D Rusak said:
"Perfect pitch" refers to the ability of one to hear a note and name it (A, B flat, etc) or the reverse, e.g., state a note, and then sing it accurately. This ability is generally evident at a very young age. Many musicians who are not born with perfect pitch develop good to excellent "relative pitch", which is quite similar, resulting from the repetition of and familiarity with various pitches.
Thanks for this explanation. I guess I have "relative pitch." I had to work very hard to learn the piano, and can't do much of anything without notes in front of me. Eye-hand respons/coordination was very good until my accident when somehow, I lost something there. (Even began transposing letters and numbers when I write, so have to be very watchful about that). I can sing, (and am told that I sing well, though it is in the style and range of Patsy Cline, though she was much better and could do things with her voice that I can't do unless I'm catching a cold), but I could never tell you the names of the notes. I just am able to produce the right ones. I have observed my children singing. My eldest daughter has mastery of her voice that is stunning. She really ought to sing professionally. My youngest daughter also, who has a natural operatic voice. But my other children don't seem to have gotten that gene I guess. My son can do fantastic renditions of things that don't require much vocal control (he is famous for his "The Devil Went Down To Georgia"), and he mastered the basics of the violin in a few short weeks, (he has great manual skill too), and can play some bits and pieces of classical guitar, but he can't carry a tune in a leather sack! I don't know why.
When we do karaoke, I often sing with him, and cue his notes for him, but it seems to be something between the ear and the muscular control of the vocal chords. I'm still trying to figure it out. I just tell them to sing along with the radio a lot, and then sing in private and try to hear what you are singing and make it sound like what you have heard by playing with the voice, moving the sound up and down. I hope that will help them to achieve some learned control of the necessary muscles. I explain that I don't always get the right sound, and then I do it again and again until I do and then I have learned that particular "throat action." I DO think it can be learned.
Ark, on the other hand, has what seems to be "perfect pitch" though I'm not sure he can NAME the notes. But if he hears a piece of music, even if I sing it to him or he hears the melody on the radio, he can sit down at the piano and unerringly play the tune, and within a few minutes, produce a complete rendition with full bass and chord arrangment, followed by numerous variations on the theme. He "plays by ear," that is. I really envy this ability!
On the subject of higher density sounds, I've always thought that the sun and planets (and the stars and even galaxies) produce sounds - or would if there was a carrying medium. I always wanted to hear what the sun sounded like as pulsates and vibrates. About a week ago, I found an article that we put on Signs, where it was said that just prior to going supernova, a star produces a sound that is equivalent to Middle C. Apparently, they are thinking that it is the sound that induces the explosion. Well, if a supernova is a mini-big bang, it gives all new meaning to "In the Beginning was the Word..." They don't know yet, however, where this sound comes from exactly.