Transposing instruments and perfect pitch- can they work together?

[pugsandseals]

I can't believe I'm saying this because until DD was born I was 100% convinced perfect pitch didin't exist! However, my DD (age 7) is proof otherwise and has been offered tuition on trumpet, french horn or trombone.

I have concerns about her size and development for any of these really, but DH (also claims to have perfect pitch) tried clarinet as a child & could not get to grips with a different note coming out to the one he was reading & got very frustrated and gave it up.

As a C instrument player I have no experience & would love to hear others thoughts! Can perfect pitch & transposing instruments live in harmony?? [please forgive the unintentional pun]

As I'm not musical myself, I don't really understand the question about transposing instruments.

I do, however, have a 7 year old dd who has perfet pitch. She started playing the piano aged 6 and has since started the violin. She loves both instruments and, I think, having perfect pitch, particularly helps her on the violin.

I will be following this thread with interest, though .

but neither piano nor violin require transposing!

I found transposing pretty tricky as a child as it just seemed all wrong

which was why I stuck to violin and piano

imo, 7 is very little for any of the instruments you mention ... what's wrong with a good old stringed instrument? v useful for orchestras too and she wouldn't have to sit through acres of empty bars ...

I don't have perfect pitch and simply cannot sit next to a clarinet in our school orchestra to help them because the whole read one note and another one shoots out thing confuses the heck out of me.

Trombonists - I have know several with perfect pitch - it seems to be helpful.

I don't have perfect pitch - I only have perfect relative pitch

I've seen very advanced players of transposing instruments with perfect pitch - there were several on my music degree. I agree that perfect pitch is very helpful for trombone, as is perfect relative, because you really can 'hear' whether you've hit the right note! If her arms are long enough then definitely a possibility.

Do consider whether your DDs teeth are ready enough to stand up to a brass instrument though.

I don't have perfect pitch unfortunately, but reasonable pitch! I played flute, and clarinet when younger and I got used to switching between them, it must be possible!

Surely if you have perfect pitch, you can just develop perfect Bflat pitch too.

I'd go for french horn.

Apparently not - especially if you switch between instruments eg Eb, Bb and A clarinets. The perfect pitch clarinettist at uni could never transpose at sight, read music very slowly and practiced by ear and couldn't stand switching clarinets (but that suited me because I like switching!).

Some very interesting thoughts! Had a long conversation with DD who seems to understand the perfect pitch problem now & is happy to stick with strings for the time being. Will keep trombone in mind for later though, that sounds very interesting & is not something I would have previously even considered, but she is a tall girl so who knows what the future might bring!