Perfect Pitch vs Relative Pitch: Which Is More Important?

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  • Опубліковано 24 кві 2024
  • Perfect Pitch vs Relative Pitch: Which Is More Important? This is a very big question that I get asked every single day by many of you. In this episode we explore the benefits and importance of each ability including demonstrations of each skill by my children Dylan and Lennon. Your comments on the subject are of course welcomed and invited.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,5 тис.

  • @theoriginalaboriginal3309
    @theoriginalaboriginal3309 4 роки тому +1259

    Dylan = Perfect Pitch
    Lennon = Relative Pitch
    Me= Sounds like a keyboard,
    but i can't be sure...

  • @WINTERGRIFT
    @WINTERGRIFT 7 років тому +1894

    I've had relative pitch my entire life and really just thought it was a half-ass version of perfect pitch until today. I didn't even know it had a name, lol.

  • @SAZIZMUSIC
    @SAZIZMUSIC 6 років тому +1932

    Relative pitch + Memorize the notes = perfect pitch in 144p version XD

    • @brandonseaborn3112
      @brandonseaborn3112 5 років тому +30

      SAZIZ MUSIC 😭😭 was thinking just that

    • @markopolo2224
      @markopolo2224 5 років тому +9

      Yes

    • @bigblubub4266
      @bigblubub4266 4 роки тому +23

      SAZIZ MUSIC I have this. I can remember the beginning of pieces I play and get the note from that

    • @alex_prochazka
      @alex_prochazka 3 роки тому +1

      @@bigblubub4266 Lol I have that but only for like half of notes

    • @henfinzim
      @henfinzim 3 роки тому +10

      @@bigblubub4266 Discount perfect pitch, but if it works....

  • @keithz.rawski6456
    @keithz.rawski6456 5 років тому +212

    Perfect pitch is a nice party trick, but real magic lies within the melodies and chord progressions~
    For that, you need relative pitch.

    • @itsmeGeorgina
      @itsmeGeorgina 5 років тому +9

      And for singing ☺

    • @souviksen7497
      @souviksen7497 4 роки тому +14

      True. And the party trick analogy has been used many times by seasoned musicians to highlight how overrated perfect pitch is compared to relative pitch.

    • @borgoat1220
      @borgoat1220 4 роки тому +3

      No, you just need music theory.

    • @borgoat1220
      @borgoat1220 4 роки тому +1

      @@itsmeGeorgina Perfect pitch is useful when singing a note that you're holding as the first note without needing a reference.

    • @borgoat1220
      @borgoat1220 4 роки тому +20

      @@souviksen7497 No, the "party trick" labeling of perfect pitch has been used countless times by jealous people who wish they had perfect pitch. As an analogy using example numbers, relative pitch is identifying two notes as X and Y but knowing that Y-X=5; but perfect pitch is identifying X as 3 and Y as 8 and recognizing 8-3=5. You obtain more information with perfect pitch than with relative pitch. This allows you to compose pieces in your head without a reference note, and as pointed out by "donny bravo," without being forced into the confines of music theory.

  • @MrPyroguru
    @MrPyroguru 7 років тому +1585

    I can do one thing here....
    Minor = Sad
    Major = Happy
    I can identify the chordal tones.

    • @fapasaurusrex
      @fapasaurusrex 6 років тому +58

      can't anyone?

    • @MrPyroguru
      @MrPyroguru 6 років тому +31

      Fapasaurus Rex Not really. You have to have an ear for music.

    • @joel1418
      @joel1418 6 років тому +96

      Nope not really lol, everyone in my class can do this with pretty much no teaching.

    • @ericoleal5182
      @ericoleal5182 6 років тому +84

      Michael Williams Dude, i don't intend to put you down, but thats actually the easiest things to identify lol

    • @volvoxfraktalion5225
      @volvoxfraktalion5225 6 років тому +1

      Michael Williams how u do dis???

  • @jazzdaypeterborough3262
    @jazzdaypeterborough3262 5 років тому +218

    I've always had perfect pitch....and would be able to do exactly what Dylan did. I would identify complex chords----but I'd hear them as a collection of individual notes. But some people do lose perfect pitch with age. Oliver Sacks described that in one of his books....where one of his subjects found that their pitch shifted 1 1/4 tones. I'm in my 70's now....and that's what happened to me as of 10 years ago. I will mistake a G and call it an A or a Bb. I was very dependent on my perfect pitch....and haven't developed great relative pitch. Now I need to develop that....and its a challenge. I wish I had developed it as a kid. The two types of pitches----perfect and relative---are totally independent. If you have perfect pitch, you still need to develop relative pitch.

    • @souviksen7497
      @souviksen7497 4 роки тому +15

      This is the most valuable piece of information right here.

    • @kanecanedy623
      @kanecanedy623 4 роки тому +6

      Jazz Day Peterborough tnx for the valuable info

    • @Almightservant
      @Almightservant Рік тому +1

      Very interesting!

    • @robinstokes5179
      @robinstokes5179 Рік тому

      At what age did you know you had perfect pitch?

    • @brucetowell3432
      @brucetowell3432 Рік тому

      Well if you have perfect pitch like Dylan you still can do what Lennon does, no? I have relative pitch ...but I also believe on cue I can sing an A, but I do use a reference note from a song, that I know has the A. Richard Carpenter has perfect pitch as I believe the late Leon Russell and Glen Campbell had as well.

  • @xydex99
    @xydex99 7 років тому +370

    You have pretty amazing pitch memory for someone who doesn't have perfect pitch

    • @TheJayBee1990
      @TheJayBee1990 6 років тому +53

      I think its training and getting used to certain sounds.
      I play guitar since 11 years now, and I can identify all major chords by sound blindly, also powerchords (even the difference between the same chords played on the low E string or the A string). The trouble comes with single notes, thats where I normally get lost. In most cases I am either one full or a half step above it (its always above, never too low)....
      I have no perfect pitch, not even relative pitch, but I am used to the sound of the chords so much.
      you play E minor, it would just make plrrrrr in my brain and like yeah thats that chords used in that part of that song.... etc. you know. E is one of the examples where you could play it as single notes one after another and I could still identify it, because I am also used to not only strum it, but also play it as a picking pattern....

