Well, this is what the website says:
“Isn’t it strange that so few have trained their ears to name exact tones and chords — by EAR? Imagine: What if Michelangelo could not see the colors in his paintings? Would that have impacted his art? It’s the same for any musician. How can you be fully creative in music if you can’t even tell a B-flat from an F-sharp — by EAR?”
OK, this is totally ridiculous. Suggesting that if you can’t sing a Bb from memory it means you can’t hear the pitches in your music is crazy. That’s like saying if you don’t have a GPS in your head you have no idea which way you’re walking.
I have only a very few friends who can claim perfect pitch. Kuffner’s the best at it, but even he falters here and there. When I need to figure out what key something’s in, I sing notes softly to myself to see what they key feels like in my body, and that usually gives me the correct answer. This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, perfect pitch. It’s good RELATIVE pitch, combined with a knowledge of your own throat.
Relative pitch is being able to understand relationships between notes. Anyone can learn this, and every musician should. You gain this ability by playing music and studying theory, which I feel are both super important things to. A good theory book will teach you ear training, but not perfect pitch.
So, to answer your question, if you’re in the key of C, and you know it, and you hear an Fm chord, you should know it’s an Fm chord. THAT’S important. Having perfect pitch is helpful, but by no means necessary.
If you need to know what key something’s in, GODDAMN, it’s almost 2011!!! Don’t you have a keyboard app in your iPhone?!? What are you… a goddamn toddler?
Posted on Dec 24, 2010 at 7:38am with 3 notes | #formspring.me
DAN ROMER IS A RECORD PRODUCER, MIXER AND SONGWRITER
BASED IN BROOKLYN, NY
MUSIC
