Hi Amiee. I've had tinnitus most of my adult life (I'm 65 now). After watching this video it occurred to me to see if I could identify the note in my head and it turns out, by happy accident, to be G6 - 1,568 Hz. It is like having a tuning fork in my head, which I can use it to build intervals to find other notes (all in my head). I'll sing the new note that I find, then go to the keyboard, and bingo! I kid you not.
Herman Schryer oh my gosh. Well, way to turn something awful into something useful, I suppose. I guess there are worse notes that could be in your head. G is a pretty nice note. :)
I love G. It's my favourite key on guitar and harmonica; maybe because of the tinnitus, unknowingly. I've put it to good use in applying your top secret. I can now work out tunes in my head, in the right key, and sing them to myself while I play the tune on the piano. All combined, this is a breakthrough for me, but I still have a LOT to learn. By the way, the tinnitus disappears when I play, probably because it blends in with all the overtones coming off the piano.
@@matthewdubovik7350 Instead of hearing music in their head (which they probably do), the development of perfect pitch has something to do with being exposed by a ginormous amount of unexpected pitches or something else, more like how they learned language. I learned this from th-cam.com/video/816VLQNdPMM/w-d-xo.html by the way.
iMadScience I can tell you from my personal experience that it’s not true. I discovered my perfect pitch at the age of 20, had no prior musical experience. I trained myself by associating the keys of my favorite songs with note names. I could always pull them out of thin air before that as I could always sing in tune but I simply added the process of naming this pitches. I got quicker at naming as I practiced. And I assure you it is definitely perfect pitch. I can name the pitch of ANY noise and pull any of them out of thin air. My point is, maybe I just always had it in my genes, nobody helped me develop it, but I didn’t lose it after time either, it’s always there. Also I should note that I have no relative pitch, I bought Rick Beato’s ear training program, hopefully it can expand my harmonic identification ability.
@Matthew Dubovik I think the same as you: I think tonal memory IS perfect pitch, and lots of us have it but very undeveloped. I can always recall the 'A' note in my mind, learned from a pitchfork. But I can sing the notes of the songs that I remember too, just I didnt give em' the proper note names too.
It's nice that you shared this. In my college choir, our choir director asked to think of how a "D" sounds (he has perfect pitch). There's a guitar arrangement by Chet Atkins of the song Mr. Bojangles, but it's in C Major (I also know how to play the arrangement, so I'm familiar with how it sounds). So I thought of the song, and once I got the "C" that I thought of, I went up a whole step in my head, and sang the note that I thought was "D". And it turned out to be correct! I tried it multiple times and tested it on piano, and I got it correct probably 9/10 times. Yet, I don't have perfect pitch. It's great to have those songs that you're very familiar with, and it develops this pitch "memory". Although it's not really perfect pitch, it's definitely a step closer to it for those who wish to develop it.
I play guitar on occasion and never took it to seriously. This Chanel got me interested in music and has been the most helpful in learning to play my guitar.
Interesting video, especially how you can detect the notes if played on the piano but not reproduce them otherwise. I've always wondered what is the point of spending hours trying to achieve perfect pitch. Audiences are not aware of it and they really don't care. The point of music is to deliver it to an audience. Even if we were to sing acapella, people wouldn't know if we sing two cents "off", they just follow the reference root note we give them and as long as we stay coherent to that note with the rest of the melody ( like you did with some of your examples ) it sounds Ok for the listener.
You made me realise mine is Giant Steps. It used to be Serj Tankian's something, he's got like six songs starting on a C. But now, I perfectly imagine F#, and therefore a D, B, G and Bb. What a useful tune to learn pitches!
You're right on with your analysis! I learned in 2nd grade that I have perfect pitch 'with the piano' when my music teacher asked me to stay after class. He plunked out some notes, asked me what they were, and I answered correctly. Your idea for learning to have good relative pitch by having a 'touch tune' is a good one. I've done that too. I teach my students to perfect playing by ear if they show any interest and aptitude, and call it the 'Special Assignment'. They like that...Sharon Marie
I have very strong relative pitch. My guess is that this came from being obsessed with solfege ever since I was 6... but maybe there's a better explanation.
A trick I picked up was to figure out what the highest note I can whistle is; G8. From there, I bring it down a few octaves and compare it with the pitch I'm attempting to figure out, and figure out the interval between them (a G to Eb, for example, would be a minor 6th) and then name the note. A different trick I've tried, but with less success, is just feeling the way the string is hit on a piano when you press it; an A3 feels kind of dark, with a hint of what feels like a "timpani" in the background, the string has audible highs and lows (you can start to hear the wave at this point) spaced very closely together, but nonetheless audible if carefully listened to.
I think a common mistake people make is that having perfect pitch and being a prodigy musician are one and the same. Sometimes, as in this case the two do not correlate. Just like there are some really great musicians that do not at all have perfect pitch. People also make this mistake when it comes to synesthesia.
Aimee, you are my Perfect Pitch jamm. The song is your voice and the starting note is your eyes. All I see is peace and a wavery beauty soaked in silk and wrapped in lavender sheets. I wish I had a teacher like you! I'm going to subscribe with NO hesitation.
My tinnitus is the pure soundwave of the international ‘A’ = 440 Hz tuning fork. You see, when I practice my guitar, I tune it between each song/exercise with that sound. I recall its pure soundwave in my head first, then I verify my memory with my ‘A’ tuning fork. I do that also as a game during other activities like during a TV commercial or when I'm near one, which I have in every room, including in the shower. That makes you in tune with any good musician and closes the argument of who have to retune their instruments higher or lower. BTW, the grand concerts usually raise the tuning fork by 5 Hz. That complies the audience to be more focused on the actual music from the stage, instead of what they are used to hear that lets the mind more inclined to be distracted. Thanks Aimee Nolte for your instructive and easy to understand videos.
DanSitar0 Now I think I understand why people feel they have to have multiple TVs in their home - just to drown out that constant tinnitus ringing in the ears. Ginkgo biloba may help your tinnitus symptoms. It is an herbal remedy (60 mg per day x 2) which is sometimes used for this, but it takes about 4 months for its positive effect to kick in. I do admire your ingenious way of combating a disease of the ears that can drive its victims mad.
Before college, I didn't have PP. I was playing, but not to the degree I did in college. I was a Musical Comp Major. I was writing all the time. I didn't have time to always check with an instrument, so I had to use my brain. I walked into Aural Perception class. I had been listening to a piece that was in G# Melodic Minor. The prof played a piece in that key and asked us if it was in Major, Minor, if it was modal. I asked her if it was in G# Melodic Minor. Her neck nearly broke snapping around to me. She asked if I had PP. I told her I did not, but I was listening to this piece on the way in. I practiced a lot listening in-depth to the actual colors of the notes. I don't play as much, and I rarely compose. Sometimes my ear is there. Most times, it's not. BTW, when I hold my guitar, my pitch is so much better.
Omg, I don't have perfect pitch, but when you said about your husband to sing, "I want my MTV", from memory, I did as well, before you did, and I was bang on! What an awesome trick! Totally my jam! Thank you Aimee! So, I just tried a few other songs from memory in different keys. Turns out, "I'd like to visit the moon" from Ernie on sesame street, can give me the G note, in the key of C. Childhood memories. Wow.
im a '91 baby and would jam out to Michael Jackson when i was a toddler, so i just tried to sing the piercing Bb of "BEEEAT IIITTT" and it worked! also same note as 'Doooo' from Green Day's Basket Case. Hacking this perfect pitch thing! Thanks for the tip 👍
Well, how about that? It works for me too- but as a barbershop singer, I actually associate it with the "keep" in "Keep the Whole World Singing" from "A Little Close Harmony," (just an octave down) the traditional way to close out every rehearsal.
Amy, your videos are . . can't find the perfect (pitch) words . . .so relevant, fun, engaging, inviting and just awesome! Thank you for sharing your knowledge, your gifts, and your tricks!! Love, love, love you!
thats why songs like twinkle twinkle little star, do re mi, etc are so important for us to learn .. they can help us develop tonal reference point for the rest of our lives.. and it took me 40 years to figure out that the 5th intervals from twinkle twinkle little star make tuning a violin so much easier 😊
I could follow you just fine when you played the notes on the piano and I developed it from scratch starting when I was 18. But it took years of daily concentrated practice.
@Thomas Wilmott Nah, this isn't a "one weird trick" kinda deal. I'm not selling anything (yet :p ). But anyway, I described my approach on my channel through a number of videos. But I really wasn't happy with the audio. There's so much more to go through and explain but I want it all to sound good. I just keep holding out hope that I'll get around to it!
Aimee, thank you sooooo much. I found my perfect pitch song a weeks ago, and I tested the song 3-5 times a day, then, I found I can sing right tone each time. Amazing!!! I always think that I just have a relative pitch before. So nice to you~
Omg I've been looking for songs to develop perfect pitch but It didn't work just to get past your video and realize that i already have a song it's Unravel, it's my jam and I've been playing it for so so long I checked and I got it right!! Thank you so much!
When I was in college (circa 1999 or so) Jamey Abersold came to my school and gave a presentation. He was so knowledgeable. I remember him pulling out a pitch pipe and talking about using it in the car to test himself on pitch. I still have the red Jazz Handbook he handed out, and use some of his tips and exercises to this day when working on a tune. Anyway, I just looked on his website, and you can download that handbook for free. There's good material in there for anyone looking to improve soloing, or just learn tunes, or about jazz in general. Anyway, when you mentioned going to one of his clinics it made me think of that. I'm really enjoying your videos. Thanks and keep up the great work.
Silenced Phill that's really cool! Actually, when his clinic was over, I was so impressed with the way that he used his pitch pipe, I asked him if he would sell me one and he told me the only one he had was the one in his pocket and that if I didn't mind his germs, I could have it. So, I swapped spit with Jamey. LOL
Aimee Nolte Music , I've been playing guitar for 39yrs. I have relative pitch. My go to song is stranglehold by Ted Nugent. This was 2 years before I started playing guitar. I had a friend who played that song to death. One day my friend that started playing guitar with me asked me if I could guess any notes out of thin air. And did what you did and picked that song and hit that A note. I still use it to tune my guitar to pitch to this day. That same friend taught his daughter all 12 notes when she was a baby and ever since she's had perfect pitch. I mean the kind where she can tell pitchs coming from anything. airplane, lawnmower any instrument. We're jealous. It's nice that you can hear any note on the piano, that must help. Good video, Thanks
David Coughlin He has a music degree in jazz performance. Has soon as she was able to understand words he would play a note then tell her the note name. Doing a few at a time she could recite them back pretty quick. Eventually all twelve notes. I first saw her do it at the age of six. She could tell you any note from any instrument. The next time I saw her she was 23 yrs. old. I asked how she did it, and said it was like images came to mind. Like when we hear a song, we remember a place or event. So if you have a baby, that's the time to start introducing music to them. Let them hear good piano stuff. Simple at first, than more jazz oriented stuff.
I also have tinitus because I took flying lessons in a loud small plane. It's note is a C when it isn't a G. It has several notes and sometimes one is louder than another. (Although right now they are about 10 cents short of Bb and F. I use Garageband's tuner). I have never had the finger dexterity to play an instrument. I watched your videos because I thought I could learn to hear intervals better and learn how to sight sing. Just before I retired, I started taking voice lessons. Learning to sing on pitch is like peeling an onion.. Five years ago my voice was consistently 1/8 tone flat. After a month I would go back and listen to a recording I thought was right on pitch - Flatter than a pancake. Now I'm singing right on pitch right? After another month I would go back and listen to a recording I thought was right on pitch - Flatter than a pancake. Now I'm singing right on pitch right? After another month I would go back and listen to a recording I thought was right on pitch - Flatter than a pancake. Now I'm singing right on pitch right? Get the picture? INow my notes are usually withing 15 cents of the pitch. It's taken a long time to unlearn my perception of pitch. and I will keep improving one layer at a time. In college I learned that my Grandmother's piano had always been a whole tone flat. Bummer. Next is learning how to sing and smile at the same time. How do you carve a piece of wood? Whittle by whittle.
Aimee, I know a music theory professor/composer who has a sense of pitch that is exactly as you describe yours. He NEVER misses if the notes are played on the piano but cannot tell if the notes are played on other instruments. He holds that he does not have real perfect (absolute) pitch, but that he has timbre dependent pitch recognition - he can identify the pitch by the way it sounds on the piano. I am a pianist and I cannot do what you and my friend can do, but I do often think of music that is very close to me in the right key. And BTW, I love the feel of your piano playing.