    • @aidenmoroney2632
      @aidenmoroney2632 5 років тому +13

      JayBee Jones can you identify them on instruments other than guitar?

    • @anonymouse4003
      @anonymouse4003 3 роки тому +2

      @@TheJayBee1990 You have true pitch

    • @celticcheetah6371
      @celticcheetah6371 3 роки тому

      You can do a lot with ear training. From 7-17 I played a lot of ensemble music (brass) and sang in choirs a lot too. By the time I was around 15 I could sing a C just by imagining it on the piano. Then I could get any other pitch I needed from that. It didn’t always work perfectly, but it was reasonably solid. I can’t do that any more, though I can still get intervals fairly easily. Relative pitch is fun, but takes work.

    • @celticcheetah6371
      @celticcheetah6371 3 роки тому

      @@anonymouse4003 no, i think he has really well-trained relative pitch

  • @UroboricNate
    @UroboricNate 7 років тому +1019

    Can you have perfect pitch and not know it because you have no idea what the names of the notes are?

    • @martinkoitmae9432
      @martinkoitmae9432 6 років тому +305

      Kamizi yeah, possible but you probably would understand if someone is a little off in lets say singing and you would feel disgusted

    • @Galdring
      @Galdring 5 років тому +132

      Try to recreate the first note of your favorite song. Check what note you were singing with a tuner. Check if you were in fact singing the right note. If you were: congratulations. You probably have perfect pitch?

    • @davidtremblay2788
      @davidtremblay2788 5 років тому +16

      wait that's it? this explains so many things

    • @diabreucruz
      @diabreucruz 5 років тому +95

      that can be relative pitch with good pitch memory.

    • @justinx.7516
      @justinx.7516 5 років тому +4

      relative pitch

  • @KKMDStyle
    @KKMDStyle 5 років тому +449

    I may not have perfect pitch but I have Pitch Perfect on DVD :-)

  • @Blue0000FF
    @Blue0000FF Рік тому +10

    This kid has a very big and a bright future ahead of him. So talented.

  • @Masimba
    @Masimba 7 років тому +94

    Oh wow! I just found myself singing out the chord tones as you played. I'm so pleased, my ears were so bad but I've been doing your "7 days to better ears" training everyday for 3 months and folks it really works!

    • @koko5498
      @koko5498 6 років тому +5

      mazz sitima but thata not 7 days :S

    • @eonstar
      @eonstar 5 років тому +2

      +Sparky Flash lel

  • @markkuimmonen2701
    @markkuimmonen2701 6 років тому +66

    Hi Rick, Sibelius apparently had a perfect pitch as he described seeing tones in colors from the child.
    He self trained with an out of the 'perfect tune' piano at home as a child. At some point the piano was tuned to a perfect pitch,
    which shocked his foundations and he changed to violin. As he describes the color landscape was destroyed
    and he could not touch the piano after the tune was changed.

    • @jasoncreative7616
      @jasoncreative7616 5 років тому +19

      Markku Immonen what you’re describing is synesthesia.

    • @itsmeGeorgina
      @itsmeGeorgina 5 років тому +2

      Creativity through resistance 😊

    • @arnaud78
      @arnaud78 4 роки тому +3

      That's interesting. I have friend which also sees music as colors... Don't ask me how it works, haha.

    • @katepeeters3691
      @katepeeters3691 2 роки тому

      Didn,t know that about Sibelius but i know Scriabin definitely saw colour in sounds and chords.

    • @blindknitter
      @blindknitter 2 роки тому

      That sounds like such a major trauma!

  • @sovietspy749
    @sovietspy749 4 роки тому +193

    get relative pitch
    get tinnitus
    perfect pitch

  • @shawn980
    @shawn980 3 роки тому +28

    I just noticed the word “note” is an anagram of the word “tone”. How have I never noticed that?

  • @JariSatta
    @JariSatta 7 років тому +171

    The legend says that Charlie Parker practiced between 10 and 15 h / day when he was a kid.
    He had relative pitch though.

    • @souviksen7497
      @souviksen7497 4 роки тому +5

      As did Coltrane and Wagner. And they did just fine I reckon!

    • @BrunoNeureiter
      @BrunoNeureiter 4 роки тому +4

      "they had relative pitch though" thank your for the shaming

  • @greenmonk
    @greenmonk 5 років тому +11

    my concert choir in high school was able to blow people away at festivals because we could start a capella songs without a reference note from a pitch pipe or piano. our bass section leader had perfect pitch and could just quietly hum the bass starting note and the entire 80 voice choir could build the opening chord from it. it was awesome, and in 20 years of a music career, i've never met anyone else who had true absolute pitch.

    • @sunshinegirl1967
      @sunshinegirl1967 Рік тому

      Ugh! Reminds me of my high school choir days. I was the one who had perfect pitch and was immediately and continually used as the pitch pipe. I wanted to die, being a very shy teenage girl. I should have kept it secret.

  • @ABCD27814
    @ABCD27814 7 років тому +33

    John Lennon and Bob Dylan, how wonderful

  • @NeverDoubtTheWorm
    @NeverDoubtTheWorm 6 років тому +11

    I love that you included Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Oscar Peterson in “The greatest composers/musicians that ever lived” ❤️

  • @edgotsis
    @edgotsis 6 років тому +3

    It's wonderful to see your talented children! By the way, a friend of mine with perfect pitch lost it - actually it was "misplaced" by a semitone lower at the age of 70. In the begininng she thought that her piano went out of tune but then she listened to the radio and she heard music of which she knew the tonality a semitone lower. So what she does now? She listens to a tone and say she recognizes as C#. Knowing her problem she makes the correction and she answers D. Wonderful job you do Rick! Thank you so much!

