What is perfect pitch?
Absolute pitch is the ability to hear a note directly, in absolute terms, that is, without a reference note. For example, when Saturax hears a fire brigade siren, it hears “Ré – La – Ré – La – Ré – La”. “It’s something that we don’t control, it’s really something that is suffered (…) it jumps in my ear“, explains the YouTuber. According to him, being a musician promotes the ability to detect whether or not you have perfect pitch.”If I hadn’t been a musician, I certainly wouldn’t have known I had perfect pitch. “
Are we necessarily a good musician when we have perfect pitch?
Be careful, however, not to think that having perfect pitch is synonymous with “musical genius“. There are “geniuses of music“who have perfect pitch but there are also musical geniuses who don’t.”Jimi Hendrix, we don’t care if he had perfect pitch, we don’t care if he knew the names of the notes, what interests us is what he did with his instrument and its heritage“, Satax estimates. On the other hand, there is the relative ear which, it, makes it possible to give direction to the notes.”The relative ear is for example we give you a reference note, and we play you another and relatively from one to the other, you manage to recognize the note that you have played last“, explains Robin.
Can we lose perfect pitch?
Perfect pitch can get lost. Saturax takes the example of Gary Burton, a jazz vibraphonist. One day, while on stage with pianist Chick Corea, he misunderstands the note of the song he is playing: thinking it is in D flat, the song is in fact in F. “His ear had completely shifted“, explains Robin.
Perfect pitch, is it useful?
“A little superpower is being able to review a song while listening to it“, smiles Saturax. Indeed, if you have a good memory, it is possible to review a piece without playing it.”For example, you will listen to “Wonderwall”, you have never played it in your life, you will listen to it on the phone, with your headphones and then you will deduce the chords from it.. “