Wow! This explanation was so good! I’ve never heard anyone explain it like you did. This is exactly how I’ve been doing it since high school. I’ve used songs and situations and it always helped me pull pitches out of thin air. Love it!!!
Hi, Aimee! I actually saw you talk about this on another video a while back. At the time, I was incredibly skeptical. But I had to give it a try. The song I found was "Somebody to Love" by Queen. It starts on a big 'Ab' with only Freddie's voice ( "Caaaaan..."). Plus the opening melody outlines the 'Ab' triad with a 'Bb' passing tone. Having that is sort of an added perk. (Bonus, it's in the sweet spot of my singing range!) I've made a little 15 second clip of the intro that I play a few times a day to check myself. Sure enough, it works. Hopefully this suggestion helps someone else. Thanks, Aimee!
Hi Aimee, my two cents on finding your jam. I am in total agreement, just saw a video on teaching absolute pitch. The video is in Spanish, since I don’t know if you know Spanish, I won’t refer to the video. It all boils down to recognizing a song per note. Just like the test that you did with your husband. Yes you have to practice, to make the connection to the note, but once your brain recognizes the sound, you can recall the note sound instantly. If it works for one note, it should work for all the notes. Thanks for proving that method, your so call trick, works! Gracias!!
The song that I use is Interstate Love Song by Stone Temple Pilots. It starts on a C#. I don't always get it but I just tried it and was dead on. I'm nowhere near your level though. From what I've heard, perfect pitch is instantaneous, like you did on the piano.
I can relate to this so much! That's what I've always been doing but I realize some people are unable to memorize the exact pitch of songs. While it isn't always equal on my part, I think it is a form of perfect pitch. I think having perfect pitch isn't exactly a yes or no question. So, here are my perfect songs: C - I just recognize it from singing C major, weird enough D - Quia Respexit in Bm E - Astral Romance - Nightwish F# - A random soflège song I heard sang once 6 years ago A - Il mio bel foco (recitativo) - Marcello B - The same random soflège song I sanf 6 years ago Bb - Chopin's Nocturne in Eb Major Yes, there are some notes missing. That's just how it is.
Hmm this seems like a different phenomenon that I have seen some musicians call "absolute pitch". Its when a musician has played her instrument so long that they have that acoustic archetype in their permanent memory and can recognize notes on her instrument. I think perfect pitch people are slightly different in that it doesn't matter what instrument, they just always can tell a note based on its frequency. As opposed to absolute pitch, which can develop in some adults, perfect pitch is always developed as a kid. In any case you have some serious talent !
I never associate sounds with color. KNOWING what the note is without a frame of reference when I hear it is normal for me. If I started seeing color, I'd be scared...
I think the 'color' thing is a metaphor for most perfect pitch people. They hear the 'color' of a g sharp for instance. But there are people who associate sounds with actual colors. I know such people who do this even if they don't have perfect pitch. I think in this case they are associating all of the other senses with the color ( seeing the note G, playing it, and then imagining the color blue for instance.)
10:56 "I imagined the keyboard keys in my head". That's another trick isn't it? That's what I do when asked to sing any particular pitch out of thin air. Visualising the corresponding key on the piano and hearing it sound in my head.
My pal and I learned our perfect pitch from the first note of Misty. We worked in a music shop and an old jazz clarinetist would come in regularly and play Misty on the piano. For some reason the first Bb of the melody just seemed to absolutely resonate with us. Coincidentally that’s the same as I Want My MTV too 😃
Absolutely love this video! First off; I would definitely say you have absolute (perfect) pitch. It's not uncommon for musicians to have it on their own instruments, but not when listening to other instruments (including voice), as the different timbres can trick the brain. Also, I think the name "perfect" is a bit of a misnomer. From what I've gleaned from different people who have it or study it (I do not), there can be different levels of aptitude, but the crux of it comes down to being able to recognize the chroma in the sound, which is an absolute property (thus the name 'absolute' pitch). From that perspective, being able to sing a song correctly in key without a reference is definitely an 'absolute' skill. In a different key, the space between the notes stays the same (relatively), but the 'color' of the melody line is distinctly different. Kind of analogous to the same desert scene painted in yellows and reds (day) or blues and purples (night). Same shapes and distances; different chroma. I've read/heard other teachers touch on this topic. I think being able to tell when a song is in a different key is lower on the "skillset" of AP, but it definitely uses the same mechanisms in the brain. Maybe the collective group of notes gives the brain more to 'grab' on to? Just a thought. Anyhoo, glad I stumbled across you channel (and subscribed). My jam is Thin Lizzy's 'The Boys Are Back In Town'. Whenever I hear an Ab5, I instantly hear that song in my mind. ;o)
Hello, I sing acapella and can easily hear when we sing flat,(drives me nuts) and can hear the starting note of each song we sing. I can hear when the pitch pipe is blown flat on some notes (replacement required). I get an accurate note from a song in my mind or tuning guitar, or certain chords. Anyway my point is that I am reliably informed that I have good relative pitch, not perfect pitch.
I sure wish we had TH-cam when I was in college (music major) - I sure could have used some of these tricks in sight singing class - that was the hardest, especially at exam time... Thanks for all the great info - I think you are amazing!!!
really interesting! i'm a violinist and if I hear a note on the violin I can tell what it is, but I can't pull notes of thin air. The only note I can pull out of the air is an A, I guess because I hear an A every time I tune.
A perfect pitch is both passive and active .You can recognise and you can vocalese .It is not related to a specific instrument ( tone -timber ) .It can be disturbing compared to a good relative ear .It is a must for analyse and sight reading , compo and direction .It is first a quality of memorization and perception .
Luckily mine is in the simple key of C. Elvis Presley's You ain't nothing but a hound dog. The King himself gives me the blues note e flat then c. And the base player plays me c e and g. Then On the chord change the bass gives me f and a. 6 notes. Thanks for your video.
That's amazing! I just found something interesting: I have kind of "perfect non perfect pitch" with the first note of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. That is: I always sing it in G, while the original is G sharp. So now I know that I can easily find the G in my mind!
Aimee, I am buzzing right now from this. I recently began singing (after years of fear) and my vocal coach a couple weeks ago suspected I had perfect pitch (but just didn't know note names). I went home and played around that week and came to the same conclusion you did, that I didn't have perfect pitch but I had a trick to sort of reverse engineer it, via a similar process. (For me, I tried to find my go-to tuning note - I heard an orchestra tuning in my head - found it's relation to middle C, and then found a song with those as it's first two notes, to get me from my tuning note to middle C.) My trick ended up only being consistent in the morning, but not by the end of a day of talking. Still, I started to understand how it might work, and watching your video made me absolutely dead certain that your trick is the better way to get it. Pretty badass. Thanks!
Hi Amiee, great video! I love how honest and real you are about your abilities, how you discovered them, your limitations, and some activities to try. After several years of working on perfect pitch on and off, last August I finally decided to commit myself fully, with no slacking. My plan was to keep ear training until I either hit a ceiling or developed full absolute pitch + aural recall. So far on that journey, I've made tremendous strides, and I've yet to hit a ceiling. In fact, when you were playing the pitches at the beginning of this video, I was right there with you, and I would not have been there AT ALL a year ago. I mean, not unless I used relative pitch and started with a reference point. I have great relative pitch, which is both a blessing and a curse when I'm doing my ear training. First, the ability to recall the key/pitches of a certain song actually is a form of absolute pitch. What has happened is that the brain has stored so much information about the way this song sounds that it might successfully recall the pitch colors when thinking of the song, even though you're not aware of the pitch colors. They are still there, after all -- even for those who do not have any awareness of them. So what is pitch color? It's that unique effect that a frequency has on your sensory perception, the character that is different from all other frequencies. It works exactly the same as visual colors. Red looks red, and I don't know why. It's just a human perception, and it's universal (for the most part). Yellow, blue, green, orange, pink, etc. each have a different character, and this character is not brightness, and it does not rely on comparison. You do not have to compare red to orange to be able to tell that it's red. You just know! And on piano, you do not have to compare 440 hertz to 261 hertz to tell that it's A. You just know! You're one of the rare ones. (I'm getting close to this point myself; it's so exciting!) However, there are some differences between our visual perception and our pitch perception. We only see less than one octave of visual frequencies, but we hear several octaves of pitch frequencies. I imagine that if we could see multiple octaves in the visual spectrum, the rainbow would be wider. After violet, we would see the colors morph into a more vibrant red than the one we normally see, and so on and so on. I bet ultraviolet frequencies would be similar to what we currently see, but more vibrant and radiant. Sort of how C4 is the same as C3, but more vibrant, brighter... Difficult to explain, but I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about, since you're much more tuned in than I am at this point. HOWEVER, if we could see multiple octaves, would the need for color recognition be diminished in favor of frequency comparisons? Imagine if someone went through their entire life ignoring the colors and only focusing on relationships between the infrared, visual, and ultraviolet frequencies. Would they only notice comparisons and see the world in shades of bright to dark? A black and white world? Perhaps in such a world, the rare individual who still noticed the visual colors would seem like a superhuman! Another difference is timbre. With visual colors, we don't get confused by the texture of the material or the patterns of colors. But with pitch, the timbre can easily obscure the color. This is why you recognize the colors easily on piano but not on other instruments. Your ear is accustomed to piano, and it can easily hear through the timbre and pick up the color. But other timbres confuse the ear and cause it to resurface. I bet that with the right ear training, you could develop universal pitch color discrimination. Going a step further, once you've achieved universal pitch discrimination, you'll be so familiar with the pitch color that you can just think of whatever color you want and sing the desired pitch on demand. In fact, even at this stage of my journey, I've noticed that I can think of a C almost on demand, when I have a moment to concentrate and listen to my mental piano. But it's nothing like true aural recall, which I hope to attain some day. Okay, I have tons more to say, but this is getting ridiculously long 😆. If you'd like to see any of my "Perfect Pitch Journal," where I keep notes about my absolute pitch progress, just let me know. I love talking about this stuff, and I'd be happy to share it with you.
@@chamindadissanayake332 Hi! Wow, I can't believe I wrote so much!! I was seriously committed at that point. I hardly practice anymore, sadly. But my ears are still better than when I wrote that novel lol. My "perfect pitch Journal" wasn't a video, just a word doc of thoughts and tracking my progress. If you'd like to see it, I'm happy to share. Feel free to shoot me an email: aarongrooves @ gmail . com
I just sang and heard the beginning to Billy Joel's "Piano Man" in my head. I then went over to my Piano and was spot on Key of C. I haven't heard the song nor played it with my harmonica in quite some time. I think I have found it. I'll try again in an hour. Greetings from S Florida It's down to 71 degrees. We're having a cold front. Have a happy thanksgiving! Mike
I've got the same kind of pitch like you do! But I think I developed it from exercises, I don't know what actually worked for me, it' s just one day I listened to piano note and knew what it was. But here is one thing, If you can imagine a song and find the note, I think with your type of pitch you could just imagine in your mind a piano playing the note you want and singing it. I often use this trick, it is much faster. I think in time if I try it more, maybe I will be able to intuitively sing the notes without imagining them in my mind. Also after the time that I found out about my perfect pitch, now I recognize the more notes (at the beginning it was hard for me to recognize notes in high, or low octaves), and sometimes I even recognize notes that are played with other instruments. By the way, harp and guitar notes are easier for me to recognize, than the others. I think that is because their sounds are similar to piano's.
Hi Amiee! i am Eunok living in s.korea and i just want to say i truly appreciate your all the videos!!!!!! i am learning music compising and play jazz by myself and your videos do really works for me. i have learned playing piano when i was young girl and how you teach feels really comfortable and cheerful like my real teacher i had had. after being graduate student i just realize i want to keep doing my music with piano so i am trying for my dream with ur videos! I will keep watching your videos forever!!Thanks amiee! :)
you have perfect pitch and I believe you born with that tool, and a lot of people can develop... in my case I'm still working, but i have a cousin who play the piano and at the first time he start learning how to play he recognize every note... for my that's a gift from God! .. oh! and about those "trick's" to sing notes i think it's normal to have a reference note to find other notes ... now I'm part of your online students hehehe.. I'm just find your channel a few days ago and I already see 20 videos and I repeated for few times to learn more, really helpful all your stuff! thanks a lot... btw... one more question.. you say you play what's on your heart and your head so you can sing your solos, but working on scales and theory stuff, can you show some triads advance exercises for improvising??