  • @gidikalchhauser
    @gidikalchhauser 6 років тому +38

    Would have loved to hear Dylan sing the neighboring notes to the detuned piano

  • @Kjintae
    @Kjintae 6 років тому +61

    This. Video. Is. So. Freakin. Fascinating.

  • @JakobBruhnke
    @JakobBruhnke 7 років тому +183

    I don't really have Perfect Pitch but I have an almost Perfect Relative Pitch and I can play piano by ear no problem :)

    • @themonroes4
      @themonroes4 6 років тому +3

      Jakob saaame

    • @jackweslycamacho8982
      @jackweslycamacho8982 5 років тому

      @@sleepydrifted it almost asks as if you want to be challenged. Try playing Preparations or from the musical "Natasha Pierre and the great comet of 1812"

    • @qlvinc
      @qlvinc 4 роки тому +2

      kimikokat i can hum songs in the correct tone pitch exactly how they sound or whatever it’s called but I don’t know the note names but I play clarinet in band for 6 years now

    • @BenSleightMagician
      @BenSleightMagician 4 роки тому +2

      Playing it from hearing can be accomplished from relative pitch (you have a reference not)
      Playing it from listening once and then A week later playing it from memory that would be more like perfect pitch
      Or hearing a car sirene and you know the notes its making

    • @lil_weasel219
      @lil_weasel219 4 роки тому

      same heh

  • @valuedhumanoid6574
    @valuedhumanoid6574 5 років тому +4

    Damn Rick, you not only have two of the cutest kids on earth, but sharp and very talented. Dylan's abilities are staggering. And Lennon being able to instantly identify an interval without knowing the notes...I hope they stay with it and allow music to carry them forward.

  • @AlexisLionel
    @AlexisLionel 7 років тому +83

    Very interesting, thank you! A major advantage of PP is an ability to very quickly chord out the songs, even if the chords are atonal or the progression is unfamiliar, while most people with only relative pitch, including myself, when asked to chord the song out, can only hear the memorized patterns. I can confidently hear only the tonic, the dominant 7th, the second dominant, and several others. I don't hear the individual notes, sometimes I can't even sing the root note of the chord, but I recognize them by their "flavor", the specific feeling, like the "instability" of the dominant 7th. A very high level of relative pitch can compensate it, too, I suppose =)

    • @GioMioLioDemBoyz
      @GioMioLioDemBoyz 6 років тому +10

      “A major..” unintentional pun

    • @franny231123DMT
      @franny231123DMT 5 років тому

      what is an atonal chord?

    • @franny231123DMT
      @franny231123DMT 5 років тому +1

      oh wow i just googled it, i didnt know this is a thing to do ahaha, awesome, ima gunna try this in the next track i write, cheers for that, see if i cant get some results :)

    • @thehoodlen
      @thehoodlen 5 років тому

      For me, I have really really good relative pitch, (I can identify half the notes without a reference) and when it comes to chords, I can hear all the notes in a chord, but for some individual notes it takes me a couple guesses to get right.

    • @souviksen7497
      @souviksen7497 4 роки тому

      I used to think the same. But if you play complex diatonic or altered chords over and over again pitch memory kicks in and you'll be able to recognize them. For example I know what an augmented 5th sounds like. How do I differentiate between a dominant 7#5 and a major 7#5? The latter is more dissonant sounding. The key here is to recognize the #5 in the chord. Same thing with a 7b9 and 7#9 note. I can here the 11th in a major and minor chord as well. It's all because of pitch memory, playing those chords repeatedly.

  • @PhilShary
    @PhilShary 6 років тому +29

    Wow, very nice. I just hope your kids don't hate music when they become adults as it's often the case with those who were exposed to it so early.

    • @firstlast-pt9pe
      @firstlast-pt9pe 6 років тому +12

      Phil Shary While that is a valid concern, the way he treats his kids shows us he probably makes it fun for them, or doesn’t force them too much.

    • @moonlapse_vertigo
      @moonlapse_vertigo 5 років тому +1

      As someone who has delved into theory for the past few years, music has became very "textbook".

    • @kittenloveer1625
      @kittenloveer1625 2 роки тому

      That's why I don't take violin anymore. Three years and I'm done. Now I just listen to different songs I like and then play them.

  • @AutomatikSystematik
    @AutomatikSystematik 4 роки тому +7

    In 7th grade I was the only one in my class that scored 100% on a relative pitch test which makes me think I had perfect pitch as a kid but it was never developed because I didn't have parents to guide me. In school orchestra I never read a note of music. I memorized each piece by listening to the other bass players then just played it back. One teacher was pretty amazed when he gave me an individual lesson.

    • @robinstokes5179
      @robinstokes5179 Рік тому +2

      That is similar to my experience; As a kid in school recorder groups I just remembered the tunes & played along. The teacher never noticed & I never had lessons. I never knew if I was playing an A or Bb & still don't.

  • @Geotubest
    @Geotubest 6 років тому +1

    You've got such great kids. Reflective of what a great father you are. Well done.

  • @pumagutten
    @pumagutten Рік тому +6

    Rich, you are blessed! Two adorable kids! Great to see that you named them after great names in music history. I guess you know that Brian Wilson also named a son Dylan!

  • @singmysong4444
    @singmysong4444 5 років тому +6

    Well done, Rick!
    Very interesting and of course adorable when you bring in your very talented children.
    Bravo!

  • @Richard_is_cool
    @Richard_is_cool 5 років тому +86

    Confessions: I have read Yo-Yo Ma as Yo Mama.

  • @caradeipanema
    @caradeipanema 5 років тому

    Thank you. You just explained everything I've been hearing in head musically for the past 40 years.

