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Perfect pitch

2K views 24 replies 15 participants last post by  TexicanHippy 
#1 ·
Dear fellow users

lately in some bass and guitar magazines i have seen several advertisements of a CD that lets you gradually gain perfect pitch. This to me seems like a very big shortcut. Most musicians even at the peak of there music life do not reach the skill that is "perfect pitch" yet with this cd u can learn it within months. I am asking for opinions from all on how you feel if this is a matter of fact way and highly respectable, or a downright cheat? proceed.

signed staceyplaya and shee
 
#4 ·
I don't think it's cheating .... Even they say they can teach you perfect pitch ..It's really up to you.... Like for example there are many guitar mags, guitar videos and guitar tab around but in the end of the day it's still really up to you ... :mrgreen:
 
#6 ·
mi2tom said:
I don't think it's cheating .... Even they say they can teach you perfect pitch ..It's really up to you.... Like for example there are many guitar mags, guitar videos and guitar tab around but in the end of the day it's still really up to you ... :mrgreen:
+1

I've bought countless guitar mags and instructional books, but nothing is better than having a teacher sit down with you and teaching how to play the guitar. The thing is, I don't think it's cheating. It just shows you HOW to gain perfect pitch, but it doesn't mean you will. That comes with time, patience and a very deep understanding of pitch.
 
#8 ·
I'll answer your question right before Glen suspends you for being a douche.

That David Burge ad has been in the back of all the musician mags for many many years...probably since before you were born (1995?). If it actually worked dependably, don't you think word of this miracle perfect-pitch course would have spread like wildfire thru the business and every player would have it?

I'm sure that you can draw knowledge from the course the same way you'd draw knowledge from any course you take. The fact, which has been conclusively proven, is that 'perfect pitch' is congenital (i know that's a big word...it means "something that you're born with") and is hereditary (i know that's a big word too...it means 'passed down thru your relatives'). Very good relative pitch can be taught and learned...easier for some than others, just as some are naturally athletic or naturally good with numbers, etc.

With intensive study, lots and lots of practice & experience and a good teacher you can achieve very good relative pitch. however, with your head up your arse, you'll never be able to hear anything. Maybe try getting it out of there.

~K

PS: I was born with PP...and i've fine-tuned it to the point where it's much more effective and accurate than otehrs I've met that were born with it. does that make me a cheater? :rolleyes:
 
#9 ·
1.i think that ur a tad harsh
2. head is not close to ass
3.u being born with perfect pitch is my exact point. there are 3 ways to get it they are: a)born with it (count ur lucky stars)
b)learn it as best as you can
(these two by the way are not cheating in the slightest and if uve mastered it using these two ways good on you)
c) paying for it and learning it in less than half the time it takes to learn.
 
#12 ·
while im apolagizing, i am sorry if i upset u kennydoe about perfect pitch. and i can see that how i worded my questions/statements that it looked as if i though being born with it was cheating but i think u maybe misunderstood. thats not how i feel at all. but i stand by my very first statement, that paying and sending out for a cd that teaches u perfect pitch is very much a shortcut. i think as musicians we should stick to the old fashion stuff as much as possible. For example not too long ago i saw somethin on TV showing a band (if u can call them that) wich actually sit down with a computer in front of them on a stage and make music on the computer, like a MIDI type thing. now if we follow technology as much as we are doing imagine some of the bad stuff thats gonna happen to music.
 
#14 ·
kennydoe, I remember the Perfect Pitch ads in Guitar Player magazine from the late 70's. I actually ordered it in 1983, listened to 3 tapes and said "screw this". It relys on hearing tones as colors. Like when you hear an F#, you are somehow supposed to relate to red or green. Just couldn't work it out.
 
#16 ·
Read Kenny's post again. You cannot buy or learn perfect pitch. You were born with it or not, and it's very rare. Perfect pitch means hearing a bird chirp and knowing it's just north of F#; it's not just knowing an A chord from memory.
Relative pitch is certainly worth having, but you'll learn that if you take lessons and study anyway. Most musicians have to learn it, or they get stuck in box patterns and never develop their own style.
If you want to improve your playing and your ability to recognize relative pitches get a teacher and take lessons. That's almost always the best way to improve as a musician, and one a lot of guitarists skip completely.
 
#17 ·
Sheehan said:
now if we follow technology as much as we are doing imagine some of the bad stuff thats gonna happen to music.
what is wrong with embracing technology? it plays a huge role in the evolution in music. from the quality of recordings these days to the different effects available. if we stuck to the old methods, what would be new about new music? granted, crappy music will be made, but when hasn't there been crappy music? its all about what style you like. if you love the past, go in your room and listen to your beatles albums.

back to perfect pitch...don;t buy it
 
#18 ·
as long as your soul stays firmly between the instrument and the technology, there is nothing wrong with using it to make music.

