Arranging/Perfect Pitch/Other random music stuff discussion

[Tobbeh99]

I probably led you astray a bit with the piano experience thing. Really, the only thing piano experience does is it allows you to know whether something is playable or not more quickly, rather than having to go to a piano and test it out a bunch of times. Sure, that saves some time, but not nearly as much as a hereditary gift such as absolute (perfect) pitch. Well actually, hereditary isn't quite the word I wanted to use. It is just something that can only be developed during certain time windows, usually by experience with a musical instrument. I can't remember exactly what these windows are, but the best time is having experience before age 3 or so. Its all about brain development and stuff, you can look up more about it if you want to. But anyway, it is a huge timesaver because it allows me to hear melodies or chords only 1 or 2 times and be able to recognize every note being played. I don't have to stop and keep plunking random keys until something "sounds right." You can always develop relative pitch, but I won't get into that here. This is going WAY off topic, I promise my next post will be a submission! Anyway, if you have any questions about pitch, arranging speed, or something else, PM me about it so we don't like get people mad at us for cluttering up this thread with non-Animal Crossing stuff!

Remembering for like 3-4 years ago I tried to learn perfect/Absolute pitch. I though that it'd be the ultimate tool for me, as I wanted to be a composer(I only needed a pen and some paper and I could just write down everything I heard in my head). I tried really hard, but all the methods were very vague. Most methods said either that you should try associate a certain note with a certain color or something, or that you should try to associate the note with a song that started on the note. And one of the programs I used, Auralia, had a huge flaw in it's Perfect Pitch training topic: The notes seemed to have different overtones, so I could hear what note it was not because I recognized the pitch but because I recognized the sound, like hearing different instruments. And also, since the notes came after each other successively, it sometimes happen that I used relative pitch to clear the exercise.   
It might be possible to learn Perfect Pitch, I'm not sure, or at least get better at hearing different pitches. But But I gave up after a while because I didn't see much of a clear progress, it is much harder to learn than relative pitch. I got a pretty good relative pitch and it's easier to learn probably because you hear 2 or more notes and it's about hearing the relation to the notes, if it sounds dissonant or not etc., while perfect pitch you hear 1 or more notes and you have to know/feel what note it is. 

[Tobbeh99]

I can play by ear, is that close to perfect pitch? lol

No if you play by ear you're probably using relative pitch. Like someone sings a melody and you imitate it on piano. Either you try until you find the right notes or you're using relative pitch/melodic pitch to play the melody correctly. Not even if you can sing a song with correctly if someone gave you a sheet would count as perfect pitch, you might know how high a G or a C# is for you.

Perfect pitch is more like: I give you a song and you can instantly hear what the notes are in a couple of tries, depending on the amount of notes/speed of the song, without finding them on an instrument because you know how the notes sound and thereby know what the notes are.

A prime example might be Beethoven, who composed his entire 9th Symphony deaf! He heard the entire symphony in his head.

[ThatGamer]

Interesting..had no idea beethoven was deaf!

[Tobbeh99]

Interesting..had no idea beethoven was deaf!

Here is a perfect pitch test, if you want to try.

Beethoven gradually became deafer during his career, and when he composed his last symphony, the 9th, he was completely deaf. 

[ThatGamer]

Here is a perfect pitch test, if you want to try.

Beethoven gradually became deafer during his career, and when he composed his last symphony, the 9th, he was completely deaf.

Fail. Got 0/20...

[Tobbeh99]

I at least hear the firs A#. Zelda lol, I'll never forget .

[ThatGamer]

I at least hear the firs A#. Zelda lol, I'll never forget .

I thought Zelda was C major?

[Tobbeh99]

I thought Zelda was C major?

Nope, most versions of the main theme is in Bb. Going Bb-C-D-Eb-F etc.

[TheMarioPianist]

20/20

[ThatGamer]

20/20

Of course. Good job.

[TheMarioPianist]

I have another good test for you guys to try. I need to find it. I got a 25/26 because I hadn't heard of one of the songs.

Not for sure if it actually tests perfect pitch, but it tests your sense of pitch in general.

Here is the test.

[ThatGamer]

I have another good test for you guys to try. I need to find it. I got a 25/26 because I hadn't heard of one of the songs.

Not for sure if it actually tests perfect pitch, but it tests your sense of pitch in general.

Here is the test.

 

[Tobbeh99]

Fuck Yeah! I got 26/26
This boosted my self-confindence lol. I know what sounds good, and what sounds like a piano on drugs . And I hadn't even heard some of the songs.

Spoiler

[close]

[TheMarioPianist]

Fuck Yeah! I got 26/26
This boosted my self-confindence lol. I know what sounds good, and what sounds like a piano on drugs . And I hadn't even heard some of the songs.

Spoiler

[close]

Congrats! Absolutely, I think that's all you really have to know to beat that test. I had heard of all of them but 1 (some were repeats, too). That's why I got a 25. Darn you!

[Pianist Da Sootopolis]

20/20 on the first one. 24/26 on the second.