Your so awesome! I've been a church musician since I was a young boy. Now being over 30 and I'm just learning pitch in this way. Most people that I know who has it, this is the same trick they use. Some point of reference In their mind.. your awesome!! 🙏🏾
Actually there are levels of perfect pitch, and for some people it don’t take no point of reference. It’s similar to when you look at the color blue and it automatically goes - blue.
Aimee! You are so right. This is such a fascinating topic. My good friend who was my theory and aural training prof (and my son's) have long drawn out discussions. He has incredible relative pitch. I can impress if tested on Functional Ear Trainer, basically a scale degree trainer. But in the context of an actual song I am useless. I am still trying to develop a good ear and failing miserably. My mom, who grew up in China, can solfege sing any song she knows. She said everyone could do it in China. They all learned it in school from an early age. Anyway, I'm going on way too long...like I said we have long drawn out discussions about this fascinating topic. BTW, my prof friend calls what you have piano perfect pitch. He said through his many years of teaching, he's run across more than a few people with and without perfect pitch...just like you. Thanks for the post.
Sam A piano perfect pitch. I like it! Once in awhile, notes will jump out to me when I hear them on other instruments and I know exactly what they are playing, but it doesn't happen all the time. I think your solfege idea from your friend is marvelous. I do that with my kids all the time.
I can't remember where I saw it, but there was presentation by a lady who studied perfect pitch for her doctoral thesis (or something). One of her observations was that a high percentage of oriental people have PP. She had a theory for this. It had to do with language. She said Chinese words have different meaning depending on their pitch, or some variation of pitch. This is true of Chinese much more so than other languages. So from a very early age Chinese kid's ears become highly attuned to very subtle pitch changes. She tested the theory extensively and made a pretty convincing argument.
Sam A, anybody can learn to solfeggi a song. It is a natural extension of what you do with Functional ear trainer. I went through a lot of frustration to do it and eventually learnt to do solfege by ear. Solfege is the next stage of evolution of ear training after learning to do scale degrees. To do that you need to be able to recognize the root note of a song. Once you can do so, you can solfege logically. You just have to keep at it for a few months. This develops over time and therefore you must keep at it. One day all of a sudden, the knots will tie themselves for you. And no, it need not be learnt early. I started after 35 years of age to learn music. I taught myself solfege sing songs over a 6 month period. It is not easy, but it is certainly a skill that can be learnt.
Hey there, I noticed your comments on solfege, and I was just wondering if you might be able to tell me your methods/training habits. I've done a little bit, but not in a while. But I'm truly interested in how you broke through- no detail would be too small!! Best, Jeff
Here's one I've picked up during sheer exposure to barbershop: "Keep the Whole World Singing," for anyone not in my shoes, starts on Bb. (key of Eb) Another one is Am7/C (C6- empty chord of ukulele; I always go "G C E A" in my head) because I probably know that instrument the best.
Denmark here :-) Well, many years ago I met a guy, who was blind, and work as a piano tuner (Hopefully that's the word ..), it was fun to test him, I took my guitar and very very fast took many notes randomly and he perfectly pointed them out. Amazing. This video open out something new, for me, yes, but also something about understanding human nature skills like you have and some other very talented musicians, something about awareness and attention deep inside the psychology. To breathe within the colours.. and yes, I am a creative painter :-) Thanx!
I get your point and it's a good one, but I'm really struggling coming up with a useful example of my own. When I think I've got it the doubt always sets in and mess it up. Must work harder on this. I really thought I had it with the Rick Astley song "When ever you need somebody" - but that song is impressively all over the place chord wise. They don't make songs with more than 4 chords any more, said the cranky old dude. Thank yous from Denmark :-) P.S. Your idea could actually make for a fun party game! :-)
People with a huge gift cannot picture that most people cannot develop that skill with hard work and practice. All very well to work up a note with a trick, but it is a miracle of brain development when the mind can instantly identify a note heard, or produce that note instantly by voice. A friend who was a music professor and composer got a lovely electric piano when he moved into a care facility for the aged. He complained to me that the keyboard was off pitch. He did not realize that it had a pitch control knob on the back, and I made him instantly happy by tweaking it by a small fraction of a tone.
"Misty" is my "jam"--the notes are very clear and spread apart in the initial phrase--very distinct...and I love the song, so that helps....thanks for the video!
ok, I have perfect pitch and, I mean, no person needs that, I mean yes, cool I hear an A and I know that's an A, but there isn't an effective utility, the only advise I can give is focus on your relative pitch, 'cause it worth it. We (people with absolute pitch) cannot do it simply because we haven't got it, and I know that's weird but sometimes I'd give my perfect pitch to know how is to have the relative one.
I'm pretty sure the ability to write a score with no reference knowing what key it is in etc etc is pretty useful!!! But again like you hint perfect pitch doesn't determine if you are going to be a great musician or not, but I wouldn't say it's not useful
As soon as you got to "Money for Nothing" I paused you and closed my eyes and thought about it, whistled it, and then pulled out the midi keyboard and the track and played it. I was about a 1/4 to 1/2 a pitch off....much better result than I thought I would get. I've played guitar for, well...a while :) and there are certain classic rock tunes and chord shapes on guitar that I have heard so much over the years that I can immediately pick them out. But I do not have perfect pitch. Nice video thank you.
Wow this is pretty interesting, perfect pitch but not perfect pitch. First time seeing this phenomenon. I'm not sure for most perfect pitchers but, we including me should be able to sing a note on pitch effortlessly. But in your case, no. That's so fascinating!
I love your teaching style and bubbly personality Aimee. In relation to perfect pitch, there are very 50 recording artist who have well over 10 Grammys to their credit over the last 50 years. Not one of them would say that they have perfect pitch. They say that they have great relative pitch. Their music is still memorizing, remarkable and timeless. Perfect pitch need not be the goal. It's helpful, but rare.
I’ve always been so confused about whether I have perfect pitch or maybe just really good relative pitch because I’ve always been able to recall the original key and the correct pitch of the first notes of all the songs that I’ve listened to. I realised this when I used to sing along with my friends and they would sing it in a different key than the original song is written in and something in my head would go off like hey that’s not how the original sounds, I just thought everyone could do it. But then I’ve never been trained classically so I cannot name the notes by ear. I wonder if it would be different if I did receive some training!
let it be by the beatles. At the end of every verse, when the piano goes down from the F to C, that piece of music has helped me identify the F. Great video Aimee,
In my old college vocal jazz group, we would sing the intro to “I Remember You” a cappella. To this day, I can still hear and accurately sing that starting note “C” out of thin air, but other notes I have to really think about and sometimes get wrong.
Hi Aimee, Nice that you share this technique. I don't have perfect pitch as you've shown at the piano so, at some point during my sporadic musical pursuits, I've discovered this for myself, too. My perfect pitch tune? The famous NBC chimes, of course!
That works for me too! But instead of NBC, I think of when you're at Lowe's and hear, "Special assistance needed.. " the third time. If the version I'm thinking of starts on G like the NBC chimes do, they're identical, but I know they're at least intervallically so.
As a singer, I used to always carry an "A" 440hz tuning fork with me. Basically you can use the Pavlovian trick of constantly (every hour or so) striking the fork on my hand (always in the same spot on your hand) and then holding it to my ear AND sing the pitch as well. Do this for a couple weeks. Then after the couple weeks, start doing the striking motion on your hand WITHOUT the tuning fork, hold the "phantom" tuning fork to your ear, and you WILL hear the tone in your head! It works.
Very cool video -- impressive to see you having developed perfect pitch for piano (AKA PPP haha). I have always had great relative pitch. Only work with 1 musician (a singer and bass player) out of the hundreds of accomplished pros I know who has perfect pitch. He has it in a cool way in that he can accommodate the pitch sliding in an a cappella situation, whereas sometimes someone with perfect pitch can almost stand out like a sore thumb if they don't also listen to the group. But he'll tell us if we've slipped too far! Haven't found my #PerfectPitchJam yet tho *sometimes* I'll just picture middle C on the piano, sing it and test it and be right. Did it just now and got Db haha.
I have some iteration of perfect pitch, very similar to Aimee. I found it so interesting you mentioned "pitch sliding in an a cappella situation" I literally go nuts when that happens and have a very hard time accommodating the harmonics in a group when I know what the notes should be.
+1 on this ... my "relative pitch" is pretty super-duper ... a tad more on point that what Aimee is describing, I think. But I know a gal (professor of piano) who knows all the notes the clocks and computers at her house beep on, and how many cents sharp or flat they are. And Dylan Beato would beat me in an ear competition almost any time I think. THAT is "perfect" pitch.
Great channel. I came upon this myself a few months ago and built an associative framework to try connecting the melodies of the various songs through disparate keys. Sometimes they hold, and sometimes they bend.
For example, Inner Urge and C Jam blues, or Linus And Lucy and the first chord of Sweet Home Alabama are opposed, a Tritone apart. Generally once you get going, the opposing sororities are retained without the instrument.
i think you can learn to have good relative pitch but having true perfect pitch is rare and i think its something you are born with. i saw a video once of a guy being tested as soon as he awoke...so he couldnt possibly use anything to reference (relative pitch). i heard somewhere that everyone is born with true perfect pitch and over time we lose it. im not sure i agree with this though. that thing you did with the G# and A ... that has happened to me once or twice but clearly thats not enough to be perfect pitch. recently i heard a piece on the final fantasy 15 game called somnus and thought for some strange reason it was the exact same key as a piece in the game suikoden 4 called rune of punishment. i hadnt heard that piece in over 7 years. i checked the key on the piano and low and behold it was the same key - Cminor. im not sure why i instinctively made the distinction here tbh one thing...if youre using "perfect pitch jam" isnt this technically using relative pitch in a way?
What you said about being born with perfect pitch and losing it over time is absolutely true. I had perfectly perfect pitch as a kid, and now it's at about 75%. There are times when I just can't place the exact pitch (although I know enough tricks to get there in other ways, such as thinking a C and then working my way from there). It drives me crazy when I have those moments, though. Because when I do have it, there is no effort, it's just there.
Yeah I definitely agree. As cool as what Aime can do is, it still ain't true perfect pitch. Perfect pitch essentially having all pitches in your head at all times. No referencing at all for anything. They just have it all in their head.
This makes so much sense now! I was classically trained in piano since I was 4, with lots of ear training. My piano teacher back then told me that I had perfect pitch, and I believed it for years. I could totally do what you demonstrated on the piano. But I was never one of those people who hear a musical note in a car horn, etc. I had trouble telling notes in other instruments, too. Then I stopped playing in my teen years (I know, I know...but it was a dogmatic, rigorous classical training and I wasn't necessarily having fun) and I lost the ability gradually. Now I can pick out certain common notes out of thin air very close (within a quarter note perhaps), but that's about it. I tried the test on a perfect pitch research web site by UCSF (the site no longer exists) and found that I definitely don't have perfect pitch. Perhaps never did in a true sense. Still, it drives me nuts when people use the "transpose" function on the keyboard for more than a whole step because there is a disconnect between what I see and what I hear. What I have, or rather had, seems to be what's called "pitch memory", not perfect pitch. I also read recently that recent research shows that one can actually develop perfect pitch later in life, so that's intriguing. Anyway, I started studying jazz, and I can't imagine perfect pitch being useful other than at parties (although it's obviously a fascinating topic...kind of like a superpower), so I will concentrate on learning my 251s and standards.
At the end of this video, Aimee says, "it's not scientific," but a few days ago she said that was because 12tone didn't have the video "Can you Find This Note?" yet. In this video, there's a reference to a *science experiment* by Dr. Daniel Levitin, with a sample size of 43. The subjects were asked to pick (one at a time) two songs they knew very well. Dr. Levitin would do exactly what Aimee did with John: "Just sing this line," 5 subjects were able to find a double PPJ, and 25 were "within a whole step." (I don't know whether that means less than a half step off, for both songs, or what) Dr. Levitin conjectured that pitch memory (the part concerned with getting the note right at all) could exist alone as what he called "latent absolute pitch," which is literally the whole concept here, without pitch labeling. (what you do to the PPJ to make sure you get the rest of the notes right- the part where you assign the note its particular letter name) As you said, that's at least what you had when you were younger. Maybe you still have some because you say, "Hearing a note played more than a whole step away from what it's supposed to be drives me nuts."