I think Sheehan SHOULD buy the Burge course and see if it works for him. There's gotta be SOME success, or else this product wouldn't have the longevity that it has, right? If it was fraud, it'd be illegal. If it was totally useless, people would have stopped buying it many many years ago.

I think perfect pitch is wonderful, although i've never experienced life without it and I can't imagine not having it. However, there many more great musicians past and present who don't have than those that do. Not having it is not an excuse to suck.

~K
 
#19 ·
Perfect pitch is awarded for those within extreme natural talent, usually someone brought up around classical intruments ro someone playing from a particularly young age. Perfect pitch itself is frightening. Some people can turn around to you and say, 'Hey, your out flat by 3/8 a tone', and not even think twice about it. Thats the difference between perfect and relative. The brain just clicks instanly into the notes with prefect pitch.
But it is true that execelent relative can be picked up by those with enough ability (most people have the ability, but not the will to do so) and with a firm understanding of pitch and theory will be able to pick out most keyes and harmonys ect pretty easily.
Perfect pitch is an extreme talent which I find very few musicians possess, although its not particularly useful as long as you have relative pitch.
 
#22 ·
Well i just happen to be on CD 5 of the program, and i origanaly had very weak ears, but now, i can name any white key piano a second after its played. You may say thats not that amazing cause its only 7 pitches, but its definately perfect pitch, and thats why its so cool. I can wake up and sing any naturals in seconds or tell any white key without any other notes played or even thinking of any other notes. I can figure out any tone i want using relative, but doing it perfect, to me, is a much bigger achievement.

i have only had it for a month and a half, and its hard as hell. Thats probably why it hasnt spread, cause people probably dont want to put in the time needed to complete the program.
 
#23 ·
..I had a music teacher back in high school..he was kinda a dick, but he had perfect pitch. He was a great guy after I got to know him, but one of the reasons, looking back, was that he was a world class musician teaching our 'metal shop' classical guitar class first thing in the morning (only B I got in high school!)...you could burp, blow over an empty pop bottle for a tone, fart, do ANYTHING, and this guy could play the same note back to you on the trombone, his preferred instrument (.."superior instrument" as he called it).

I borrowed some tapes from a friend years back with the Burges method. It was interesting, and after the first tape I could pick out a seventh interval...but like the tapes say, it's just the tip of the iceberg...to really get it, you'd need to study for a long hard time, I would think. I didn't get past the first few tapes.

The thing about perfect pitch is this...if you're born with it, then without some kinda of instruction to what a G or D note even is, how can you use it?..I've heard of the naturals who just sit at a piano at 3 years old, plink away a few days, then start playing songs off the radio...our teacher could do this by hearing his kids play Super Mario Bros, then play it in class for laughs. You need to have some kind of musical instruction for this gift to come to fruition.

It can be a double edged sword, too...our teacher would come into the room with his hands over his ears, and one day cracked on us and told us what a nightmare it was to hear our noise down the hall..."I wish you could wear these ears for one day!" he'd say...what I think he meant was, since he could hear all the inconsistencies, it would drive him crazy!...when the music was in tune and all that, it was great, but when it was bad, it was really bad!..and you can't get away from that gift.

One cool thing was he could tune a guitar is about 5 seconds..pluck an open string by itself, next and so on....and each string ONCE...and the thing was in tune.

The CD's you're mentioning are pricey, but if you think it's worth it, just be aware that you're going to spend a LOT of time applying it. If you have the time and energy, go for it. It's like a book on memory technique or speed reading...you have to practice a lot to make it happen....time which you might spend more wisely on guitar practice....up to you.
 
#25 ·
atarilovesyou said:
time which you might spend more wisely on guitar practice....up to you.
I gotta agree with that. I've been playing guitar for about 8 years but I've only been consistently playing for about the past 2. Anyway, about 6 months ago something happened. I found that I could hear something, then my hands would go straight to the guitar and play it. It wasn't even something I was trying to learn how to do, it just sorta happened. My thought process wasn't "OK... that's an A, let me go play A on my guitar", it was more like "OK if I put my finger here it makes the correct pitch, oh hey, thats an A".

When I go home my sister likes to get on my nerves by playing crappy hip-hop music as loud as she can. Now I usually figure out the bassline then start soloing over it. :)

I still wouldn't say I have perfect pitch though. I can tune a guitar totally by ear but I'm sometimes still off by a few cents (< 10). I can get damn close though :)

Anyone else have this sorta back-assward way of doing things?
 
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