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Gifted and talented

Talk to other parents about parenting a gifted child on this forum.

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Original poster

Perfect Pitch at 4

120 replies

saintpeta · 28/02/2008 10:59

At 3.5 when a train rumbled past the house DS would say "That's f# mummy" so I would go and check on the piano and sure enough it was. He knows his scales, plays simple chords and tunes, picks out music from TV shows he hears...is this gifted and talented?

OP posts:

welliemum · 04/03/2008 18:21

Oh, sorry JaneHH, I missed your post and I think you're describing the same thing.

I thought I was a freak

jura · 04/03/2008 18:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

saintpeta · 04/03/2008 18:53

My goodness!! What a thread it's turned out to be! I myself started playing the flute at 12 and back then I could identify notes much better than I can now. I can listen to any piece of music and then just from the first note I can play it. But am not sure if this is perfect pitch I don't think it is -I can just pick out tunes because of the scales or the structure I suppose-I don't know how I do it. This is what DS does too. He has watched the little Einstein dvds too and held the first note in his head with me and then went off to find it then play it. Recently he is identifying more than one note at a time- I'm not sure how relevant this is to him-he can do it very quickly though-I have taught him my O level music stuff really -so he can sing arpeggios and identify and play scales. He knows all his notes-his fingers are strong! He is now practicing fingering as I only learned the treble clef and I don't know about the left hand on the piano-he has a great piano teacher and he is very happy with her - so as long as he is happy I'll continue to encourage him - it's just a pity that he is one of the youngest in reception at school and they cannot have music classes until they are 8 years old-it's so backward and annoying. All I want is for him to have 10 minutes of free play on the piano at school - but hey I mustn't moan about our education system I just don't want to get started on that!

OP posts:

tortoiseSHELL · 04/03/2008 18:58

I've got perfect pitch, and it is really useful for things like noting down tunes etc. It's not so useful for singing in choirs, unless they are spot on in tune, in which case it's REALLY useful for picking notes out of the air. But as soon as they go flat (as many choirs can do very quickly...) then you are stuffed.

Interestingly, there is a theory that all children are born with perfect pitch, and that is how they learn speech inflexions, and some retain it whilst others don't.

Perfect pitch in itself isn't a distinguishing feature of musicality - I think of it as a bit of a freak of nature - but having said that many musicians do have perfect pitch. I also know someone who is not at all musical (tried playing instruments, couldn't do it at all, tried singing, couldn't do that), but he has spot on perfect pitch!

Confession time - I failed Grade 7 aural for flute. Which was weird as I got 17/18 for grade 7 piano a term previously. When I got to Grade 8 I did keyboard harmony instead!

OverMyDeadBody · 04/03/2008 19:01

Roffle at nickytwotimes

FAQ · 04/03/2008 19:02

I think it's easy to mistake perfect (or "absolute pitch" as it's properly known) pitch with relative pitch.

Relative pitch can be learnt (by most people) and is VERY common among musicians - and that it what can help with sightsinging/aurals. I know of lots of my friends who scored full marks in their aurals - not because of perfect pitch but relative pitch......my relative pitch is "ok" - but could probably have been devloped better if I'd tried a bit harder.

generally unless perfect pitch is already there it's very very hard to teach.

tortoiseSHELL · 04/03/2008 19:07

yes that's true, my dh has fantastic relative pitch, and has an amazing ear, but he would be the first to admit that it isn't 'perfect' pitch. He is also a musician.

tortoiseSHELL · 04/03/2008 19:09

And I don't think you 'can' teach perfect pitch - it's just something you can do or you can't. I suppose it's possible that if all children are born with it that you could stop it slipping away in some way, a friend of mine reckons if you start an instrument early enough then you will keep it.

snorkle · 04/03/2008 19:18

perfect pitch is like magic to me. Ds has a friend with it and it's just amazing. I think if you do have it you are probably more likely to be talented at music.

pruners · 04/03/2008 19:21

Message withdrawn

Tamum · 04/03/2008 19:25

Yes, I was just going to say that it sounds as though what you have, saintpeta (or what you describe) is relative pitch- I can do that too, but I don't have perfect pitch. I agree with the others that PP can be useful though- ds finds scales very easy to learn, and I am sure it's partly because of PP.

Tamum · 04/03/2008 19:28

Oh yes, I've heard that about tonal languages too, Pruni (it is you without your capital, is it?). I wonder if they are genetically predisposed to have PP and hence developed tonal languages or if it was the other way round? (sort of...)

pruners · 04/03/2008 19:33

Message withdrawn

FAQ · 04/03/2008 19:35

I found scales easy to learn - I'm sure that's to do with relative pitch though isn't it?

Tamum · 04/03/2008 19:36

I would guess that there are population differences in the frequency of perfect pitch that are purely genetic, so I was just wondering if it was that which allowed tonal language to develop in a way that would never have happened in Scotland, for example. However, that may well be total bollocks of course.

pruners · 04/03/2008 19:37

Message withdrawn

Tamum · 04/03/2008 19:38

Yes, you're probably right, FAQ, but I just thought with violin it must help a bit if you can pitch the first note exactly right?

welliemum · 04/03/2008 19:38

Does anyone else with perfect pitch hear different keys as colours?

For me, D major is a tawny colour. C major is clear, like water, but C sharp minor is a dark purple.

(fraeeeeeeek as cod would say)

Tamum · 04/03/2008 19:39

Err yes, cheers for that Pruni

pruners · 04/03/2008 19:39

Message withdrawn

pruners · 04/03/2008 19:40

Message withdrawn

FAQ · 04/03/2008 19:41

but surely on the violin if you pitch the first note slightly wrong but played the correct intervals in between you'd just end up with an out of tune scale (where you moved to the next string????)

I don't know - I've never had to think too much about tuning on my instruments

Anyhow this is NOT getting my house vacuumed, or the dishes washed, or the ironing done, or stopping the DS's trashing downstairs, or getting my pizza in the oven.......

better get going for a while

welliemum · 04/03/2008 19:42

It could be a reverse effect, though, couldn't it - all babies are born with the potential for perfect pitch, but they only develop and retain it if they need it, ie they speak a tonal language or they're interested in music.

snorkle · 04/03/2008 19:46

I know ds's friend played violin in assembly back in infants and the teacher tuned it wrong - it really bothered him and he didn't play well apparently (sounded pretty good to me though, but I can't even tell if things are relatively in tune).

welliemum · 04/03/2008 19:49

In fact pruners, music sounds really ugly to me - I went stone deaf and now have a cochlear implant and am learning to hear again - a challenge but it's very very exciting...

Have been thinking about pitch a lot recently because I'm trying to retrain my brain to hear pitch (within the limits of the implant technology) - in my head music still has all the colours though

Sorry, self indulgent waffle, will stop now!

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