  • @trottlespiano6302
    @trottlespiano6302 5 років тому

    Thank you Rick. Big respect for how you enrich your kids with the gift of music -- I wasn't brought up in a musical household but I am trying to get my son Elliot (I'm using his youtube account) involved as much as possible. You have been a huge inspiration to me. Best, James.

  • @walnoemispoyt5604
    @walnoemispoyt5604 3 роки тому +3

    Wow actually this was a very informative video. Thank you very much for the demonstration. What I really like about the videos is that you have addressed many interesting points like some people have good pitch memory or levelling up your relative pitch level to a point where you cannot tell the difference between perfect pitch and relative pitch. Now I think I can claim that I actually have a very good level of relative pitch rather than claiming that I have perfect pitch because I can tell relatively fast what all the white and black keys on a piano are within the middle octaves of the piano whereas when you get to the far ends of the piano that it becomes really difficult to tell.

  • @GeorgeBletchly
    @GeorgeBletchly 3 роки тому +7

    Fascinating. I wish he'd say more about "pitch memory" since this is what enables you to follow harmonic progression even if you only have relative pitch.

    • @robinstokes5179
      @robinstokes5179 9 місяців тому

      I haven't come across "pitch memory" specifically before but I guess, with relative pitch I, like many others, must have a good ear for notes moving - harmonic progressions, & coming back to the right place. I've always improvised a lot without knowing the key/s but have done it long enough to just go with whatever is being played, even up to a point, quite "free" stuff. I started as a kid just by playing along with the radio, including classical music & don't have much trouble working out chord sequences in most songs, also just from memory. More complex stuff I can do but it takes more time & careful listening, although many popular songs are not often complex. I just don't know what the keys are (other than by looking at guitar fret positions) but now kind of "know" where the music is going minor/major etc. In a nutshell, I can sound like a jazz player but in reality I'm a very poor one!

  • @marianasiller6715
    @marianasiller6715 5 років тому +2

    omg rick you have literally made my day! i thought that what i had was perfect pitch and i was confused because i couldn't do what your son does, but i'm just like your daughter, i can easily mimic every sound or note i hear, so that means i have relative pitch..awesome!

  • @DuaLeaD
    @DuaLeaD 4 роки тому

    Your son seems like a sweet kid - What a wonderful gift you have helped him develop, the gift of music! Rock on brother!

  • @mattrobertson1811
    @mattrobertson1811 2 роки тому +4

    wow listening to your boy describe the detuned piano as a mixture of 2 notes is so fascinating! Ive never thought about it like that before (I dont have perfect pitch) but I assumed that people with perfect pitch would just hear an 'out of tune' note, but he hears 2 different notes mixed together - liked a mixture of red and blue or something to make a new color. I love these videos - I'd love more!! It still seems like magic to me - that someone could have perfect pitch. Its like being able to look at a color and say the pantone number. Where does it come from!?! :)

  • @McOuroborosBurger
    @McOuroborosBurger 6 років тому +159

    Amy time I hear C and then F my brain immediately goes to smells like teen spirit right before the lyrics come in.

    • @evarinagarmguardian113
      @evarinagarmguardian113 5 років тому +13

      Sounds like you have synesthesia.

    • @mattbailey7049
      @mattbailey7049 5 років тому +1

      Thats the way i could tell what he played also. Hahaha

    • @LuisGarciaMusicMaker
      @LuisGarciaMusicMaker 5 років тому +2

      hahaha the same here. At 5:36 that song immediatly came to my mind

    • @franny231123DMT
      @franny231123DMT 5 років тому +7

      lolol the notes in that track are far easier to understand than the lyrics :D

    • @kieranmccarty1604
      @kieranmccarty1604 5 років тому +6

      Evarínagarm Guardian Games and Stuff doesn’t have synesthesia, not saying he *smells teen spirit* when he hears C and F, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a song by Nirvana, those tones are in that song so that’s what he thinks of like Dylan thought of notes as “Star Wars” or whatever.

  • @Ricksblitz4
    @Ricksblitz4 11 місяців тому

    ❤❤🎼🎵Your kids are amazing. I love that they are trained in recognizing and using their gifts. Great job, Rick!

  • @leon.domingo
    @leon.domingo 6 років тому

    This is the best video I've seen about this theme, **just for the kids**. They're lovely!Congrats, Rick!

  • @gregoryjclark81
    @gregoryjclark81 4 роки тому +26

    Perfect pitch is inborn. Relative pitch is something one can develop. Throughout my teenage years it was requisite all music teachers I encountered--from private guitar lessons to choir director--hammered home developing relative pitch ear, which I will say now at 37, nearly 38 years of age was most beneficial aspect of music training aside from basic theory and reading. Knowing if a song is being performed in original key, identifying interval relations, etc stronger than ever in my ear brain. As for perfect pitch, I have met only a handful of cats with such ability. I remember reading somewhere that perfect pitch is absolutely an inborn talent and there are zero documented cases of anyone 'developing' perfect pitch post-birth.

    • @regaul4248
      @regaul4248 Рік тому +1

      Rick's kid did lol

    • @heromang
      @heromang Рік тому +1

      How can i know if i have perfect pitch even though i dont know the name of the notes?

  • @haywoodgiles713
    @haywoodgiles713 7 років тому +332

    Those "perfect pitch" musicians also had relative pitch though. Without translating the perfect pitch to relative pitch, perfect pitch is near useless. I knew guys in college that had perfect pitch and didn't know B-D-F-A made a half diminished chord.

    • @MaggaraMarine
      @MaggaraMarine 7 років тому +100

      Exactly. Music is about a lot more than individual notes. Perfect pitch doesn't give you the instant ability to "understand" music. It just helps you with pitch recognition.

    • @LatchezarDimitrov
      @LatchezarDimitrov 6 років тому +10

      Stop all useless bla bla about one absolute perfect pitch! Please! Nothing in the real life is perfect and all is relatif. Let talk about good musicians instead!

