From rockkey@sbcglobal.net Tue Jan 18 06:58:04 2011
Subject:Re: Perfect Pitch

Well, besides the banjo and accordion...Bravo Simon!...

One way we can consider perfect pitch is as indelible "Pitch Memory". After all, in it's most basic form, that's all it really is. Add music theory and you've got relative pitch too. Although I suppose you could skip theory if you could memorize all the notes, intervals, and chords.

If you subscribe to my idea of PP being fundamentally "Pitch Memory" (and you should because it's a good idea :), you'll agree that the reference point, scale or temperament that is memorized will follow and really could be anything.

A college music teacher told me of a talented student he had that grew up in an isolated area and apparently never had his piano tuned to pitch, A440 (or at all) before he went to music school in the big city. The the college teacher discovered student had PP but knew all the notes one semi-tone off. Presumably his old piano at home was about 100 cents flat.

Cheers,
Rock