このブログでも過去何度か触れている話題。
I also have what is called “absolute pitch” because I learned to play the piano from the age of three.
It’s the ability to hear all the basic notes as if they were sung in “Do, Re, Mi”. It doesn’t mean that you can hear all the notes with “Do, Re, Mi”, but I think you can hear almost 100% of single notes of instruments.
I also heard that it’s absolutely impossible to transpose karaoke. I really can’t do that.
A little while ago, around the end of the year, I was talking about “moving de” with my music friends on FB, and I was curious about the topic of absolute pitch. (I still feel very uncomfortable with the expressions “moving do” and “fixed do”…)
What is “moving de”? I’d like to write a little bit about the absolute pitch I felt again at that time.
I didn’t realize it until I was in high school, which is pretty late.
I realized that I had absolute pitch when I started playing the trumpet in the brass band. Rather than saying that I realized it, it is more correct to say that I thought it was a normal ability.
I was in a state of confusion for about a year.
I still remember how shocked I was, because I had never imagined that it was natural to hear sounds in “do, re, mi”.
Hazuki Maiso’s “Absolute Sound” was actually rather boring.
I’m afraid I’m being kind of disingenuous…
This book is about 20 years old now.
Hatsuki Mitsuo
新潮社 2006-04-25
Sales Ranking : 119965
My honest opinion is that the first half was interesting, but the second half was boring. I don’t know, the more I read the book, the more I felt that it was just like that.
I think the main reason is that it wasn’t fresh at all.
I know the sound, but I can’t take it.
Especially with violin, it’s true that once you play a note, you can instantly tell if it’s right or not. But, of course, it doesn’t mean that you can guess the sound for sure.
It’s the same with the horn.
I guess that means you can’t rely on your ears to get the right pitch. That’s right (laughs).
Is it subtly off? Part 1: A=440Hz
This is a surprisingly deep-rooted problem, but only if you’re playing an orchestra.
In many cases, pianos are tuned at A=440Hz, and because it’s an orchestra (A=442 or 443Hz), as you play, you unconsciously lower the standard to 440Hz, which means it becomes a little lower.
I was particularly troubled by this phenomenon on the horn.
Are you subtly off? No.2: I’m not good at “Do” and “So”.
Actually, this is an even more serious problem. I may not be able to overcome it yet.
That one is still at a manageable level. You get used to it after a few years. However, I still don’t know how to overcome No.2.
The pitch of the “Do” that is ingrained in my body is somehow slightly raised.
I don’t know exactly what caused it, but it seems that, for example, the Do note in the classroom or on our piano was relatively high compared to the A=440Hz standard, and I developed a slightly misaligned sense of absolute pitch for some notes.
Maybe it’s because of that, but I’m not very good at the “so” part either. Yes, I really hate the G line on the violin.
When I’m practicing scales, ensembles, etc., it doesn’t affect me that much. It makes me feel uneasy.
I wonder if there are any people with absolute pitch who have this problem?
Are you glad you have absolute pitch?
I guess this is still “yes”.
It can be more of a hindrance to your musical activities than you might expect, but it’s certainly interesting to hear a world where various sounds can be heard as “do, re, mi”.
でも必要？といわれると、なんとも言えない。もちろんなくたって全く問題ないから。あったらあったで悩みもるし、もっともそれもたいしたものではないけど。