    • @julianossa3578
      @julianossa3578 6 років тому +9

      yeah, but that's not only because he has perfect pitch. he probably plays a lot and practices, etc

    • @neilbolima9694
      @neilbolima9694 6 років тому +39

      Haywood Giles you might be confusing relative pitch and knowledge of music theory.
      A relative pitch person can hear a diminished chord and say oh that's a diminished
      Someone with perfect pitch can say oh that's B D and F. If they have no music knowledge they don't know what chord it is. But with extensive music theory knowledge. They can use the knowledge perfect pitch gives them then use music theory to figure what kind of chord it is.

    • @woodybear8298
      @woodybear8298 6 років тому +8

      What a stupid comment.

  • @VideosVarious2
    @VideosVarious2 2 місяці тому

    The kid is SCARY accurate! BOTH of them! Congratulations, Rick. Many Blessings on you and your Family.

  • @stevew5146
    @stevew5146 4 роки тому

    Fascinating study! Incredible children with such skill AND gifts! I wish I could go back to school and actually study music theory. Thank u Rick for all you do.

  • @Pinklaeti75
    @Pinklaeti75 5 років тому +5

    I used to rely on both, when I was younger. Without knowing. But as I develop my musical abilities more and more, I tend to recreate the note directly, without any reference.

  • @TechReflex
    @TechReflex 5 років тому +650

    If I was your daughter I'd be pretty jealous that the other kid has perfect pitch and I don't.

    • @DiegoPujolT
      @DiegoPujolT 5 років тому +63

      That says more about you than it does about her. It seems like Rick is a great teacher and father and knows how to manage those situations.

    • @moonlapse_vertigo
      @moonlapse_vertigo 5 років тому +38

      As someone with Perfect Pitch, I find it to be a bit counterproductive, as it makes learning intervals difficult, as I tend to hear it as G to D instead of I to V. I have pretty good relative pitch with notes, but chords not so much.

    • @Hannah-gj2vb
      @Hannah-gj2vb 5 років тому +3

      TechReflex sammmemeee tho. i feel bad for her

    • @coloraturaElise
      @coloraturaElise 5 років тому +29

      She has a GREAT ear...no reason to be jealous!

    • @bonkreta
      @bonkreta 4 роки тому +4

      Welll, I have exactly the same combo - my son does have perfect pitch and my daughter doesn't - and yes, she is a little bit jealous.

  • @ndines6237
    @ndines6237 2 роки тому

    This topic completely fascinates me! Thank you!

  • @Ocean8881
    @Ocean8881 5 років тому

    Greatest wealth of information I’ve ever seen or heard on UA-cam. It doesn’t confirm my feelings about Perfect pitch. I use to envy those with such ability then I realize that relative pitch is more practical in my opinion. As a guitarist when I tune the instrument without a tuning machine I can not tell whether or not I’m in concert key and I can still play regardless. With perfect pitch it would be painful to the ear especially if one is a microtone away from the actual pitch. Also It seems to me that one with with perfect pitch does not have to practice sightsinging cuz they can already hear the notes.

  • @kyuubigeassanims
    @kyuubigeassanims 6 років тому +287

    it was a G lol

    • @marxer8665
      @marxer8665 4 роки тому +8

      wasn’t it kind of flat

    • @ddude1212
      @ddude1212 4 роки тому +7

      The 2nd time, yeah. The first time it was pretty spot on. (From what I remember this was the case, but I don’t feel like rewinding).

    • @McOuroborosBurger
      @McOuroborosBurger 4 роки тому +1

      Ddude121 it was a bit sharp

    • @ronenrozenberg8742
      @ronenrozenberg8742 4 роки тому +3

      @@McOuroborosBurger the first time it was almost spot on, the second time it was like something between G and F#

    • @orf2072
      @orf2072 4 роки тому

      it starts with a F# and then goes to a G

  • @nil2k
    @nil2k 7 років тому +310

    What happens to Dylan if you tune your keyboard to A=432Hz? (Should have been the clickbait title)

    • @Amber57499
      @Amber57499 6 років тому +5

      I guess he'd have a problem. I don't have perfect pitch, so I can only compare it to language.
      Say you have a dictionary. Left side is the word (representing note names), right side is the explanation of that word (note pitch). Changing the pitch is like moving the whole right column one word down, the whole thing wouldn't make sense. If for all my life I've been calling an apple apple and someday, somebody comes and tells me this is a pear now, I'd probably would have a hard time getting it. I think thats what it feels like if someone were to change the pitch.

    • @thomasleguenne8817
      @thomasleguenne8817 6 років тому +22

      It's kind of gymnastic, it's more like "ABC" become "BCD" so "apple" would be "bqqmf", it takes just few more seconds but it's not so difficult
      This phenomenon would be with A=415Hz (baroque pitch), not 432

    • @natemantle5933
      @natemantle5933 6 років тому +29

      My guess is: Dylan would notice right away that it was out of tune.
      Perfect pitch is actually just extreme long term memory of pitches. BUT a study happened where people with perfect pitch were listening to a song, but the song was being constantly (but slowly) raised in pitch. By the end of the song, they were still unaware, but then when it was played from the beginning again, at the original tuning, they suddenly thought that it was out of tune. SO, you *could* fool someone like Dylan with that method, but not by simply tuning the piano differently. He'd just think every note was out of tune, which it would be.

    • @shanearnold7781
      @shanearnold7781 6 років тому +2

      I perfect pitch and 432Hz just sounds like a slightly different note, it's almost a quarter tone but I can still tell what note it is

    • @matrixarsmusicworkshop561
      @matrixarsmusicworkshop561 6 років тому +2

      What happens to Dylan xD he dies

  • @ralphscholtze5851
    @ralphscholtze5851 6 років тому

    Rick, thank you for putting in all the time and energy in to making all these videos about perfect and relative pitch. Really love all your videos about this subject beacause you have a analytic look on the subject.
    A lot of people who put their hard time and energy in music get (sorry for saying it this way) butthurt about perfect pitch, because it gives them the feeling that it makes them lesser of a musician, or that they have fewer knowalage then others of music ( this is just an assumption and not targeted against anyone).
    This is not the case, everyone is unique in behaviour and feeling.
    In the end perfect pitch doesnt have to make you a great or better musician( as you stated in more of your other videos), it just gives better knowledge of whats going on.
    Passion and vision makes a great musician, knowelage is the tool to make people achieve great music and grow further.

