Re: tones & perfect pitch...

On Thu, 10 Aug 2000, H. S. Teoh wrote:

> On Thu, Aug 10, 2000 at 02:25:41PM -0400, Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
> > ...sorry if this is leaning toward off-topic, but some time ago I saw an
> > article (in _Time_ or something not particularly scientific) that
> > mentioned a study which showed that a very high proportion of
> > tone-language speakers ended up with perfect pitch.  Can anyone
> > confirm/deny this?  I don't speak any tonal languages (wish I did) and do
>
> Well, I don't really have the standing to confirm/deny this... but at
> least I'm another statistic :-)
Aren't we all?  <G>

> fluently, and Malay (close relative of Indonesian) semi-fluently. And I'm
> pretty good at telling music intervals, esp. chords (if I do say so
> myself!) -- I can play the piano by ear. (Music composition also happens
> to be one of my "secret vices", so to speak, like conlanging.)
I've relative pitch, too--but perfect pitch makes that easier.  When I
took music theory in high school (International Baccalaureate), the rest
of the class *hated* me.  :-/

Composition is one of my vices, too!  I wonder if there's a correlation.
I write mostly orchestral, alas.

> apart they are. But play a single note, and I've no clue what it might
> be... ask me to guess, and I might be off by as far as an octave, perhaps
> even more. In fact, if you play the same melody twice, each time in a
> different key, they'd sound exactly the same to me. I'd have no idea what
> keys they were in, but I'd be able to tell you how far apart the two keys
> are. :-)
>
> So go figure.... :-)
I know people who can't tell apart complementary (terminology?  I dropped
the class after a semester because a) I *can't* compose a new piece every
week like the teacher wanted me to and stay sane, and b) the teacher was
a jerk sometimes) intervals apart: they mix up thirds and sixths, etc.

> > Yoon Ha Lee, speculating
> > and hoping never to have to go to beginning string players' concerts again
>
> Hmmm... I *wish* I've the chance to be in a concert... ANY kind of
> concert...
I played viola in HS orchestra, was the closest I got.  Plus viola
recitals, piano recitals...played the first bar of "Pomp and
Circumstances" on my G diatonic harmonica at graduation when I was up on
stage, waved, and got off before they could lynch me.  (Harmonicas are
easily concealable, thank goodness.)

YHL