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Harpsichords and Related Topics

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Subject:
From:
John Howell <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Harpsichords and Related Topics <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 28 Nov 1998 15:38:41 -0500
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>This seems like a good opening to ask a question that has been niggling
>around in my head for some time.  How good is the pitch resolution of people
>with "absolute" pitch?  Is it possible for some people to tune without
>listening to beats?
>JB
 
It is absolutely possible, although there's probably a bell-curve for
absolute pitch just as there is for any other human attribute, and I
suspect that absolute pitch is not just one thing but a mixture of
different things (none of which I seem to have!!).
 
For 2 years I worked with a student who played harpsichord and organetto in
our Early Music Ensemble.  She could spend about 5 minutes with the
organetto and presto, it was in tune!  And she tuned individual notes, NOT
intervals.  I suspect that, as a pianist, her absolute pitch has been
referenced to A=440 and to ET, as would be expected.  But in practice she
simply knows when it's right.
 
John
 
John & Susie Howell (mailto:[log in to unmask])
Virginia Tech Department of Music
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411   Fax (540) 231-5034
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html

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