  • @adambrown5172
    @adambrown5172 Рік тому +1

    I love how you can say fascinating to something your son says

  • @nimhard
    @nimhard 3 роки тому +3

    I always thought I had perfect pitch but it seems I have relative pitch. I was experimenting with alternate tunings when I was 8 and discoverrd by listening that Soundgarden had drop D songs. At the time I didn't even know drop D existed so I tuned the whole guitar a step down to achieve the sound. I can recognize the tuning of any song and tune accordingly. I guess it's relative but as a 37 year old I'm happy with what I got. Dylan is impressive!!!!

  • @AimeeNolte
    @AimeeNolte 7 років тому +153

    GREAT video

    • @jasondotson
      @jasondotson 5 років тому

      I agree. Although benefit is spelled "benefit", not "benifit." I'm looking at the Tull album right now. :)

  • @maksoofficial
    @maksoofficial 6 років тому

    Thank you for explanation. I thought I had a perfect pitch, because I was able to tune instruments without any tuner and recognize played notes, however when it starts to be really difficult, I have troubles. So it's only like you, thank to a good memory. And now I know I should focus on developing the actual relative pitch.

  • @TimelapseExperimentals
    @TimelapseExperimentals 4 роки тому

    Very interesting stuff, thanks for taking the time to make the video, explain, and demonstrate 👍

  • @adenwong6646
    @adenwong6646 5 років тому +9

    Beethoven was such a master he had perfect pitch while being deaf

  • @rainyday6430
    @rainyday6430 4 роки тому +4

    What I find most interesting is that having perfect pitch is not mutually exclusive with having musical talent. Granted, my 'evidence' is purely anecdotal, but I've known a handful of people who I would place in this category.

  • @higorguedes4413
    @higorguedes4413 5 років тому +1

    I definitely subscribed to his channel. This guy is amazing.

  • @JimBachman
    @JimBachman 5 років тому

    Nice Job Rick! I completely agree with you.

  • @lynnmorgan3283
    @lynnmorgan3283 5 років тому +4

    Hope your son develops a passion for music along with his perfect pitch. Your interaction with him is priceless. It will be fun to see him grow musically. Thanks for your teaching ability.

  • @jackjack3320
    @jackjack3320 6 років тому +3

    For the case of Mozart though, I think perfect pitch helped him learn new music styles just by hearing and reading scores, composing without testing on an instrument. Thanks to his father being a musician, he learned music from a very early age, and he could memorize really difficult organ pieces he heard in cathedrals and replicate them himself from memory. When he went to Leipzig to pay homage to Bach, he heard Bach motets performed there, he memorized those just by hearing as well. In most of Mozart's liturgical works and symphonic works, his contrapuntal writing is too advanced for his age (look up "10 great fugues not by Bach"), and part of the reason I think is because he could learn just by hearing lots of music and reading lots of scores.

  • @cheemo48
    @cheemo48 6 років тому

    I keep watching your videos and love them. I do want you to talk about the "Grey area" that is "pitch memory." It is a concept we don't talk about near enough.

  • @therosses5
    @therosses5 4 роки тому

    Great explanation. I saw Chevy Chase on the Tonight Show demonstrate "perfect pitch" I now understand was relative pitch as he clearly started with a reference note and hummed his way to the note played. Still fun to watch. My issue is learning to play a b flat coronet in band then realizing we were playing a half step down from what was written. And that was never explained to us. Playing with the fam during holidays as a kid was frustrating.

  • @robertschlesinger1342
    @robertschlesinger1342 5 років тому +3

    Thanks Rick, very interesting and helpful video. You're doing a great set of deeds in sharing your music knowledge. My teenaged daughter is learning a lot from your videos.

  • @AustinALiboiron
    @AustinALiboiron 5 років тому +3

    "But I don't have perfect pitch" LOL that G was bang on.

  • @suereed
    @suereed 7 років тому

    Interesting. Thanks Rick for a compelling body of work. I am enjoying music more than ever and I never thought that possible.

  • @benjaminniemczyk
    @benjaminniemczyk 5 років тому

    Another brilliant video.
    Right on, in every respect.

  • @perfectbeat
    @perfectbeat 7 років тому +2

    Great info from the maestro! Hey, that rhymed.

  • @speedspeed121
    @speedspeed121 7 років тому +26

    Don' singers have "relative pitch"? If they didn't have relative pitch, they wouldn't be able to sing in tune, right?
    Wow, you got really close to a perfect G

    • @davidzvonar
      @davidzvonar 7 років тому +11

      singers need relative pitch

    • @kitemanmusic
      @kitemanmusic 4 роки тому

      Close but no cigar (lol)

    • @kitemanmusic
      @kitemanmusic 4 роки тому

      Apologies! It was G. Spot on.

    • @borgoat1220
      @borgoat1220 4 роки тому

      At the beginning of the video, the first and second notes sung were a high A and low A an octave apart.

    • @devrimabaci2466
      @devrimabaci2466 3 роки тому

      borgoat12 are you stupid

  • @codyethan5370
    @codyethan5370 5 років тому +1

    Wew... Thanks man for this vid... I finally know myself better right now... Appreciate your time explaining this out...

  • @NumbNutz12000
    @NumbNutz12000 5 років тому

    Your kids are adorable, and very lucky to have such a great teacher.

  • @jerrymammoser1509
    @jerrymammoser1509 4 роки тому +4

    Put it like this: trying to “develop” perfect pitch is analogous to trying to “improve” your foot size.

