Introduction to Pitch for Guitar

Pitch is a fundamental aspect of music. One of the definitions of music is organised sounds over time. Thus it's important that we start with a solid explanation of what pitch is. When you hear a sound you are hearing three aspects - 1 Pitch (measured in Hz) 2 Loudness (measured in dB) 3 Timbre (the quality of the sound) for example the Electric guitar has a completely different sound than the bass drum or the piano.

Pitch is measured vibrations in the air detected by the ear.
- Measured by the frequency in Herz (Hz)
- Made by a plucked string, a hit of the drum, a note of the piano

Hertz is a system to measure frequency designed by scientist Heinrich Hertz. One Hertz = One vibration (cycle) per second. Hertz is the universal measure of pitch.

Have you ever seen a speaker when a song is being played that is low in pitch? The cone of the speaker "Flaps" this is because the sound is low in Hertz so you can 'see' the speaker cone vibrating, if the sound was higher in pitch the speaker vibration would be harder to spot.

It is a universal sight to see the speaker flapping about to symbolize low frequency music an example can be seen on this YouTube clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwoRlO8aVsQ

The speaker is flapping because the Hertz is at a low setting so the speaker is only vibrating a small amount of times a second.

Your ear is designed to detect sound in the air, stemming from the very beginning of life your ear would be there to help you detect prey or a predator.

When a note vibrates faster we call it higher, when a note vibrates slower we call it lower. A2 on the piano is 110.000 Hz A3 on the piano (one octave higher) is 220.000 Hz which is exactly double the frequency in Hz. It's the same note but higher in pitch.

In early discovery of musical instruments as we know it today (with our equal tempered scale) if you half the length of the string you double its pitch and you go up by what we call an octave, this discovery has shaped the majority of western music as we know it today with the chromatic scale which has twelve pitches.

If you go to your guitar now and play any note on the guitar with an open string (no frets being used) then fret the 12th fret and play the same string what you will get is the same note but an octave higher).

Octave means 8 tones, if you were playing the open A string then the octave would be an A as well.

A B C D E F G A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OPEN STRING OCTAVE

NB we are missing out semi tones for ease of reference.

The human ear can hear any frequency between (approx) 20Hz to 20,000 Hz which is part of the reason why most in earphones have this frequency response. As an adult this range diminishes with age.

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Can You Learn Perfect Pitch?

Is Perfect Pitch Necessary?

Frankly speaking: No! Most of the many musicians I have met during my time in the music game, have survived very successfully without it. They are all respected professionals in many styles of music.

But if you're aspiring to become a member of the Chicago Symphony orchestra, well you either already have it or you should definitively start looking for lessons to perfect your pitch.

What is Perfect (Absolute) Pitch (pp)?

It is the ability to identify or re-create a note or sound, musical or otherwise, without any external reference (according to Wikipedia). This can be done verbally (singing) or with an instrument.

People with this wonderful ability can do any of the following in varying degrees without any given pitch reference:

Name individual pitches (e.g. Bb, F#/Gb) when played on instrumentsHear the key of a musical piece just by listeningDistinguish all the notes of a given chord and name themSing a given pitch with accuracyName the pitch of any everyday noise (ie the whistle of a boiling kettle)

Can You Learn Perfect Pitch?

This is the big question. Some experts say yes and others are not so sure.

How much time have you got to spend? How musically gifted are you? How do you like to learn?

These are questions you need to ask yourself if you want to have attain absolute pitch. There are no guarantees you'll be successful.

If you're an auditory learner you probably have a better chance than if you absorb information visually or kinesthetically (feeling or touch).

The Pros & Cons Of Perfect Pitch

Pros:

Apart from being able to pull some neat party tricks like naming the pitch of a squeaking door, it is of course a tremendous assistant into the inner sanctum of music. By that I mean truly understanding how music works and hearing it on quite a different level.

Cons:

How could there be negatives about something so special? Well, there are. Some of the very few musicians I know who have pp, tell me that it is frequently a pain in the ear.

Think about it: Every time you are teaching or playing with somebody who is out of tune, you'll be tempted to want to leave the room. My solution: Develop relative pitch instead.

Conclusion

Perfect Pitch is not a myth but it is also not necessary to flourish as a musician. It depends largely on your musical aspirations whether you should start taking lessons to learn it.

Unless you're striving extremely high where you'll be sharing the clouds with other so-gifted individuals, I recommend that you invest your time in relative pitch training. A much more attainable goal for us mere mortals.

Look for perfect pitch ear training software, listen to ear training tips and look at musical examples of how to become a better musician, all handy and free on one website: http://www.eartraining-online.com/.

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Relative Pitch Training

What Is Relative Pitch?

It is the ability to name musical notes, chords or keys AFTER having been given a note and it's name as a reference.

Example: Name the pitch "G" correctly after having been given the note "C" and its name first.

Players who develop this ability well should be able to name the chords of a song after having been told that the key is "F."

With time it can go as far as being able to guess the name of notes or keys by relating them to the sound register of individual instruments or vocalists.

Relative Pitch vs Perfect Pitch

The score of this game is about 1000:1, meaning that out of every 1000 musicians with relative pitch there will be 1 with perfect pitch.

As I explain in my article "Can Perfect Pitch Be Learned", it is very easy to survive in the music world, even the top shelf, after learning relative pitch. Both have their disadvantages (yes, even perfect pitch) and advantages.

You need to decide how far you want to take your musicianship. Please go ahead and practice perfect pitch if you have the talent, patience and time but also know that for most musicians being able to relate pitch is the way to go and perfectly adequate. You never know where it may lead you.

Learning How To Relate Pitch

There are no magic formulas for developing this knowledge. The best results come from taking these 10 small but regular and focused steps.

Take a pitch test with the help of a person who knows music and pitch well. You must know your musical status quo.Have the circle of fifths explained. This may seem odd but it provides a solid foundation.Know what guide tones are.Learn to sing (yes, sing) a given note in tune.Develop the ability to play/sing all major scales. (one at a time)From this base knowledge it will be much easier to play ear training games with music intervals. Start relating pitches from note to note inside major scales and gradually expand to chromatic intervals.Start listening to your favorite music differently by working out the key/tonality (find it with the help of an instrument) and then relating other chords to it.Transcribe short sections (even 1 bar) of the melody, chords, bass line etc of a song.Listen to and start to memorize the sound instruments make in certain registers. Gradually getting better at this is a fun way to progress from solid relative pitch to perfect pitch.Know your vocal range (lowest and highest note) and use it in your practice by singing along with music and guessing keys and pitches.

Summary:

Relative pitch training is not difficult if you break it down into regular small chunks. The regularity is the secret to improving ear training pitch.

If you are a big picture person (lot's of grand ideas, like me) you might find it difficult to find the patience to work in small segments. Unfortunately it's the only way and the results will astound you.

Find details how to perform a relative pitch test, lots of free info, tips and audios about the circle of 5ths diagram, guide tones, scales, intervals and chords at: http://www.eartraining-online.com/

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