I think you're too young to know about Jamey Aebersold. Fun video. I've always wondered if there is a tangible value to perfect pitch. Since I'm a big fan of struggle, perfect pitch has shortcutted the process for several musicians that I've known and, in their cases, it seemed to show up with a lack of depth in their playing. Maybe I just knew them too early in life. All the same, I'm sure I'll be practicing your instructions :)
Brent Tallent i'm definitely not young enough for that, but thank you for thinking so! Let me know how it goes. I have gotten a lot of use out of my "perfect pitch "and and I am glad I have what I have. I don't think that it has hindered me. I can't really see myself from the outside though, so I can't be sure!
Maybe Aelbersold is younger than I think. I had a vinyl play along record of his in 1979. I assumed for him to be making a record that he was quite a bit older than I. AND, of course PP hasn't hindered you, you're fantastic. It's hard for me to anticipate what the uses are, though. I'm sure they're plentiful if they aided in your journey. -- Best, BT
Sir Brent I dont think Aimee was too young ! Some people expose their children earlier than you suspect ( I remember writing a Grade 7 Trinity Theory exam with an 11 year old girl) and she was giving well articulated revision lessons to us folks who were at least 16 years older than her before we entered the hall - NB*This happened in Nigeria / Africa some years back ( despite the music system) .........Besides Ive been exposed to Jameys stuff since 1999 (long before taking a music grade or taking music seriously) . In a nutshell, nothing is impossible - When it comes to music , I ve decided to keep an open mind and not assume ! We all have our musical journeys ! Thanks to you Sir Brent and Aimee too for your comments ! I really appreciate your openness!
I think Beato says something along the lines of "you cannot acquire perfect pitch past a certain age, but you can master your relative pitch so much that, when combining it with pitch recall through a favorite song, you can pretty much emulate perfect pitch". I think for me it's the Star Wars theme opening brilliant B flat major chord to recall 'a note to start jumping around from'.
Thanks for your explanation of the Perfect Pitch thing. I'm 70 and noticed at a very young age that I could name any note on my mothers piano from upstairs in my bed room. Kids on my block thought a was a freak. Mom didn't know what to think. Later when I got involved in music in my teens somebody told me I had Perfect Pitch. My college theory professor also said that. I didn't agree because I couldn't sing a requested note out of thin air. So I decided that I had "piano pitch" recall, sort of a memory anomaly. As I progresses on the tenor sax I realized that I could do the same thing in identifying pitches on the horn. People still tell me I have Perfect Pitch but I deny it and say that I have 'specific instrument Pitch memory'. What really helps me is that this Pitch memory thing also applies to my recognition of intervals, perhaps one if my most valuable music skills. Thus Pitch memory thing is something I was burn with so I can't say I "worked" to develop it. I do play by ear quite well which is vital to my tole as a pop music cover band performer.
For years I wondered about this -- I'm like you, I'd say, but with less training, so I get a lot right and also am not always right. It's different from perfect pitch, which is like color vision -- you don't mistake blue for orange, ever. A few days ago I saw a Rick Beato video (your friend, I think) that I felt gave me the answer I had long sought. His explanation is in terms of pitch memory, which is different from perfect pitch. It makes a lot of sense. We can train ourselves to remember certain pitches, like you did with the song you wrote that begins with G♯ A. Rick also shares a system for pitch-memory training in the video, here: th-cam.com/video/M_ZQHOiyBF4/w-d-xo.html I wouldn't want to direct people to a competitor's site, but I think of you and RIck as collaborative - he definitely talks about your videos and vice versa. I've learned a lot from both of you. Thanks!
I can confirm your experience. Many years ago, when I already was a good musician, I couldn't recognize any pitch, but now I can recognize a lot - when it's on the piano. Some of my anchor points are Bb from Chopin's first waltz and the oboe's tuning A. Those I can pick out of thin air. I can also recognize nearly any low octave on the piano. Bb from Rachmaninov's 2nd sonata and prelude op.23n2, among other references. C from Chopin's etude op25n1 and 1st ballad, among other reference points. B because it doesn't sound like Bb or C. D from Brahms and Prokofiev and so on... I can even distinguish some sound characteristics: Bb metallic, C transparent, D tragic and potent, F cardboardy, F# twangy, ... But in the higher pitches I'm lost. I went from no perfect pitch at all to having patches of perfect pitch to which I can then apply relative pitch. My number one #PerfectPitchJam is Chopin's waltz op.18.
I found my song!! The G from Bill Evans’s playing Alice in Wonderland at Village Vanguard. I’ve listened to this song so many times, I saw your video and instantly thought of it. I sang the note and played the song and it was dead on! I am so excited! Now I just need to figure out how to use it... Thank you so much for this and all your videos.
I play guitar for about 18 years. I was just wondering, so I recalled a riff that starts with A, hummed that note and went to check it. It was an A. Also, when I hear things like a dog barking, I sometimes get this immediate "vision" in my head of some song and it's starting note. But it happens just very very rarely. I can also quite easily tell if in a song, some of the guitar chords are open string chords or fretted ones, like bar chords. It seems to me like a very advanced level of relative pitch within the individual notes where I can feel the timbre of the note and imagine if it's played on certain string and certain position on the neck (because the timbre of the note depends on the individual harmonics in that give note). The thicker strings sound more beefy and full, where the thinner ones sound, well, thin. I can also tell if the guitar is tuned down, because that sound heavier and thicker as well. I can also tell chords on the guitar quite easily sometimes, depending on how much I played that one. But on piano? They all sound the same to me...
I'm not nearly close to having perfect pitch (even my relative pitch is poor), but I have a good memory to the notes of the songs I heard a lot, even those which aren't my favorites. I could get money for nothing right (you got to install microwave ovens... love this one for sure) but then you mentioned a TV show, I thought I could guess Friends' theme, searched for it but found Bon Jovi's I'll be there for you and got it right... that ain't one of the tunes I like the most, but it was always on the radio back in the day...
I'm terrible at recognizing notes. But i identified F#3 in my first try thinking in a lick that i played a lot, felt amazing. I'm feeling like a child who's just discorevered something awesome. Thank you!!! Haha
I did quite a bit of study on Perfect Pitch in college. I wrote (what felt like) a thesis size paper on it. You can learn the PP that you have on the piano, off the piano. It would take time and really... I'd reckon at this point, would you really wanna spend your time doing that!???! PP can be learned, but there are variations in the data, because it depends WHOM is the one trying to learn it. Their background, experience, and how close they are to having "it" bears greatly upon the results.
Hi Amee, so there is hope for me. I use the same trick. I cannot name the notes (never learnt that) but when I recall a song I wrote - in D, I can sing the F sharp; went to the piano...Bingo! But...since I play the piano I think I recorded/remember the harmonies of the notes. And that way I know which one is which. For those that want to try: play a song in your head you know well, sing it, go to an instrument, play the notes to see if your brains have the right note stored. It is fun...My son can tell all notes he hears on the street...real fun when he reproduces sounds of trains and traffic, everyone says: yes it's like that. I do not have that trick with other instruments, I need to see the piano notes...and then I 'hear' in my head what is coming out of them before I press the notes. Thank God for such a gift.
Love This! I'm an old man who plays guitar but has gone through life tone deaf. The only song I have sung along to that feels as though I can get close to is Fire & Rain by James Taylor.I am now on a mission thanks to your inspiration. So grateful & I will follow your channel with interest & take on board your advice! Wonderful!
As soon as you said Full House, I sang it but was a whole step off when I checked. Then I remembered the song from a full house episode that John Stamos sang named "Forever". The ending melody was what I fell in love with, I didn't even remember the words just the tune. I checked it and it was spot on! The "I'll be so happy loving you" line started in D. And when I sang the Full House theme it was a whole step off from the original key E which was D! Thank you so much for this trick! I'm glad I subscribed.
That's a really interesting perfect/relative pitch case. I'm glad I found this video. I actually have perfect pitch mastered so people expect me to just do anything with my ears, but sometimes what they don't understand is that I almost have zero relative pitch. Whenever I sing, I only sing because I know literally every single note, but when someone starts singing a song in a different key and I have to sing along, I can't do it because every note is new to me so I have to figure out what note would come next in that key first. I've actually been trying to develop my relative pitch because at time that seems more useful but perfect pitch has always been getting in my way. I never knew some people could figure out a note by singing a song they know well in their head. That is really new information for me and it makes me even more interested in musical ears than it did before. Thank you for making this video.
Thanks for this, Amy. When I was about 16, a few years after I had started to play guitar, I also evolved this kind of trick, and zeroed in on a note from Neil Young's 'My, My, Hey, Hey (Into the Blue)', which I could always sing so consistently without accompaniment that I was able to tune my guitar to it. Stupidly, I thought that this was 'cheating' somehow, and ignored that ability for about 30 years, coming back to it a few years ago. I learned an important lesson - if it works, and is not harmful in other ways, do it!
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Hi Amiee. I've had tinnitus most of my adult life (I'm 65 now). After watching this video it occurred to me to see if I could identify the note in my head and it turns out, by happy accident, to be G6 - 1,568 Hz. It is like having a tuning fork in my head, which I can use it to build intervals to find other notes (all in my head). I'll sing the new note that I find, then go to the keyboard, and bingo! I kid you not.
Herman Schryer oh my gosh. Well, way to turn something awful into something useful, I suppose. I guess there are worse notes that could be in your head. G is a pretty nice note. :)
I love G. It's my favourite key on guitar and harmonica; maybe because of the tinnitus, unknowingly. I've put it to good use in applying your top secret. I can now work out tunes in my head, in the right key, and sing them to myself while I play the tune on the piano. All combined, this is a breakthrough for me, but I still have a LOT to learn. By the way, the tinnitus disappears when I play, probably because it blends in with all the overtones coming off the piano.
Herman Schryer sounds like you need to be playing all the time! :-)
BAHAHAHA PURE GENIUS!!!
Brilliant !! I've had tinnitus for 20+ years, but not sure how to identify if it has a single pure tone. How did you approach finding the frequency ?
Shoutout to guitar players who recognize an E anywhere
Thats me lol
Me. Also I'm an ex emo so I recognize G anywhere
@@arpitdas4263 I need context
Me bruh❗
@@Eichro The top and bottom guitar strings are usually tuned to E
I much prefer the terms "Pitch Memory" , or "Pitch Recall"
TheLonesometoad it’s just undeveloped perfect pitch. Kids also hear music in their head first before know the names of the notes
@@matthewdubovik7350 Instead of hearing music in their head (which they probably do), the development of perfect pitch has something to do with being exposed by a ginormous amount of unexpected pitches or something else, more like how they learned language. I learned this from th-cam.com/video/816VLQNdPMM/w-d-xo.html by the way.
iMadScience I can tell you from my personal experience that it’s not true. I discovered my perfect pitch at the age of 20, had no prior musical experience. I trained myself by associating the keys of my favorite songs with note names. I could always pull them out of thin air before that as I could always sing in tune but I simply added the process of naming this pitches. I got quicker at naming as I practiced. And I assure you it is definitely perfect pitch. I can name the pitch of ANY noise and pull any of them out of thin air. My point is, maybe I just always had it in my genes, nobody helped me develop it, but I didn’t lose it after time either, it’s always there. Also I should note that I have no relative pitch, I bought Rick Beato’s ear training program, hopefully it can expand my harmonic identification ability.
@Matthew Dubovik I think the same as you: I think tonal memory IS perfect pitch, and lots of us have it but very undeveloped. I can always recall the 'A' note in my mind, learned from a pitchfork. But I can sing the notes of the songs that I remember too, just I didnt give em' the proper note names too.
@@saxombie8614 They are two completely different things.
It's nice that you shared this.
In my college choir, our choir director asked to think of how a "D" sounds (he has perfect pitch). There's a guitar arrangement by Chet Atkins of the song Mr. Bojangles, but it's in C Major (I also know how to play the arrangement, so I'm familiar with how it sounds). So I thought of the song, and once I got the "C" that I thought of, I went up a whole step in my head, and sang the note that I thought was "D". And it turned out to be correct! I tried it multiple times and tested it on piano, and I got it correct probably 9/10 times. Yet, I don't have perfect pitch.
It's great to have those songs that you're very familiar with, and it develops this pitch "memory". Although it's not really perfect pitch, it's definitely a step closer to it for those who wish to develop it.
I play guitar on occasion and never took it to seriously. This Chanel got me interested in music and has been the most helpful in learning to play my guitar.
