Perfect Pitch at 4

[saintpeta]

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?

Key changes are also (obv) used by mon classically trained musicians to great eg=ffect.

In 'Penny Lane' McCartny changes the key right in the last repeat , raising it by a stone (semitone, I don't have perfect pitch! ) and it 'lifts the whole last part of the song to great effect.

Also used to Dorian (? IIRC) mode for Eleanor Rigby, very plaintive

andy non musical person interested in all of theis really should read Howard Goddalls Big Bangs......wonderful book by a real musical educator. I live in hope of being in a gaudy with him some time [sigh]

ton or semi tone! ach!

tone sheesh!

mb - that's quite a common ploy, to transpose up for the last verse - there's a song by I think Eternal which has about 7 key changes upwards - slightly overdone!!!

There is a fantastic modulation in the Charlie and Lola theme tune - after she goes up the stairs which get coloured in pink - there's a scale upwards as she goes up the steps - to take it from D major/B minor (it oscillates a bit, but those two are integrally related) to D sharp major, and ends in B major. D sharp major is really unusual (and could be called E flat ) but in this case, is definitely d sharp!

TS - its really interesting that you say its in Dsharp not Eflat... If I was to play in Dsharp on the viola I would be extending fingers or pushing them up the finger board, but for Eflat I would be pulling them back down (its mainly to do with how its written) - so if I was to play (in Dsharp) a gsharp on the D string, it would be an extended third finger, whilst (in Eflat) an Aflat would be a retracted 4th finger, even though its the same note. I would similarly think of being in a different 'position' - ie if I moved my first finger up to this note I would be in 3rd position in Dsharp but 4th position in Eflat.... really makes quite a difference for a string player and much less for a pianist (except that they would have fewer flats to worry about than sharps)

OOOOOOHHH! Giving a voilin lesson this evening - first for a long time (apart from ds), and to an adult as well. Should be interesting.

mistlethrush - I thought that was the case on strings - I'm very much a keyboard player, so you would think D sharp/E flat would be the same, but I think it's all about the 'spelling' of it.

In my head, the first time through of the Charlie and Lola is kind of Dmajor/Fsharpminor - it's a bit ambivalent about keys tbh. But it's like spelling through and threw - the way you write in the keys seems to be quite significantly different. So D sharp major is a bright key, whereas E flat major is a darker key.

Actually, I've just been humming it in my head, and the first chord of the new key is D sharp MINOR, which really is very different to the incredibly dark E flat minor....and the whole piece ends in B major which is definitely a 'sharp' key (and definitely not C flat major!), and D sharp is much more related to B than E flat is.

I was always crap at analysis!!! Apologies to all for my inability to explain what I mean!

Good luck with the violin lesson mistlethrush!

Mistlethrush - snap on the choir thing (I had rehearsal last night too). I'm constantly trying to push the rest of the alto section back up into key Very, very frustrating (for my neighbours, too... )

KerryMum - I would say it's good ear - but also good pitch if he plays in the same key as what he's heard is in. If that makes sense.

singing a note back actually doesn't have a whole lot to do with the 'ear' - although it can do. You need to be able to 'hear' a note to reproduce it, but if you can't that doesn't mean you're not hearing it - it could be that you haven't yet worked out what to do with your vocal chords in order to make that sound. Lots of children (even choristers I teach) find it easier to reproduce a 'human voice' note than a note on the piano - I imagine this is because of the differences in harmonics. So playing a note they may sing back a different one, if I sing a note they very rarely get it wrong.

Interesting. I would not hear a difference between D sharp and E flat as a singer and pianist with pretty good perfect pitch, I think. I suppose I'd have to go away and listen to an orchestral piece in both and then be asked was that in D share or E flat. Or may be it would sound different. I need to go and do an experiment. If it's orchestral and with strings then may be I would her the different. I did have grade 8 violin as well but don't play often now so perhaps I would hear the difference even though they sound the same on the piano.

xenia, I think it's down to the context of the key, and the sorts of melodies/chords etc used. So in Charlie and Lola, because it ends in B major, the Dsharp sounds more likely.

Examiner called in my mum after my Grade 1 piano - said I should learn violin as I had perfect pitch (I don't though it's not far off). Leading notes (eg g# if you're paying in a major) would be higher than an e flat. It's instinctive as a string player. Also on a violin G needs to be tuned up the weeniest bit, and E down a micro amout so your playing is in tune. Not enough so that you'd really notice.
The only time I dislike my good pitch is thinks like singers on TV. Bad tuning really grates.

A flat obviously. Mustn't post after wine!

I have very good relative pitch (used to do loads of music, less now) - it was fantastically useful for things like sight-reading however none of my kids is remotely musical and my sense of pitch means I'm in agony every time dd tries to sing me a song

I don't have perfect pitch, but I sing a lot for my job and now have a feel for singing in C major. I also cannot sit with clarinets or trumpets in a school orchestra to help them. I am no help, they are not playing the notes I am seeing and I hate it. If I hear a note played on the flute I can instantly match it on my flute, but any other instrument - forget it.

Ds has absolute pitch some days, but not others. He doesn't have it if he is tired. His cello playing is massively helped by this as being in tune is very motivating.