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No. Example #4 above has absolutely nothing to do with perfect pitch, and is instead simple ear training combined with some music theory training. (Professional
by Bud 6y ago
No. Example #4 above has absolutely nothing to do with perfect pitch, and is instead simple ear training combined with some music theory training. (Professional classical musician, here.)
All classically-trained music students learn to identify various chords and hear which note the root is, and only a small percentage of them have perfect pitch.
#1 and #2 in your list are definitely examples of perfect pitch, however. #3 is a bit more like extremely good relative pitch combined with above-average pitch memory that lasts longer than most people's.
- khazhoux 6y agoMy "taxonomy" wasn't meant to be a perfect delineation, but just to show that there's lots of variations of tonal and harmonic recognition and recall. I agree that the way I phrased #4, sounded more like what you do in simple ear training exercises ("Is this chord a major or minor?"). But... when I watch, say, a video of Herbie Hancock copying another player's complex chord progression perfectly, there is clearly a harmonic+melodic version of "perfect pitch" for those few people who can hear music and reproduce it accurately.