The Absolute Truth
Aug 31 '00
There is a little understood and much mythologized phenomenon in music appreciation known as absolute pitch. You may know it better by it's somewhat misleading nickname, "perfect" pitch. Most people who have acquired perfect pitch simply experience it while residing quietly within a relative minority, rarely discussing it openly or giving it much thought. It's simply the way they hear pitch, and most of them aren't even sure how it came into being. The side effect of this is that absolute pitch is buried in obscurity and mystique, which gives it an aura of unattainability, as if it were something passed through genes only to the members of some illustrious musical "ruling caste".
However, this "stone age" of absolute pitch is coming to an end. It is becoming more and more widely known, even as part of university studies, that absolute pitch is a latent perception available to anyone with musical aptitude. The heartless fact of life that "you have to be born with it" is not a fact at all, rather a product of the misunderstanding of absolute pitch, even by those who possess it. The general truth is that people don't tend to be born with it, rather they acquire it in their early to late teens, after having actively practiced one or more instruments since early childhood (5-7 years of age). Those who can proudly claim the mantle of "perfect" pitch, usually start waking up to it in high school, sometimes junior high, and are obviously pleased, but have little reason to analyze or opportunity to discuss it further, since they generally find themselves with very few peers.
What this means, though, is that most everyone acquires absolute pitch as it emerges from a latent state after they've practiced music for many years, as opposed to being born with it outright. The illusion of having it since birth comes about mostly because of the relatively early age these, usually classically trained, musicians started studying music and, by turns, awakened the latent perception. In other words, THEY ARE JUST LIKE YOU! The only difference is the advantage of having had less time to form listening habits outside of the realm of absolute pitch, i.e. solely perceiving relative pitch. The older you are the stronger these habits tend to be, but they can be overcome.
Now, let me tell you about absolute pitch. I have been working on it, with some degree of inconsistency, for the past eight years, and my ear has definitely taken a quantum leap. I'm sure it would be even more solid, with less uncertainty, if I had been more diligent over that time, but as it is, it is still very sweet indeed. The acquisition of the absolute ear is like a "turning inside out" of the perception of pitch. Music no longer exists solely within the grouping of tones with no inherent significance, but exits in rudimentary form in every single note.
Musical phrases are no longer simply up-and-down strings of intervals, but become the function of interactive groupings of distinct, recognizable pitch "chromas" or, loosely, colors of pitch. Every piece, in each of the 24 keys, takes on an individual character within that given key. Suddenly the most mundane piece of music blossoms with new and pleasing significance as the very notes from which it is built sing with their own intrinsic color and depth; not distracting from, but conspiring with the phrases and harmonies to expand and "energize" their impact and meaning.
And as a composer or improviser, the possessor of perfect pitch is empowered almost incalculably. No longer are complex passages or new harmonic transitions a struggle to achieve and master. Unexpected turns of harmony and smart melodic craftwork unfold within the mind and on the instrument with new and remarkable ease. As a songwriter, I can't say enough about the instantaneous value of a well developed absolute ear.
Now, the acquisition of absolute pitch is really no mystery. The biggest stumbling block is time. After eight years I'm still developing mine, but don't be discouraged by that. Six or eight, even ten years is average, even for those who started music at a very young age. I've only been doing music seriously for about twelve years, so I'm not fairing badly. My methods have been simple. One part of the approach is to practice naming tones through repetition. Use small groups of three or four notes, make recordings on which the pitches are played for a minute, then named, and practice naming them. This (naming) is by no means the sole object of absolute pitch, but it will help to distinguish and clarify the chromas.
Really the most important part of the "opening" of the ear, is to focus your attention on "turning the ear inside-out", or hearing music, as you listen and play, as a function of the individual notes interacting. One thing to start with is simple octaves. Play octaves up and down the scale and hear how, even as the highness/lowness of the notes changes, they somehow stay the same. The "G-ness" of the G is retained throughout the octave voicings. Can you hear this? I have a surprise for you: THAT'S ABSOLUTE PITCH! YOU'RE HEARING IT! In fact, you've been hearing it all along, but you've trained yourself, and been trained, to mistake it for "just another interval". TRUST ME. If you can hear an octave and can sing and match a note, you already have rudimentary perfect pitch.
It's just a matter of working with it wisely and consistently so as to lessen the strangle-hold that relative pitch has on your ear. THIS IS IMPORTANT: as you move away from the dominance of relative pitch, absolute pitch AUTOMATICALLY comes into play. JUST KEEP WORKING WITH IT!!!!
As I already stated, I cannot even begin to convey the profound significance and joyful depth of the experience and skill of the well developed absolute ear. As a musician your life will change completely, and your personal artistic discovery, as well as the happiness you bring to others, will be multiplied infinitely.
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