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Absolute
Pitch is a freeware ear training application for Windows that will help you
acquire absolute or perfect pitch. This is the musical ability to name
any note played, without the aid of a reference note. Perfect pitch therefore
differs from relative pitch, with which a musician can identify notes
by using knowledge of the intervals between them.
Musicians with extremely good relative pitch can give results
indistinguishable from those having absolute pitch, but they are always
at a disadvantage in having to hear a reference tone, such as Middle A,
first. You may have noticed this in purely vocal concerts, where the musicians
hold tuning forks to their ears before starting a new movement.
Having absolute pitch makes it easier for a composer or
performer, especially of atonal music, to retain and hear complex melodies
and harmonies in his or her head (Schoenberg mentions his ability in a
letter; Boulez is well known for it). For any singer, it obviates the
use of a reference pitch, and ensures that performing without instrumental
accompaniment, such as in a barbershop quartet, doesn't risk a gradual
sliding out of tune during a piece.
The Absolute Pitch program works by presenting notes in
an atonal, rather than tonal, context to reduce the possibility of using
relative pitch. You learn a particular note by listening to a random sequence
that includes the note. Whenever the note is played, your aural recognition
is reinforced by visual stimuli that serve to connect the sound of the
note with its name and position on the piano keyboard. When you are confident
that you know the note well enough, you can proceed to take a test.
With its resizable seven-octave piano keyboard, the software can also be used to play music using either your mouse or computer keyboard.
Free download for Windows
Free web app
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