Interesting video, especially how you can detect the notes if played on the piano but not reproduce them otherwise. I've always wondered what is the point of spending hours trying to achieve perfect pitch. Audiences are not aware of it and they really don't care. The point of music is to deliver it to an audience. Even if we were to sing acapella, people wouldn't know if we sing two cents "off", they just follow the reference root note we give them and as long as we stay coherent to that note with the rest of the melody ( like you did with some of your examples ) it sounds Ok for the listener.
Why is she so lovely? It's perfect
You made me realise mine is Giant Steps. It used to be Serj Tankian's something, he's got like six songs starting on a C. But now, I perfectly imagine F#, and therefore a D, B, G and Bb. What a useful tune to learn pitches!
John Gult nice!
That's mine too I think! Another point for the GOAT, John Coltrane!
You're right on with your analysis! I learned in 2nd grade that I have perfect pitch 'with the piano' when my music teacher asked me to stay after class. He plunked out some notes, asked me what they were, and I answered correctly. Your idea for learning to have good relative pitch by having a 'touch tune' is a good one. I've done that too. I teach my students to perfect playing by ear if they show any interest and aptitude, and call it the 'Special Assignment'. They like that...Sharon Marie
I have very strong relative pitch. My guess is that this came from being obsessed with solfege ever since I was 6... but maybe there's a better explanation.
Gustavo Lacerda you're probably right!
Solfege is the surest and most consistent method to develop relative pitch. We use it all the time in Indian classical music.
I have strong relative pitch though it seems to be due to a over connection between auditory and spatial processing
@@ethanswimmer1287 Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells. That would be child abuse.
A trick I picked up was to figure out what the highest note I can whistle is; G8. From there, I bring it down a few octaves and compare it with the pitch I'm attempting to figure out, and figure out the interval between them (a G to Eb, for example, would be a minor 6th) and then name the note.
A different trick I've tried, but with less success, is just feeling the way the string is hit on a piano when you press it; an A3 feels kind of dark, with a hint of what feels like a "timpani" in the background, the string has audible highs and lows (you can start to hear the wave at this point) spaced very closely together, but nonetheless audible if carefully listened to.
+Tom wonderful ideas, Tom. Thank you.
I know one person who has perfect pitch and does not play or sing anything. He just likes to build gadgets. That's his thing.
Jari Satta you should sing "Inspector Gadget" to him, really out of tune all the time. 😁
I think a common mistake people make is that having perfect pitch and being a prodigy musician are one and the same. Sometimes, as in this case the two do not correlate. Just like there are some really great musicians that do not at all have perfect pitch. People also make this mistake when it comes to synesthesia.
Allan Holdsworth didn't have perfect pitch and he was the absolute best!
Hilarious! Can't stop laughing!
so what? there's nothing strange about that. many people can paint and draw well but don't want to be artists. etc
Aimee, you are my Perfect Pitch jamm. The song is your voice and the starting note is your eyes. All I see is peace and a wavery beauty soaked in silk and wrapped in lavender sheets. I wish I had a teacher like you! I'm going to subscribe with NO hesitation.
Gimme a sec to recover....and...thank you.
My tinnitus is the pure soundwave of the international ‘A’ = 440 Hz tuning fork. You see, when I practice my guitar, I tune it between each song/exercise with that sound. I recall its pure soundwave in my head first, then I verify my memory with my ‘A’ tuning fork. I do that also as a game during other activities like during a TV commercial or when I'm near one, which I have in every room, including in the shower. That makes you in tune with any good musician and closes the argument of who have to retune their instruments higher or lower. BTW, the grand concerts usually raise the tuning fork by 5 Hz. That complies the audience to be more focused on the actual music from the stage, instead of what they are used to hear that lets the mind more inclined to be distracted. Thanks Aimee Nolte for your instructive and easy to understand videos.
DanSitar0 Now I think I understand why people feel they have to have multiple TVs in their home - just to drown out that constant tinnitus ringing in the ears. Ginkgo biloba may help your tinnitus symptoms. It is an herbal remedy (60 mg per day x 2) which is sometimes used for this, but it takes about 4 months for its positive effect to kick in.
I do admire your ingenious way of combating a disease of the ears that can drive its victims mad.
How about that? BTW, I think at least some US concerts actually leave concert A alone.
Before college, I didn't have PP. I was playing, but not to the degree I did in college. I was a Musical Comp Major. I was writing all the time. I didn't have time to always check with an instrument, so I had to use my brain. I walked into Aural Perception class. I had been listening to a piece that was in G# Melodic Minor. The prof played a piece in that key and asked us if it was in Major, Minor, if it was modal. I asked her if it was in G# Melodic Minor. Her neck nearly broke snapping around to me. She asked if I had PP. I told her I did not, but I was listening to this piece on the way in.
I practiced a lot listening in-depth to the actual colors of the notes. I don't play as much, and I rarely compose. Sometimes my ear is there. Most times, it's not. BTW, when I hold my guitar, my pitch is so much better.
Wow, so it's possible by remembering a note in your head to reproduce it at (nearly) the exact frequency, great to see that!
And you don't even need to know what note it is!
Omg, I don't have perfect pitch, but when you said about your husband to sing, "I want my MTV", from memory, I did as well, before you did, and I was bang on! What an awesome trick! Totally my jam! Thank you Aimee!
So, I just tried a few other songs from memory in different keys. Turns out, "I'd like to visit the moon" from Ernie on sesame street, can give me the G note, in the key of C. Childhood memories. Wow.
im a '91 baby and would jam out to Michael Jackson when i was a toddler, so i just tried to sing the piercing Bb of "BEEEAT IIITTT" and it worked! also same note as 'Doooo' from Green Day's Basket Case. Hacking this perfect pitch thing! Thanks for the tip 👍
Well, how about that? It works for me too- but as a barbershop singer, I actually associate it with the "keep" in "Keep the Whole World Singing" from "A Little Close Harmony," (just an octave down) the traditional way to close out every rehearsal.
Amy, your videos are . . can't find the perfect (pitch) words . . .so relevant, fun, engaging, inviting and just awesome! Thank you for sharing your knowledge, your gifts, and your tricks!! Love, love, love you!
Cliffs of Dover, every time I imagine that master piece in my head I never mistake the E on the 6th string 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽
thats why songs like twinkle twinkle little star, do re mi, etc are so important for us to learn .. they can help us develop tonal reference point for the rest of our lives.. and it took me 40 years to figure out that the 5th intervals from twinkle twinkle little star make tuning a violin so much easier 😊
I could follow you just fine when you played the notes on the piano and I developed it from scratch starting when I was 18. But it took years of daily concentrated practice.
@Thomas Wilmott he is legit, i learnt it as well to some degree
@Thomas Wilmott Nah, this isn't a "one weird trick" kinda deal. I'm not selling anything (yet :p ). But anyway, I described my approach on my channel through a number of videos. But I really wasn't happy with the audio. There's so much more to go through and explain but I want it all to sound good. I just keep holding out hope that I'll get around to it!
Aimee, thank you sooooo much. I found my perfect pitch song a weeks ago, and I tested the song 3-5 times a day, then, I found I can sing right tone each time. Amazing!!! I always think that I just have a relative pitch before. So nice to you~
WE ARE LITERALLY THE SAME PERSON THIS HELPED SO MUCH THANK YOU!!
Omg I've been looking for songs to develop perfect pitch but It didn't work just to get past your video and realize that i already have a song it's Unravel, it's my jam and I've been playing it for so so long I checked and I got it right!! Thank you so much!
When I was in college (circa 1999 or so) Jamey Abersold came to my school and gave a presentation. He was so knowledgeable. I remember him pulling out a pitch pipe and talking about using it in the car to test himself on pitch. I still have the red Jazz Handbook he handed out, and use some of his tips and exercises to this day when working on a tune. Anyway, I just looked on his website, and you can download that handbook for free. There's good material in there for anyone looking to improve soloing, or just learn tunes, or about jazz in general. Anyway, when you mentioned going to one of his clinics it made me think of that. I'm really enjoying your videos. Thanks and keep up the great work.
Silenced Phill that's really cool! Actually, when his clinic was over, I was so impressed with the way that he used his pitch pipe, I asked him if he would sell me one and he told me the only one he had was the one in his pocket and that if I didn't mind his germs, I could have it. So, I swapped spit with Jamey. LOL
Aimee Nolte Music , I've been playing guitar for 39yrs. I have relative pitch. My go to song is stranglehold by Ted Nugent. This was 2 years before I started playing guitar. I had a friend who played that song to death. One day my friend that started playing guitar with me asked me if I could guess any notes out of thin air. And did what you did and picked that song and hit that A note. I still use it to tune my guitar to pitch to this day. That same friend taught his daughter all 12 notes when she was a baby and ever since she's had perfect pitch. I mean the kind where she can tell pitchs coming from anything. airplane, lawnmower any instrument. We're jealous. It's nice that you can hear any note on the piano, that must help. Good video, Thanks
How did he teach his daughter the notes? Is there a method?
David Coughlin He has a music degree in jazz performance. Has soon as she was able to understand words he would play a note then tell her the note name. Doing a few at a time she could recite them back pretty quick. Eventually all twelve notes. I first saw her do it at the age of six. She could tell you any note from any instrument. The next time I saw her she was 23 yrs. old. I asked how she did it, and said it was like images came to mind. Like when we hear a song, we remember a place or event. So if you have a baby, that's the time to start introducing music to them. Let them hear good piano stuff. Simple at first, than more jazz oriented stuff.
So many thanks, the PDF is a treasure trove
I also have tinitus because I took flying lessons in a loud small plane. It's note is a C when it isn't a G. It has several notes and sometimes one is louder than another. (Although right now they are about 10 cents short of Bb and F. I use Garageband's tuner). I have never had the finger dexterity to play an instrument. I watched your videos because I thought I could learn to hear intervals better and learn how to sight sing. Just before I retired, I started taking voice lessons. Learning to sing on pitch is like peeling an onion.. Five years ago my voice was consistently 1/8 tone flat. After a month I would go back and listen to a recording I thought was right on pitch - Flatter than a pancake. Now I'm singing right on pitch right? After another month I would go back and listen to a recording I thought was right on pitch - Flatter than a pancake. Now I'm singing right on pitch right? After another month I would go back and listen to a recording I thought was right on pitch - Flatter than a pancake. Now I'm singing right on pitch right? Get the picture? INow my notes are usually withing 15 cents of the pitch. It's taken a long time to unlearn my perception of pitch. and I will keep improving one layer at a time.
In college I learned that my Grandmother's piano had always been a whole tone flat. Bummer. Next is learning how to sing and smile at the same time.
How do you carve a piece of wood? Whittle by whittle.
Aimee, I know a music theory professor/composer who has a sense of pitch that is exactly as you describe yours. He NEVER misses if the notes are played on the piano but cannot tell if the notes are played on other instruments. He holds that he does not have real perfect (absolute) pitch, but that he has timbre dependent pitch recognition - he can identify the pitch by the way it sounds on the piano. I am a pianist and I cannot do what you and my friend can do, but I do often think of music that is very close to me in the right key. And BTW, I love the feel of your piano playing.
That’s so cool. Thanks, Marshall!
Wow! This explanation was so good! I’ve never heard anyone explain it like you did. This is exactly how I’ve been doing it since high school. I’ve used songs and situations and it always helped me pull pitches out of thin air. Love it!!!
Hi, Aimee! I actually saw you talk about this on another video a while back. At the time, I was incredibly skeptical. But I had to give it a try.
The song I found was "Somebody to Love" by Queen.
It starts on a big 'Ab' with only Freddie's voice ( "Caaaaan..."). Plus the opening melody outlines the 'Ab' triad with a 'Bb' passing tone. Having that is sort of an added perk. (Bonus, it's in the sweet spot of my singing range!)
I've made a little 15 second clip of the intro that I play a few times a day to check myself. Sure enough, it works.
Hopefully this suggestion helps someone else. Thanks, Aimee!
Works for me too- I was surprised! It's on my high end, but not so much so that it strains my voice.
Hi Aimee, my two cents on finding your jam. I am in total agreement, just saw a video on teaching absolute pitch. The video is in Spanish, since I don’t know if you know Spanish, I won’t refer to the video. It all boils down to recognizing a song per note. Just like the test that you
did with your husband. Yes you have to practice, to make the connection to the note, but once your brain recognizes the sound, you can recall the note sound instantly. If it works for one note, it should work for all the notes. Thanks for proving that method, your so call trick, works! Gracias!!