  • @oomphlau
    @oomphlau 5 років тому +7

    Just for your information, I have had relative pitch all my life, but with some caveats. I can identify the tonic in most songs, but minor keys can confuse me. I have tested many people and have never found anyone else who could do this tonic identification trick. When I was younger I could name intervals instantly, but now, at 87 years of age, it's a little less easy. So I guess aging affects relative pitch as well as perfect pitch.

    • @normmacdonaldrules4602
      @normmacdonaldrules4602 5 років тому

      Majors are a lot easier to identify because of their strong pull towards resolution. Minors have differing layers of tension...and the really interesting ones are extensions played with no root added.
      Majors are more of an all-in-one sound that already have strong resolutions built in. Thats why on the surface...they are much easier for the ear to clearly define their note of origin. Sometimes context mixed with movement can muddy their waters...but generally they are pretty straight forward.

  • @Doty6String
    @Doty6String 5 років тому

    Great content in all these videos. I have to step my ear game up in this gospel situation I’ve been hired for and your channel is very helpful. Maybe do a video of exercises to get your relative pitch going.

  • @mateusochoa8694
    @mateusochoa8694 6 років тому

    This made me realize that I have relative pitch! I plucked out the notes on every chord! I can't read music, I've never learned, but I can play most chords on a guitar by reading their names, but don't know what they're made of or how. This has made me very happy, I don't know why, but thank you!! I'm going to learn how to read music in the future.. You boosted up my confidence!! Thank you!

  • @chancescheihing4254
    @chancescheihing4254 5 років тому +3

    Relative pitch is something you can learn through ear training. People aren’t really just born with it like perfect pitch

  • @narnigrin
    @narnigrin 4 роки тому +4

    That "I-don't-know-if-it's-actually-a-G" is pretty damn close to a G. (Spot on if the guitar closest to me was well-tuned, which I can't be bothered to check.)

  • @julialori4591
    @julialori4591 3 роки тому

    Thank you for this very informative video!

  • @KyPaMac
    @KyPaMac 6 років тому

    Thanks for these videos. I struggle a lot with ear training, and the only improvement I've been able to make has been through a focus on "chunking", or recognizing chords and short melodic figures as basic units. Before learning to listen for these larger patterns, I tried to apply my ear training by identifying every single interval in music I listened to, which is a fool's errand. Music goes too quickly for that, and even if you could do it on the fly, it would be too disorganized.
    The title of this video seems a little odd to me, though. It's certainly a meaningful question for people with perfect pitch, but for those of us who don't have it (and can't get it, as I'm glad you take the time to point out in your other videos), it's a bit like asking, "Which is more important: climbing trees, or breathing underwater?" Only one of the options is even available.

  • @aussieevonne7857
    @aussieevonne7857 5 років тому +5

    Lennon is super lovely.

  • @RobertDannyDavis
    @RobertDannyDavis 7 років тому +8

    It is kinda interesting in the start and singing the G. I wonder if this is due to guitar playing? I often walk around and just suddenly think of what the "G" string sounds like, sing it, then go to the guitar and walla, it is G. Same with all the other open strings.

    • @remon563
      @remon563 7 років тому +7

      from experience, playing the violin increased my pitch memory by 200%

    • @jerryfreedman5258
      @jerryfreedman5258 6 років тому

      I agree Robert. When restringing a guitar I usually get the bottom E to within a few cents of concert without a reference. I started playing when I was 8 and spent a lot of my teens learning Elton John, James Taylor and Beatles songs by ear. And found it SO frustrating to know I hadn't found quite the right chord yet. Drove my mum batshit..but glad I persevered in hindsight.

    • @martinrerolle1921
      @martinrerolle1921 6 років тому

      Even if that G was actually an A flat... :)

  • @roseannerainwatersmith12
    @roseannerainwatersmith12 5 років тому

    Wow awesome. Thank you for this great vid. I was told that i have relative pitch so decided to check it out. Love that you explained it using kids. How cool.

  • @maestroanth
    @maestroanth 5 років тому

    Good explanation of how they work together in the end. A lot of people with perfect pitch only are really bad with chords. Pain in the ass to isolate everything.

  • @TheSeptemberRose
    @TheSeptemberRose 4 роки тому +6

    I was told by a singing teacher that I have near perfect pitch because if he played a note on the piano, I could sing it correctly. But I didn't know what note it was...I could only imitate the sound. Is that relative pitch? I wrote this before you got to the part about relative pitch....okay...I've got that.

    • @evaeilea
      @evaeilea 4 роки тому +1

      Suzanne Dargie that’s not perfect pitch, its just singing in tune no offense though

  • @palmomki
    @palmomki 7 років тому +54

    Wouldn't you agree that "having perfect pitch" is just an acute form of "having a great pitch memory"? Or do you think there's something substantially different between the two concepts/talents/skills?

    • @remon563
      @remon563 7 років тому +10

      great question. I think it is "similar" but I think the difference is that if a child "learns" it at a young age he will not forget about it. It most likely gets learned and imprinted in a different brain area then the area we use for pitch memory.

    • @14jemima
      @14jemima 6 років тому +16

      I may be wrong but I think I would define perfect pitch as pitch memory that never has to be refreshed.

    • @14jemima
      @14jemima 6 років тому +3

      You may be right. Let's say just this then: if it's not true, at least it seems to "work" in most usual cirucmstances..
      Incindentally, Rick did say (in this video or another one) that perfect pitch could be lost when you're over 50 or 60.

    • @arneherrmann9666
      @arneherrmann9666 6 років тому +2

      14jemima That is probably because, the human ear loses its quality & ability to hear higher frequencies with age going on - regarding the overtone series, I guess, that the neural frameworks need the layers of frequencies, especially the higher ones in the ots to clearly identify the pitch

    • @Nat.ali.a
      @Nat.ali.a 6 років тому +1

      Actually there's a physical difference in the brain.

