]

i knew one of the other piano majors that had 'perfect pitch' said she hated it becuase she always heard everything as 'out of tune' drove her nuts, especially w/ orchestras and the piano since things tend to sound better if relatively in tune to the standard but then fine tuned to each other (ie to other instrument or on piano, relative to the other strings so it harmonizes properly to most ears). 

I don't envy her. she killed it though in ear training and the exams for transcribing melodies by ear and such...

[wwalrus]

My brother has perfect pitch, but on a level which is much more acute then most. For example, he can tell if an A is A440 or A439, and identify them correctly (we've tested it). He says it doesn't really bother him much at all.

On another note, I think you're misunderstanding something: there is no reason that any one pitch is more "in tune" then any other. We've become accustomed to pitches having more prominence then others since our infancy. I don't know about how it is for my brother, but, presumably, having such a "wider" range of hearing would have made this more normal for him throughout his life.

[lateromantic]

My brother has perfect pitch, but on a level which is much more acute then most. For example, he can tell if an A is A440 or A439, and identify them correctly (we've tested it).

You should realize that there's a limit to how far that could go.  Can your brother distinguish between A440.000 and A440.001?  How about between A440.000000 and A440.000001?

This isn't directed toward you in particular, but I find it amazing how much silliness gets posted on this forum with regard to so-called "perfect" pitch.  First, a better name for it is "absolute" pitch, as opposed to relative pitch.  Nothing about human beings is ever perfect, and both absolute and relative pitch involve a continuum with regard to precision.  Among those who have only a sense of relative pitch, some people come closer to hearing pitch relationships "perfectly" then others; among those who have a sense of absolute pitch, some people come closer to "perfect" absolute pitch than others.

Absolute pitch isn't a mystical or supernatural attribute either.  If you've had it since early childhood, it's just your normal way of hearing things.  I've found it convenient from time to time, and occasionally inconvenient.  It certainly isn't a required part of good musicianship, although those who acquired good musicianship through early childhood training are statistically more likely to have acquired absolute pitch in the process.

[coda_colossale]

You should realize that there's a limit to how far that could go.

I can get it right up to 0.150 Hz, but only if I concentrate.

[j_menz]

Would one go completely nuts if one had tinnitus that was out of tune?

[coda_colossale]

Would one go completely nuts if one had tinnitus that was out of tune?

What if when someone knew the pitch of their tinnitus they could develop perfect pitch

[m1469]

What if when someone knew the pitch of their tinnitus they could develop perfect pitch

Actually, I'm pretty sure I know somebody like this.  Also, my uncle and I just discussed this not too long ago!  Legit? 

[ted]

Would one go completely nuts if one had tinnitus that was out of tune?

No, I have had it for twenty years; after a while you don't notice it. It is like floaters in the eyes or being aware of shoes touching your feet. If you actively try to you can perceive these things and worry about them.

[flashyfingers]

I can usually always tell what note is being played, and when something is being played in a different key than it is originally learnt in, I GO CRAZY. I also can't STAND lawnmowers and vehicles, because they change the pressure around my "atmosphere" and everything seems to sound different, and I can't focus.

My pitch is probably not as ACUTE as other's, though!

[birba]

I think this perfect pitch thing is alot of hubub.  Nothing's different and out of tune things don't send you up,the wall.  What sends me up the wall are the friggin string players who claim that an 'A' tuned to 445 rather then 446 absolutely drives them mad.  Ma vaffan.....

[flashyfingers]

I think this perfect pitch thing is alot of hubub.  Nothing's different and out of tune things don't send you up,the wall.  What sends me up the wall are the friggin string players who claim that an 'A' tuned to 445 rather then 446 absolutely drives them mad.  Ma vaffan.....

Reading about perfect pitch, they say that people who are exposed to tonal language (Chinese, Japanese) are born with perfect pitch. But I think any good musician can tell if 443 is higher in pitch than 440. What I want to know is, can you sing me a gb without any reference?

And what if you can only do that if you really concentrate, and only 90 of the time? Once again, without ANY reference.

[coda_colossale]

Reading about perfect pitch, they say that people who are exposed to tonal language (Chinese, Japanese) are born with perfect pitch. But I think any good musician can tell if 443 is higher in pitch than 440. What I want to know is, can you sing me a gb without any reference?

And what if you can only do that if you really concentrate, and only 90 of the time? Once again, without ANY reference.

Most musicians can sing one or two notes without reference, usually a or c, especially those who have studied fixed do solfege. I know a cellist that can do this and I'm sure she could tell which note she was hearing instantly if she had better relative pitch. And I'm pretty sure any musician can discriminate two pitches that are different from each other by only 0.5 hz or even less with concentration.
Most people sing their national anthems in their original key without needing a reference. So, I believe it may be possible to learn perfect pitch.

[superstition2]

Equal temperament has every note out of tune, so if people with "perfect" pitch are bothered by out of tune things so much they'd never be able to deal with conventional piano music.

[iansinclair]

Interesting... there are times I wish I did have "perfect pitch".  Most of the time I'm happy not to!

But one really must look at it as not one thing, but two: an excellent ear for interval, and an equally excellent memory.  No one is born knowing that the pure tone with a frequency of 440 hertz is a modern practice concert A.  However, people are born -- and can improve to varying degress -- a memory for pitch.  Thus some people can remember a pitch for several hours -- or several days -- or even longer.  Other people can't remember a pitch for more than a few minutes (I've had a few of those in choirs I've led in the past!).  Likewise, some people have much better abilities to hear and discriminate intervals than others (this is not the same as being able to sing or play in tune, by the way, although it's related).

The combination of the two would be "perfect pitch".

It can drive people slightly bats.  I will cite two instances, both relating to choral music.  In one situation I had, our accompaniment could be any one of three organs or a piano.  Two of the organs and the piano were tuned to modern concert (A = 440).  The main organ, however, was tuned to A = 435.  Some of my choristers were bothered by this; others not.  Similarly, in a much smaller choir it was sometimes necessary to transpose music so my rather limited tenor section could manage the range.  Again, this bothered some people, but not others.

On the other hand, I had an a capella choir once -- and was blessed with a superb soprano who had essentially perfect pitch.  I never needed a pitch pipe!

[flashyfingers]

That's awesome!

I am always thrown off by other people singing, because some people can sing in any pitch as long as it tunes to itself…and sometimes they just sing random notes and my brain goes DANGER DANGER!!!

It's almost as if there is an exact structure to music, and when it is out of order, it throws people for a loop, and irritates them.