2 ms·

> I used "perfect pitch" in the ordinary way ordinary people ordinarily use the phrase. I’m a little confused by what you are saying here, because most people

> I used "perfect pitch" in the ordinary way ordinary people ordinarily use the phrase. I’m a little confused by what you are saying here, because most people who say “perfect pitch” mean that you can tell which note is being played in isolation. That’s what “perfect pitch” means to ordinary people, as far as I can tell. It’s something you have or don’t have. Like, “I have perfect pitch” or “I don’t have perfect pitch”. If you mean something other than that definition, maybe you could find some alternative way to express it because I don’t understand what meaning you are getting at. I’m not trying to be pedantic here, but “perfect pitch” is right there in the dictionary and it’s most commonly used to mean that you can recognize pitch without a reference, i.e., absolute pitch recognition.

brudgers 2y ago
It seemed as if you wanted to call it absolute pitch and talk about intervals. The "perfect" in "perfect pitch" glosses over the messy reality of temperaments. And "perfect" is a pretty strong word in a cannon of exaltent claims about Western classical music. That's what I find interesting. Or to explain further, providing a synopsis of tonal harmony in response to my comment is another of the sort of things I find anthropologically interesting.
- klodolph 2y ago
  Ok, you’re talking about perfect intervals, not perfect pitch. “Perfect pitch” doesn’t make sense in context and so I was having a hard time figuring out what you were getting at. This is not pedantry. I’m not trying to make a point here, I just didn’t understand what you meant. > The "perfect" in "perfect pitch" glosses over the messy reality of temperaments. Yeah. So do all the other terms like minor, major, diminished, augmented, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, consonant, dissonant, etc. All of those terms gloss over the messy reality of temperaments. The tuning system (including temperaments) are, in fact, what establish the possible relationships between these interval names and the actual pitch ratios. For example, a just major third is 5:4, a pythagorean major third is 81:64, and an equal temperament major third is ∛2:1. > Or to explain further, providing a synopsis of tonal harmony in response to my comment is another of the sort of things I find anthropologically interesting. I’m happy to answer questions but I don’t like feeling like I’m being treated as an anthropological curiosity. If I’m providing more detail than you expect, then chalk it up to a property of Hacker News, which is full of pedants. Sometimes my comments here are damn verbose, just to get ahead of the pedants.
- recursive 2y ago
  Perfect pitch exists completely outside the domain in which temperaments are applicable. Yes, sometimes we use letters to name notes, and the letters refer to a particular tuning system. But perfect pitch can be applied to any tone in any tuning system. If there's a way of naming the note, someone "with" perfect pitch could use that ability to name the note. If I invented an 18-tone-geometrically-fumigated scale based on octaves of the golden ratio, someone with perfect pitch could name all 18 of my new notes based on hearing them (after learning my new system). Perfect pitch has no relationship to western music, and certainly doesn't exalt it. It's can be used on any music with discernible pitches.

brudgers 2y ago

It seemed as if you wanted to call it absolute pitch and talk about intervals. The "perfect" in "perfect pitch" glosses over the messy reality of temperaments. And "perfect" is a pretty strong word in a cannon of exaltent claims about Western classical music. That's what I find interesting. Or to explain further, providing a synopsis of tonal harmony in response to my comment is another of the sort of things I find anthropologically interesting.

klodolph 2y ago
Ok, you’re talking about perfect intervals, not perfect pitch. “Perfect pitch” doesn’t make sense in context and so I was having a hard time figuring out what you were getting at. This is not pedantry. I’m not trying to make a point here, I just didn’t understand what you meant. > The "perfect" in "perfect pitch" glosses over the messy reality of temperaments. Yeah. So do all the other terms like minor, major, diminished, augmented, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, consonant, dissonant, etc. All of those terms gloss over the messy reality of temperaments. The tuning system (including temperaments) are, in fact, what establish the possible relationships between these interval names and the actual pitch ratios. For example, a just major third is 5:4, a pythagorean major third is 81:64, and an equal temperament major third is ∛2:1. > Or to explain further, providing a synopsis of tonal harmony in response to my comment is another of the sort of things I find anthropologically interesting. I’m happy to answer questions but I don’t like feeling like I’m being treated as an anthropological curiosity. If I’m providing more detail than you expect, then chalk it up to a property of Hacker News, which is full of pedants. Sometimes my comments here are damn verbose, just to get ahead of the pedants.
recursive 2y ago
Perfect pitch exists completely outside the domain in which temperaments are applicable. Yes, sometimes we use letters to name notes, and the letters refer to a particular tuning system. But perfect pitch can be applied to any tone in any tuning system. If there's a way of naming the note, someone "with" perfect pitch could use that ability to name the note. If I invented an 18-tone-geometrically-fumigated scale based on octaves of the golden ratio, someone with perfect pitch could name all 18 of my new notes based on hearing them (after learning my new system). Perfect pitch has no relationship to western music, and certainly doesn't exalt it. It's can be used on any music with discernible pitches.