The song that I use is Interstate Love Song by Stone Temple Pilots. It starts on a C#. I don't always get it but I just tried it and was dead on. I'm nowhere near your level though. From what I've heard, perfect pitch is instantaneous, like you did on the piano.
I can relate to this so much! That's what I've always been doing but I realize some people are unable to memorize the exact pitch of songs. While it isn't always equal on my part, I think it is a form of perfect pitch. I think having perfect pitch isn't exactly a yes or no question. So, here are my perfect songs:
C - I just recognize it from singing C major, weird enough
D - Quia Respexit in Bm
E - Astral Romance - Nightwish
F# - A random soflège song I heard sang once 6 years ago
A - Il mio bel foco (recitativo) - Marcello
B - The same random soflège song I sanf 6 years ago
Bb - Chopin's Nocturne in Eb Major
Yes, there are some notes missing. That's just how it is.
Hmm this seems like a different phenomenon that I have seen some musicians call "absolute pitch". Its when a musician has played her instrument so long that they have that acoustic archetype in their permanent memory and can recognize notes on her instrument.
I think perfect pitch people are slightly different in that it doesn't matter what instrument, they just always can tell a note based on its frequency. As opposed to absolute pitch, which can develop in some adults, perfect pitch is always developed as a kid.
In any case you have some serious talent !
Elan Frenkel you are probably right about that. Thanks for writing. And for watching! :-)
Elan Frenkel David that part is true to me. Nobody is ever going to convince me that a D is anything other than green. LOL
I never associate sounds with color. KNOWING what the note is without a frame of reference when I hear it is normal for me. If I started seeing color, I'd be scared...
I think the 'color' thing is a metaphor for most perfect pitch people. They hear the 'color' of a g sharp for instance. But there are people who associate sounds with actual colors.
I know such people who do this even if they don't have perfect pitch. I think in this case they are associating all of the other senses with the color ( seeing the note G, playing it, and then imagining the color blue for instance.)
I learned about this recently. People who associate notes as color have something called "Synesthesia".
The best pedagogue I've ever encountered! Yes, you.
10:56 "I imagined the keyboard keys in my head". That's another trick isn't it? That's what I do when asked to sing any particular pitch out of thin air. Visualising the corresponding key on the piano and hearing it sound in my head.
My pal and I learned our perfect pitch from the first note of Misty. We worked in a music shop and an old jazz clarinetist would come in regularly and play Misty on the piano. For some reason the first Bb of the melody just seemed to absolutely resonate with us. Coincidentally that’s the same as I Want My MTV too 😃
Holy shit same, misty was the first standard I learned on keys so I used that as my gateway to perfect pitch
Absolutely love this video!
First off; I would definitely say you have absolute (perfect) pitch. It's not uncommon for musicians to have it on their own instruments, but not when listening to other instruments (including voice), as the different timbres can trick the brain.
Also, I think the name "perfect" is a bit of a misnomer. From what I've gleaned from different people who have it or study it (I do not), there can be different levels of aptitude, but the crux of it comes down to being able to recognize the chroma in the sound, which is an absolute property (thus the name 'absolute' pitch). From that perspective, being able to sing a song correctly in key without a reference is definitely an 'absolute' skill. In a different key, the space between the notes stays the same (relatively), but the 'color' of the melody line is distinctly different. Kind of analogous to the same desert scene painted in yellows and reds (day) or blues and purples (night). Same shapes and distances; different chroma. I've read/heard other teachers touch on this topic. I think being able to tell when a song is in a different key is lower on the "skillset" of AP, but it definitely uses the same mechanisms in the brain. Maybe the collective group of notes gives the brain more to 'grab' on to? Just a thought.
Anyhoo, glad I stumbled across you channel (and subscribed).
My jam is Thin Lizzy's 'The Boys Are Back In Town'. Whenever I hear an Ab5, I instantly hear that song in my mind. ;o)
+danh5150 that jam works for me too! Who knew?!
Hello, I sing acapella and can easily hear when we sing flat,(drives me nuts) and can hear the starting note of each song we sing. I can hear when the pitch pipe is blown flat on some notes (replacement required). I get an accurate note from a song in my mind or tuning guitar, or certain chords. Anyway my point is that I am reliably informed that I have good relative pitch, not perfect pitch.
I sure wish we had TH-cam when I was in college (music major) - I sure could have used some of these tricks in sight singing class - that was the hardest, especially at exam time... Thanks for all the great info - I think you are amazing!!!
really interesting! i'm a violinist and if I hear a note on the violin I can tell what it is, but I can't pull notes of thin air. The only note I can pull out of the air is an A, I guess because I hear an A every time I tune.
A perfect pitch is both passive and active .You can recognise and you can
vocalese .It is not related to a specific instrument ( tone -timber ) .It can be
disturbing compared to a good relative ear .It is a must for analyse and sight
reading , compo and direction .It is first a quality of memorization and
perception .
jonny I can pick out the exact same note haha.
"A" makes sense! It is the second string, after all.
Luckily mine is in the simple key of C. Elvis Presley's You ain't nothing but a hound dog. The King himself gives me the blues note e flat then c. And the base player plays me c e and g. Then On the chord change the bass gives me f and a. 6 notes. Thanks for your video.
That's amazing! I just found something interesting: I have kind of "perfect non perfect pitch" with the first note of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. That is: I always sing it in G, while the original is G sharp. So now I know that I can easily find the G in my mind!
It is actually in c sharp minor
@@barathrk905 This mention of G# vs. G is that the former is the real starting note.
@@wyattstevens8574 ohh yes I forgot, it goes G sharp C sharp E at the start, right
@@barathrk905 It's just (to use enharmonics) Db/Ab.
Aimee, I am buzzing right now from this. I recently began singing (after years of fear) and my vocal coach a couple weeks ago suspected I had perfect pitch (but just didn't know note names). I went home and played around that week and came to the same conclusion you did, that I didn't have perfect pitch but I had a trick to sort of reverse engineer it, via a similar process. (For me, I tried to find my go-to tuning note - I heard an orchestra tuning in my head - found it's relation to middle C, and then found a song with those as it's first two notes, to get me from my tuning note to middle C.) My trick ended up only being consistent in the morning, but not by the end of a day of talking. Still, I started to understand how it might work, and watching your video made me absolutely dead certain that your trick is the better way to get it. Pretty badass. Thanks!
Hi Amiee, great video! I love how honest and real you are about your abilities, how you discovered them, your limitations, and some activities to try. After several years of working on perfect pitch on and off, last August I finally decided to commit myself fully, with no slacking. My plan was to keep ear training until I either hit a ceiling or developed full absolute pitch + aural recall. So far on that journey, I've made tremendous strides, and I've yet to hit a ceiling. In fact, when you were playing the pitches at the beginning of this video, I was right there with you, and I would not have been there AT ALL a year ago. I mean, not unless I used relative pitch and started with a reference point. I have great relative pitch, which is both a blessing and a curse when I'm doing my ear training.
First, the ability to recall the key/pitches of a certain song actually is a form of absolute pitch. What has happened is that the brain has stored so much information about the way this song sounds that it might successfully recall the pitch colors when thinking of the song, even though you're not aware of the pitch colors. They are still there, after all -- even for those who do not have any awareness of them.
So what is pitch color? It's that unique effect that a frequency has on your sensory perception, the character that is different from all other frequencies. It works exactly the same as visual colors. Red looks red, and I don't know why. It's just a human perception, and it's universal (for the most part). Yellow, blue, green, orange, pink, etc. each have a different character, and this character is not brightness, and it does not rely on comparison. You do not have to compare red to orange to be able to tell that it's red. You just know! And on piano, you do not have to compare 440 hertz to 261 hertz to tell that it's A. You just know! You're one of the rare ones. (I'm getting close to this point myself; it's so exciting!)
However, there are some differences between our visual perception and our pitch perception. We only see less than one octave of visual frequencies, but we hear several octaves of pitch frequencies. I imagine that if we could see multiple octaves in the visual spectrum, the rainbow would be wider. After violet, we would see the colors morph into a more vibrant red than the one we normally see, and so on and so on. I bet ultraviolet frequencies would be similar to what we currently see, but more vibrant and radiant. Sort of how C4 is the same as C3, but more vibrant, brighter... Difficult to explain, but I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about, since you're much more tuned in than I am at this point. HOWEVER, if we could see multiple octaves, would the need for color recognition be diminished in favor of frequency comparisons? Imagine if someone went through their entire life ignoring the colors and only focusing on relationships between the infrared, visual, and ultraviolet frequencies. Would they only notice comparisons and see the world in shades of bright to dark? A black and white world? Perhaps in such a world, the rare individual who still noticed the visual colors would seem like a superhuman!
Another difference is timbre. With visual colors, we don't get confused by the texture of the material or the patterns of colors. But with pitch, the timbre can easily obscure the color. This is why you recognize the colors easily on piano but not on other instruments. Your ear is accustomed to piano, and it can easily hear through the timbre and pick up the color. But other timbres confuse the ear and cause it to resurface. I bet that with the right ear training, you could develop universal pitch color discrimination.
Going a step further, once you've achieved universal pitch discrimination, you'll be so familiar with the pitch color that you can just think of whatever color you want and sing the desired pitch on demand. In fact, even at this stage of my journey, I've noticed that I can think of a C almost on demand, when I have a moment to concentrate and listen to my mental piano. But it's nothing like true aural recall, which I hope to attain some day.
Okay, I have tons more to say, but this is getting ridiculously long 😆. If you'd like to see any of my "Perfect Pitch Journal," where I keep notes about my absolute pitch progress, just let me know. I love talking about this stuff, and I'd be happy to share it with you.
Can you give me your vedio lesson link about this ?
@@chamindadissanayake332 Hi! Wow, I can't believe I wrote so much!! I was seriously committed at that point. I hardly practice anymore, sadly. But my ears are still better than when I wrote that novel lol.
My "perfect pitch Journal" wasn't a video, just a word doc of thoughts and tracking my progress. If you'd like to see it, I'm happy to share. Feel free to shoot me an email: aarongrooves @ gmail . com
@@aarongrooves my emai is cdissanayake060@gmail.com
Pls kindly try to any lesson .thank you very much Sir
@@aarongrooves I really liked your marimba playing
@@Littleton3513 Thanks!
I just sang and heard the beginning to Billy Joel's "Piano Man" in my head. I then went over to my Piano and was spot on Key of C. I haven't heard the song nor played it with my harmonica in quite some time. I think I have found it. I'll try again in an hour. Greetings from S Florida It's down to 71 degrees. We're having a cold front. Have a happy thanksgiving! Mike
You mentioned Piano Man- I realized only a couple of months ago how similar it sounds to Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls!
This actually works! Isn't she lovely by Stevie wonder is my song
I've got the same kind of pitch like you do! But I think I developed it from exercises, I don't know what actually worked for me, it' s just one day I listened to piano note and knew what it was.
But here is one thing, If you can imagine a song and find the note, I think with your type of pitch you could just imagine in your mind a piano playing the note you want and singing it. I often use this trick, it is much faster. I think in time if I try it more, maybe I will be able to intuitively sing the notes without imagining them in my mind. Also after the time that I found out about my perfect pitch, now I recognize the more notes (at the beginning it was hard for me to recognize notes in high, or low octaves), and sometimes I even recognize notes that are played with other instruments.
By the way, harp and guitar notes are easier for me to recognize, than the others. I think that is because their sounds are similar to piano's.
I used to do the same thing with the beginning of Wind of Change, by Scorpions. Sometimes I'd whistle it. :))
Hi Amiee! i am Eunok living in s.korea and i just want to say i truly appreciate your all the videos!!!!!! i am learning music compising and play jazz by myself and your videos do really works for me. i have learned playing piano when i was young girl and how you teach feels really comfortable and cheerful like my real teacher i had had. after being graduate student i just realize i want to keep doing my music with piano so i am trying for my dream with ur videos! I will keep watching your videos forever!!Thanks amiee! :)
+Eunok 이 🙏🏼😍
i am your fan!! hehe
i hope you have a great day :)
you have perfect pitch and I believe you born with that tool, and a lot of people can develop... in my case I'm still working, but i have a cousin who play the piano and at the first time he start learning how to play he recognize every note... for my that's a gift from God! .. oh! and about those "trick's" to sing notes i think it's normal to have a reference note to find other notes ... now I'm part of your online students hehehe.. I'm just find your channel a few days ago and I already see 20 videos and I repeated for few times to learn more, really helpful all your stuff! thanks a lot... btw... one more question.. you say you play what's on your heart and your head so you can sing your solos, but working on scales and theory stuff, can you show some triads advance exercises for improvising??
