David Runnion wrote:

>Jeremey McMillan wrote:
>
>>Hi, go to eartraining.com and you will find it.  I think I will try this
>>kit eventually. ...
>
>   Known over centuries as the quintessence of a virtuoso ear for music,
>   Perfect Pitch bestows an unmatchable mastery of the musical language.
>Horsetwaddle.  Perfect pitch bestows an ability to identify an isolated
>pitch.  Nothing else.

 From one who has only relative pitch, I recall a conversation many years
ago with my sight singer teacher.  She had perfect pitch, which, from my
perspective, made it difficult for her to understand the trouble most of us
had with sighsinging.  I recall her wishing she didn't have perfect pitch.
Things would bother her, like the buzz from lights in stores which is
almost a B flat.

>Professionals rate a good sense of pitch as the most valuable element
>of musicianship - higher than any other essential, including good
>rhythm, technical facility, accurate memory, intensity discrimination,
>and creativity.
>
>Wait a minute!  I'm a professional, and I would disagree with that.  First
>of all, note that he says in this case "A good sense of pitch" instead of
>"Perfect Pitch" So that much, perhaps is true, but to say that even a good
>sense of pitch is the "most valuable element" of being a musician is,
>again, horsetwaddle.  (Thanks to Mimi Ezust for introducing me to that
>lovely term)

I believe relative pitch is very important to players of instruments like
the strings where one has to listen to be on pitch.

>Singers find Perfect Pitch invaluable for sight singing, locating
>obscure pitches, singing in tune, and producing a correct pitch out
>of thin air.
>
>This is true.

Yes, especially when one is dealing with an inconsiderate composer who
does not give you a hint to the pitch in the accompaniment.

>So Jeremy, my advice to you would be to skip the course, work like crazy
>on your eartraining and interval work, perfect your more important skills
>of musicianship like "intensity discrimination" (isn't that illegal?)
>and focus more on other intellectual and aesthetic aspects of music than
>Perfect Pitch.

For me, I find the entire notion problematic.  If you have perfect pitch at
you tuned to A 440? or A 438 or...

Then what about all of those quarter tones, and 16th tones and the ones
between those pitches....

Karl