  • @fortunatotrefiletti
    @fortunatotrefiletti 6 років тому

    Tks Rick your advices are precious

  • @JoshuaNgMusic
    @JoshuaNgMusic 6 років тому

    When it comes to functional harmony analysis, a good command of relative pitch is a must, and it also requires a lot of practising for people with or without perfect pitch.

  • @itorres008
    @itorres008 6 років тому +3

    How do people identify notes using relative pitch once you have heard a succession of notes and have deviated somewhat form the initial reference note, do you still use the initial reference note or there comes a point in which you have to identify the note from the interval it makes wuth the last note heard?
    I suspect some people can remember the initial reference pitch despite the clutter or time passed, but I imagine for most it will fade out as you hear more notes and have to rely on the last note heard.

    • @andyjacobs7010
      @andyjacobs7010 5 років тому

      I actually would say I do best singing/hearing an arpeggio from the last note and/or tonic to the one I am trying to find.
      I've heard music a lot in half steps, whole steps, and so on in my life. I can fairly confidently arpeggiate to any specified pitch.
      I am less good at just going from tonic to whatever... kind of... maybe...
      At my music conservatory, we often used little snippets of songs to remember whatever leap you need for a given interval.

  • @kalicose
    @kalicose 5 років тому +23

    So does that mean that people with chromesthesia (sound-to-color synesthesia) have perfect pitch?

    • @maturitypending
      @maturitypending 5 років тому

      Alyssa Arellano interesting question.

    • @mullhaupt4977
      @mullhaupt4977 5 років тому

      yes

    • @kitemanmusic
      @kitemanmusic 4 роки тому +2

      There is a brown note!

    • @anamartinez7006
      @anamartinez7006 4 роки тому +9

      Alyssa Arellano not everyone. Only if each note has 1 colour. I have sound to color synesthesia but if you play a C I might hear red one day, and then yellow the next. Today I hear green. If people hear JUST yellow with every G and just blue with every B, then yes they would have perfect pitch.

    • @lmac6635
      @lmac6635 4 роки тому +3

      I have sound-to-color synesthesia and I definitely do not have perfect pitch!

  • @jasontolentino6548
    @jasontolentino6548 5 років тому

    You have a lovely family Rick. Hope all your kids will pursue music. Godbless

  • @monacoGTR
    @monacoGTR 7 років тому +2

    Your videos are great. Thanks Rick.

  • @ilirllapashtica7940
    @ilirllapashtica7940 5 років тому +238

    damn i can feel his daughters future jealousy of her brother

    • @markopolo2224
      @markopolo2224 5 років тому +2

      Yes

    • @markopolo2224
      @markopolo2224 4 роки тому +3

      @@JennyOPKush yeah

    • @souviksen7497
      @souviksen7497 4 роки тому +35

      Not at all. Good relative pitch is sufficient to be a great musician. She'll do just fine.

    • @souviksen7497
      @souviksen7497 4 роки тому +2

      @@JennyOPKush She's much younger.

    • @twoblink
      @twoblink 4 роки тому +31

      Naw; she just needs to practice 40 hours a day.. Trumps all perfect pitch.

  • @Leah_music
    @Leah_music 3 роки тому +3

    At the beginning when he sang the g I went to my piano to see if it was and it was 😂😂

  • @matthewmjb6860
    @matthewmjb6860 2 роки тому

    The ad before this said at the end, "Learning songs by ear is usually ineffective."
    I must be special, I learned everything I know about music apart from the note names and major scales from listening to songs, playing them, and comparing patterns. 🚀
    🌎

  • @lydian175
    @lydian175 4 роки тому

    Thank you for sharing. So true singing and playing them back, where I’m at 🎶✌🏽😎

  • @bignatec1000
    @bignatec1000 5 років тому +7

    When you all hear your favorite song in your head, can you hear it exactly as it sounds? Is that normal? I can hear most of not all of the instruments and vocals and such. I don’t have perfect pitch, so sometimes I hear it in a different key, which is really weird, especially for people’s voices.
    I can also hear any instrument I want, like if I think of a random melody, I can hear it played in my head by a violin or trumpet for example.

    • @llp9643
      @llp9643 4 роки тому

      Same! Probably normal. :)

  • @hoexskip
    @hoexskip 4 роки тому +8

    I'm surprised Dylan doesn't vomit when he hears quarter tones. I was born with perfect pitch and when I hear quarter tones I want to punch a wall

    • @chuck1804
      @chuck1804 2 роки тому +2

      So perfect pitch means if something is a quarter off 440 Hz it's actually unlistenable to your ears? Sounds like...something you can't be born with.
      Just curious. What if a whole song is pitched at... 438 Hz? There are whole albums where some combo of the original instrument tuning and/or speed of the master reel in playback resulted in not quite 440 Hz finish (Nick Drake's Pink Moon springs to mind).

  • @islandhopperstuart
    @islandhopperstuart 2 роки тому +2

    Wow, Dylan is wonderful. I can see a great career in music ahead!

  • @davin6175
    @davin6175 3 роки тому

    I am glad you addressed the possibility of developing relative pitch to the point where it is close to perfect pitch. I worked at a music store for 8 years and was amazed when my manager could grab new guitars and violins and tune the without reference and get them inside +/- 1/4 tone. He said it just came from how long and how many times he did this and said he didn't have perfect pitch. So I started trying it and found I could get within a half tone. I can imagine professional orchestral players after thousands of hours of tuning to A440 no longer need the reference some pitches are burned into their psyche. Or a piano tuner with decades of experience who could tell you which notes are out and by how much and be pretty damn accurate without a reference. Now this more limited, but the point being that without disagreeing with your assertion that adults cannot develop perfect pitch, I think one can get pretty damn close if they chose to work at it long enough. But the point is the difference in time it would take to get to that point would be drastically different between someone who is gifted with perfect pitch and someone who is not.
    Always enjoy your videos and I thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with everybody!