Roberto Lopez yes, I will do that. I'm kind of working my way toward more advanced concepts as I go. Thanks so much for watching!
Your so awesome! I've been a church musician since I was a young boy. Now being over 30 and I'm just learning pitch in this way. Most people that I know who has it, this is the same trick they use. Some point of reference
In their mind.. your awesome!! 🙏🏾
Actually there are levels of perfect pitch, and for some people it don’t take no point of reference. It’s similar to when you look at the color blue and it automatically goes - blue.
Aimee! You are so right. This is such a fascinating topic. My good friend who was my theory and aural training prof (and my son's) have long drawn out discussions. He has incredible relative pitch. I can impress if tested on Functional Ear Trainer, basically a scale degree trainer. But in the context of an actual song I am useless. I am still trying to develop a good ear and failing miserably. My mom, who grew up in China, can solfege sing any song she knows. She said everyone could do it in China. They all learned it in school from an early age. Anyway, I'm going on way too long...like I said we have long drawn out discussions about this fascinating topic. BTW, my prof friend calls what you have piano perfect pitch. He said through his many years of teaching, he's run across more than a few people with and without perfect pitch...just like you. Thanks for the post.
Sam A piano perfect pitch. I like it! Once in awhile, notes will jump out to me when I hear them on other instruments and I know exactly what they are playing, but it doesn't happen all the time. I think your solfege idea from your friend is marvelous. I do that with my kids all the time.
I can't remember where I saw it, but there was presentation by a lady who studied perfect pitch for her doctoral thesis (or something). One of her observations was that a high percentage of oriental people have PP. She had a theory for this. It had to do with language. She said Chinese words have different meaning depending on their pitch, or some variation of pitch. This is true of Chinese much more so than other languages. So from a very early age Chinese kid's ears become highly attuned to very subtle pitch changes. She tested the theory extensively and made a pretty convincing argument.
Sam A that's really cool. I know my husband studied Vietnamese for awhile and was blown away by how tonal that language was. Pretty cool!
Sam A, anybody can learn to solfeggi a song. It is a natural extension of what you do with Functional ear trainer. I went through a lot of frustration to do it and eventually learnt to do solfege by ear. Solfege is the next stage of evolution of ear training after learning to do scale degrees. To do that you need to be able to recognize the root note of a song. Once you can do so, you can solfege logically. You just have to keep at it for a few months. This develops over time and therefore you must keep at it. One day all of a sudden, the knots will tie themselves for you. And no, it need not be learnt early. I started after 35 years of age to learn music. I taught myself solfege sing songs over a 6 month period. It is not easy, but it is certainly a skill that can be learnt.
Hey there, I noticed your comments on solfege, and I was just wondering if you might be able to tell me your methods/training habits. I've done a little bit, but not in a while. But I'm truly interested in how you broke through- no detail would be too small!! Best, Jeff
Here's one I've picked up during sheer exposure to barbershop: "Keep the Whole World Singing," for anyone not in my shoes, starts on Bb. (key of Eb)
Another one is Am7/C (C6- empty chord of ukulele; I always go "G C E A" in my head) because I probably know that instrument the best.
My perfect pitch song is Frère Jacques, lol. It always starts with C in my head
Heh - that just worked for me too... :D I wonder if it was just a fluke. Will have to try it tomorrow as well.
Could it be from your first lesson as a child?
@@Photologistic That does make sense. :)
Denmark here :-) Well, many years ago I met a guy, who was blind, and work as a piano tuner (Hopefully that's the word ..), it was fun to test him, I took my guitar and very very fast took many notes randomly and he perfectly pointed them out. Amazing. This video open out something new, for me, yes, but also something about understanding human nature skills like you have and some other very talented musicians, something about awareness and attention deep inside the psychology. To breathe within the colours.. and yes, I am a creative painter :-) Thanx!
I get your point and it's a good one, but I'm really struggling coming up with a useful example of my own. When I think I've got it the doubt always sets in and mess it up. Must work harder on this. I really thought I had it with the Rick Astley song "When ever you need somebody" - but that song is impressively all over the place chord wise. They don't make songs with more than 4 chords any more, said the cranky old dude. Thank yous from Denmark :-)
P.S. Your idea could actually make for a fun party game! :-)
People with a huge gift cannot picture that most people cannot develop that skill with hard work and practice. All very well to work up a note with a trick, but it is a miracle of brain development when the mind can instantly identify a note heard, or produce that note instantly by voice. A friend who was a music professor and composer got a lovely electric piano when he moved into a care facility for the aged. He complained to me that the keyboard was off pitch. He did not realize that it had a pitch control knob on the back, and I made him instantly happy by tweaking it by a small fraction of a tone.
Amie, forget the pitch. You are PERFECT in my eyes!
"Misty" is my "jam"--the notes are very clear and spread apart in the initial phrase--very distinct...and I love the song, so that helps....thanks for the video!
ok, I have perfect pitch and, I mean, no person needs that, I mean yes, cool I hear an A and I know that's an A, but there isn't an effective utility, the only advise I can give is focus on your relative pitch, 'cause it worth it.
We (people with absolute pitch) cannot do it simply because we haven't got it, and I know that's weird but sometimes I'd give my perfect pitch to know how is to have the relative one.
If you're a musician it must help.
I'm pretty sure the ability to write a score with no reference knowing what key it is in etc etc is pretty useful!!! But again like you hint perfect pitch doesn't determine if you are going to be a great musician or not, but I wouldn't say it's not useful
As soon as you got to "Money for Nothing" I paused you and closed my eyes and thought about it, whistled it, and then pulled out the midi keyboard and the track and played it. I was about a 1/4 to 1/2 a pitch off....much better result than I thought I would get. I've played guitar for, well...a while :) and there are certain classic rock tunes and chord shapes on guitar that I have heard so much over the years that I can immediately pick them out. But I do not have perfect pitch. Nice video thank you.
Mike Baratta oh awesome! I was hoping people would do that! Congrats! That's really close!
Wow this is pretty interesting, perfect pitch but not perfect pitch. First time seeing this phenomenon. I'm not sure for most perfect pitchers but, we including me should be able to sing a note on pitch effortlessly. But in your case, no. That's so fascinating!
It's just *very* strong relative pitch plus an "anchor" to switch from pitch memory to pitch labeling.
I love your teaching style and bubbly personality Aimee.
In relation to perfect pitch, there are very 50 recording artist who have well over
10 Grammys to their credit over the last 50 years. Not one of them would say that they have perfect pitch. They say that they have great relative pitch.
Their music is still memorizing, remarkable and timeless. Perfect pitch need not be the goal. It's helpful, but rare.
Maybe the technical term u were looking for was "pseudo perfect pitch")
@@Noah-wv4td It's not the same at all. People with perfect pitch can spell out notes and chords in seconds
Why do I love you so much just from watching this video?!? You’re awesome! Thank you for informative video
I’ve always been so confused about whether I have perfect pitch or maybe just really good relative pitch because I’ve always been able to recall the original key and the correct pitch of the first notes of all the songs that I’ve listened to. I realised this when I used to sing along with my friends and they would sing it in a different key than the original song is written in and something in my head would go off like hey that’s not how the original sounds, I just thought everyone could do it. But then I’ve never been trained classically so I cannot name the notes by ear. I wonder if it would be different if I did receive some training!
Pitch memory 😊
@@KevinSanscartier Right- Dr. Daniel Levitin said that that (this) could exist alone, without putting a name to the right note.
let it be by the beatles.
At the end of every verse, when the piano goes down from the F to C, that piece of music has helped me identify the F.
Great video Aimee,
Geet Gupta good one!!
I have the exact same kind of pitch!
In my old college vocal jazz group, we would sing the intro to “I Remember You” a cappella. To this day, I can still hear and accurately sing that starting note “C” out of thin air, but other notes I have to really think about and sometimes get wrong.
when you're emo and have G5 permanently embedded in your head
what is the context to that
@@Eichro welcome to the black parade - my chemical romance
@@Eichro the emo songs usually uses E5, G5 and A5 a LOT
Hi Aimee, Nice that you share this technique. I don't have perfect pitch as you've shown at the piano so, at some point during my sporadic musical pursuits, I've discovered this for myself, too. My perfect pitch tune? The famous NBC chimes, of course!
That works for me too! But instead of NBC, I think of when you're at Lowe's and hear, "Special assistance needed.. " the third time. If the version I'm thinking of starts on G like the NBC chimes do, they're identical, but I know they're at least intervallically so.
I love your videos by the way.
As a singer, I used to always carry an "A" 440hz tuning fork with me. Basically you can use the Pavlovian trick of constantly (every hour or so) striking the fork on my hand (always in the same spot on your hand) and then holding it to my ear AND sing the pitch as well. Do this for a couple weeks. Then after the couple weeks, start doing the striking motion on your hand WITHOUT the tuning fork, hold the "phantom" tuning fork to your ear, and you WILL hear the tone in your head! It works.
Love that
Very cool video -- impressive to see you having developed perfect pitch for piano (AKA PPP haha). I have always had great relative pitch. Only work with 1 musician (a singer and bass player) out of the hundreds of accomplished pros I know who has perfect pitch. He has it in a cool way in that he can accommodate the pitch sliding in an a cappella situation, whereas sometimes someone with perfect pitch can almost stand out like a sore thumb if they don't also listen to the group. But he'll tell us if we've slipped too far! Haven't found my #PerfectPitchJam yet tho *sometimes* I'll just picture middle C on the piano, sing it and test it and be right. Did it just now and got Db haha.
Alexa Weber Morales nice!
Alexa Weber Morales also very interesting about hearing yourself and muscle memory. I fell like that is totally true.
I have some iteration of perfect pitch, very similar to Aimee. I found it so interesting you mentioned "pitch sliding in an a cappella situation" I literally go nuts when that happens and have a very hard time accommodating the harmonics in a group when I know what the notes should be.
+1 on this ... my "relative pitch" is pretty super-duper ... a tad more on point that what Aimee is describing, I think. But I know a gal (professor of piano) who knows all the notes the clocks and computers at her house beep on, and how many cents sharp or flat they are. And Dylan Beato would beat me in an ear competition almost any time I think. THAT is "perfect" pitch.
Great channel. I came upon this myself a few months ago and built an associative framework to try connecting the melodies of the various songs through disparate keys. Sometimes they hold, and sometimes they bend.
For example, Inner Urge and C Jam blues, or Linus And Lucy and the first chord of Sweet Home Alabama are opposed, a Tritone apart. Generally once you get going, the opposing sororities are retained without the instrument.
i think you can learn to have good relative pitch but having true perfect pitch is rare and i think its something you are born with. i saw a video once of a guy being tested as soon as he awoke...so he couldnt possibly use anything to reference (relative pitch).
i heard somewhere that everyone is born with true perfect pitch and over time we lose it. im not sure i agree with this though.
that thing you did with the G# and A ... that has happened to me once or twice but clearly thats not enough to be perfect pitch.
recently i heard a piece on the final fantasy 15 game called somnus and thought for some strange reason it was the exact same key as a piece in the game suikoden 4 called rune of punishment. i hadnt heard that piece in over 7 years. i checked the key on the piano and low and behold it was the same key - Cminor. im not sure why i instinctively made the distinction here tbh
one thing...if youre using "perfect pitch jam" isnt this technically using relative pitch in a way?
nezkeys79 yes. That's what I said. It's definitely relative pitch...but I think that what I can do with the piano is perfect pitch
Aimee Nolte perfect pitch, perfect voice, perfect pianist, perfect appearance, perfect teacher, perfect diction, perfect vibe ...
#Perfectallthethings!
nezkeys79 oh my word.😏
What you said about being born with perfect pitch and losing it over time is absolutely true. I had perfectly perfect pitch as a kid, and now it's at about 75%. There are times when I just can't place the exact pitch (although I know enough tricks to get there in other ways, such as thinking a C and then working my way from there). It drives me crazy when I have those moments, though. Because when I do have it, there is no effort, it's just there.
Yeah I definitely agree. As cool as what Aime can do is, it still ain't true perfect pitch. Perfect pitch essentially having all pitches in your head at all times. No referencing at all for anything. They just have it all in their head.
This makes so much sense now! I was classically trained in piano since I was 4, with lots of ear training. My piano teacher back then told me that I had perfect pitch, and I believed it for years. I could totally do what you demonstrated on the piano. But I was never one of those people who hear a musical note in a car horn, etc. I had trouble telling notes in other instruments, too.
Then I stopped playing in my teen years (I know, I know...but it was a dogmatic, rigorous classical training and I wasn't necessarily having fun) and I lost the ability gradually. Now I can pick out certain common notes out of thin air very close (within a quarter note perhaps), but that's about it. I tried the test on a perfect pitch research web site by UCSF (the site no longer exists) and found that I definitely don't have perfect pitch. Perhaps never did in a true sense. Still, it drives me nuts when people use the "transpose" function on the keyboard for more than a whole step because there is a disconnect between what I see and what I hear.
What I have, or rather had, seems to be what's called "pitch memory", not perfect pitch. I also read recently that recent research shows that one can actually develop perfect pitch later in life, so that's intriguing. Anyway, I started studying jazz, and I can't imagine perfect pitch being useful other than at parties (although it's obviously a fascinating topic...kind of like a superpower), so I will concentrate on learning my 251s and standards.
At the end of this video, Aimee says, "it's not scientific," but a few days ago she said that was because 12tone didn't have the video "Can you Find This Note?" yet. In this video, there's a reference to a *science experiment* by Dr. Daniel Levitin, with a sample size of 43. The subjects were asked to pick (one at a time) two songs they knew very well. Dr. Levitin would do exactly what Aimee did with John: "Just sing this line," 5 subjects were able to find a double PPJ, and 25 were "within a whole step." (I don't know whether that means less than a half step off, for both songs, or what)
Dr. Levitin conjectured that pitch memory (the part concerned with getting the note right at all) could exist alone as what he called "latent absolute pitch," which is literally the whole concept here, without pitch labeling. (what you do to the PPJ to make sure you get the rest of the notes right- the part where you assign the note its particular letter name) As you said, that's at least what you had when you were younger. Maybe you still have some because you say, "Hearing a note played more than a whole step away from what it's supposed to be drives me nuts."
I think you're too young to know about Jamey Aebersold. Fun video. I've always wondered if there is a tangible value to perfect pitch. Since I'm a big fan of struggle, perfect pitch has shortcutted the process for several musicians that I've known and, in their cases, it seemed to show up with a lack of depth in their playing. Maybe I just knew them too early in life. All the same, I'm sure I'll be practicing your instructions :)
Brent Tallent i'm definitely not young enough for that, but thank you for thinking so! Let me know how it goes. I have gotten a lot of use out of my "perfect pitch "and and I am glad I have what I have. I don't think that it has hindered me. I can't really see myself from the outside though, so I can't be sure!
Maybe Aelbersold is younger than I think. I had a vinyl play along record of his in 1979. I assumed for him to be making a record that he was quite a bit older than I. AND, of course PP hasn't hindered you, you're fantastic. It's hard for me to anticipate what the uses are, though. I'm sure they're plentiful if they aided in your journey. -- Best, BT
😃
Sir Brent I dont think Aimee was too young ! Some people expose their children earlier than you suspect ( I remember writing a Grade 7 Trinity Theory exam with an 11 year old girl) and she was giving well articulated revision lessons to us folks who were at least 16 years older than her before we entered the hall - NB*This happened in Nigeria / Africa some years back ( despite the music system) .........Besides Ive been exposed to Jameys stuff since 1999 (long before taking a music grade or taking music seriously) . In a nutshell, nothing is impossible - When it comes to music , I ve decided to keep an open mind and not assume ! We all have our musical journeys ! Thanks to you Sir Brent and Aimee too for your comments ! I really appreciate your openness!
I think Beato says something along the lines of "you cannot acquire perfect pitch past a certain age, but you can master your relative pitch so much that, when combining it with pitch recall through a favorite song, you can pretty much emulate perfect pitch".
I think for me it's the Star Wars theme opening brilliant B flat major chord to recall 'a note to start jumping around from'.
Did you know Williams wrote that in Bb so it would blend with the Fox intro? Someone mentioned that in the comments to Beato's vid!
First piano note from life on mars is a great one for A
sahsplishsplash awesome 🙌🏼
Yeah, thanks!!
Thanks for your explanation of the Perfect Pitch thing. I'm 70 and noticed at a very young age that I could name any note on my mothers piano from upstairs in my bed room. Kids on my block thought a was a freak. Mom didn't know what to think. Later when I got involved in music in my teens somebody told me I had Perfect Pitch. My college theory professor also said that. I didn't agree because I couldn't sing a requested note out of thin air. So I decided that I had "piano pitch" recall, sort of a memory anomaly. As I progresses on the tenor sax I realized that I could do the same thing in identifying pitches on the horn. People still tell me I have Perfect Pitch but I deny it and say that I have 'specific instrument Pitch memory'. What really helps me is that this Pitch memory thing also applies to my recognition of intervals, perhaps one if my most valuable music skills. Thus Pitch memory thing is something I was burn with so I can't say I "worked" to develop it. I do play by ear quite well which is vital to my tole as a pop music cover band performer.
For years I wondered about this -- I'm like you, I'd say, but with less training, so I get a lot right and also am not always right. It's different from perfect pitch, which is like color vision -- you don't mistake blue for orange, ever. A few days ago I saw a Rick Beato video (your friend, I think) that I felt gave me the answer I had long sought. His explanation is in terms of pitch memory, which is different from perfect pitch. It makes a lot of sense. We can train ourselves to remember certain pitches, like you did with the song you wrote that begins with G♯ A. Rick also shares a system for pitch-memory training in the video, here: th-cam.com/video/M_ZQHOiyBF4/w-d-xo.html
I wouldn't want to direct people to a competitor's site, but I think of you and RIck as collaborative - he definitely talks about your videos and vice versa. I've learned a lot from both of you. Thanks!
people mistake white for blue dresses :)
@@jub8891 What does that have to do with anything?
I can confirm your experience. Many years ago, when I already was a good musician, I couldn't recognize any pitch, but now I can recognize a lot - when it's on the piano.
Some of my anchor points are Bb from Chopin's first waltz and the oboe's tuning A.
Those I can pick out of thin air.
I can also recognize nearly any low octave on the piano.
Bb from Rachmaninov's 2nd sonata and prelude op.23n2, among other references.
C from Chopin's etude op25n1 and 1st ballad, among other reference points.
B because it doesn't sound like Bb or C.
D from Brahms and Prokofiev
and so on...
I can even distinguish some sound characteristics: Bb metallic, C transparent, D tragic and potent, F cardboardy, F# twangy, ...
But in the higher pitches I'm lost.
I went from no perfect pitch at all to having patches of perfect pitch to which I can then apply relative pitch.
My number one #PerfectPitchJam is Chopin's waltz op.18.
i do that too with gospel songs that i have heard or played a gazillion times.
Dietrich Nelson that's great
I found my song!! The G from Bill Evans’s playing Alice in Wonderland at Village Vanguard. I’ve listened to this song so many times, I saw your video and instantly thought of it. I sang the note and played the song and it was dead on! I am so excited!
Now I just need to figure out how to use it...
Thank you so much for this and all your videos.
Enter Sandman, by Metallica seems to work for me, LOL
Niiiiice
I play guitar for about 18 years. I was just wondering, so I recalled a riff that starts with A, hummed that note and went to check it. It was an A. Also, when I hear things like a dog barking, I sometimes get this immediate "vision" in my head of some song and it's starting note. But it happens just very very rarely. I can also quite easily tell if in a song, some of the guitar chords are open string chords or fretted ones, like bar chords. It seems to me like a very advanced level of relative pitch within the individual notes where I can feel the timbre of the note and imagine if it's played on certain string and certain position on the neck (because the timbre of the note depends on the individual harmonics in that give note). The thicker strings sound more beefy and full, where the thinner ones sound, well, thin. I can also tell if the guitar is tuned down, because that sound heavier and thicker as well. I can also tell chords on the guitar quite easily sometimes, depending on how much I played that one. But on piano? They all sound the same to me...
I'm not nearly close to having perfect pitch (even my relative pitch is poor), but I have a good memory to the notes of the songs I heard a lot, even those which aren't my favorites. I could get money for nothing right (you got to install microwave ovens... love this one for sure) but then you mentioned a TV show, I thought I could guess Friends' theme, searched for it but found Bon Jovi's I'll be there for you and got it right... that ain't one of the tunes I like the most, but it was always on the radio back in the day...
That's true..
I'm the same way!! It's nice to hear the same thing from someone else. Thanks for sharing
Why is my "perfect pitch" song Love Yourself by Justin Bieber
I'm terrible at recognizing notes. But i identified F#3 in my first try thinking in a lick that i played a lot, felt amazing. I'm feeling like a child who's just discorevered something awesome. Thank you!!! Haha
video starts at 8:33, keep the intro short.
8minutes of flexing
thank youuuu
I'm in a pitch could you help me out?
Thank you
I did quite a bit of study on Perfect Pitch in college. I wrote (what felt like) a thesis size paper on it. You can learn the PP that you have on the piano, off the piano. It would take time and really... I'd reckon at this point, would you really wanna spend your time doing that!???! PP can be learned, but there are variations in the data, because it depends WHOM is the one trying to learn it. Their background, experience, and how close they are to having "it" bears greatly upon the results.
just by the way your ears look I can tell u got perfect pitch
Pretty mean...not much to do about it
@@AimeeNolteik I was just cracking a joke
Eboy Eman it was allllllmost funny. ;) don’t sweat it.
Hi Amee, so there is hope for me. I use the same trick. I cannot name the notes (never learnt that) but when I recall a song I wrote - in D, I can sing the F sharp; went to the piano...Bingo!
But...since I play the piano I think I recorded/remember the harmonies of the notes. And that way I know which one is which. For those that want to try: play a song in your head you know well, sing it, go to an instrument, play the notes to see if your brains have the right note stored. It is fun...My son can tell all notes he hears on the street...real fun when he reproduces sounds of trains and traffic, everyone says: yes it's like that. I do not have that trick with other instruments, I need to see the piano notes...and then I 'hear' in my head what is coming out of them before I press the notes. Thank God for such a gift.
Love This! I'm an old man who plays guitar but has gone through life tone deaf. The only song I have sung along to that feels as though I can get close to is Fire & Rain by James Taylor.I am now on a mission thanks to your inspiration. So grateful & I will follow your channel with interest & take on board your advice! Wonderful!
+Alan Walters make sure and watch my video called, "men! You can totally sing high! Maybe I can help a little bit! Thank you.
First note in Higher Ground by RHCP is an E! Been using that one for years. Thank you for explaining this concept in detail.
As soon as you said Full House, I sang it but was a whole step off when I checked. Then I remembered the song from a full house episode that John Stamos sang named "Forever". The ending melody was what I fell in love with, I didn't even remember the words just the tune. I checked it and it was spot on! The "I'll be so happy loving you" line started in D. And when I sang the Full House theme it was a whole step off from the original key E which was D! Thank you so much for this trick! I'm glad I subscribed.
GotekDarkSamurai l LOVE THAT. John Stamos sings pretty nice, too, doesn't he? Lol
That is one amazing video. I am now practicing a song over and over to see if it can be my perfect pitch "memory" Thank you once again!
That's a really interesting perfect/relative pitch case. I'm glad I found this video. I actually have perfect pitch mastered so people expect me to just do anything with my ears, but sometimes what they don't understand is that I almost have zero relative pitch. Whenever I sing, I only sing because I know literally every single note, but when someone starts singing a song in a different key and I have to sing along, I can't do it because every note is new to me so I have to figure out what note would come next in that key first. I've actually been trying to develop my relative pitch because at time that seems more useful but perfect pitch has always been getting in my way. I never knew some people could figure out a note by singing a song they know well in their head. That is really new information for me and it makes me even more interested in musical ears than it did before.
Thank you for making this video.
It's called the Levitin Effect, or "heightened tonal memory."
Thanks for this, Amy. When I was about 16, a few years after I had started to play guitar, I also evolved this kind of trick, and zeroed in on a note from Neil Young's 'My, My, Hey, Hey (Into the Blue)', which I could always sing so consistently without accompaniment that I was able to tune my guitar to it. Stupidly, I thought that this was 'cheating' somehow, and ignored that ability for about 30 years, coming back to it a few years ago. I learned an important lesson - if it works, and is not harmful in other ways, do it!