Confessions of a Bass Player with Perfect Pitch
What do you think of when you hear the phrase “perfect pitch?” Some might think of a certain movie starring Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson. Others might think of baseball, or maybe sales if you’re in the corporate world.
But what does it mean to have perfect pitch in music? Perfect pitch is the rare auditory phenomenon in which individuals are able to identify or recreate a note without any sort of external reference, also known as “absolute pitch.”
There is a mystery that surrounds the idea of perfect pitch, as if it’s some sort of musical level that will make you a godlike musician if achieved. There’s a plethora of online training courses that claim they can teach you how to obtain this skill, due to the demand of musicians who want to learn this ability.
If you’re wondering, “Is having absolute pitch all that it’s cracked up to be?”
Well… yes! And no.
I’ll explain.
How I Developed Perfect Pitch
Here’s the weird thing- I accidentally taught myself to learn perfect pitch before I even knew what it was.
I developed perfect pitch in middle school, around the age of 12. I enrolled in middle school concert band with my trusty trombone that introduced me to playing and reading music.
At the end of the first week of band our director asked us to memorize the notes we had learned (we were taught how to play one note at a time) over the weekend. She meant for us to memorize how to play the notes on our instrument of choice without looking at the instruction book.
However, I thought she meant for us to memorize what the notes sound like.
I went home that weekend and learned what each note sounded like without playing it on my horn, in fear of getting in trouble or falling behind in class. I had a reference for each note. For example, the note G is the first note in the Imperial March. E is the first note in the Super Mario Bros theme song. B-flat was easy because that’s the note we tuned to, so that one was already pounded into my brain.
Eventually I came up with a reference for every note and went back to school that next week feeling confident. And just like that I taught myself perfect pitch on accident.
What is it Like to Have Perfect Pitch?
Pros
Absolute pitch has come in handy more times than I can count. I can learn songs quickly if needed- often, I will already know how to play a song without picking up my bass just by listening to it a few times (depending on the difficulty of the tune). There have even been a few occasions where I needed to mentally transpose on the fly.
Calling out individual notes, chords, and chord progressions is a breeze. Identifying the key of a song is a piece of cake. Transcribing tunes is a cinch. And if I get lost in a piece of music, it’s easy to get back on track just by listening to the rest of the band.
Plus, having perfect pitch is just straight up fun! Improvising and jam sessions are a blast when you can hear exactly what is happening around you. Not to mention it’s also fun to mess with your friends when they spontaneously sing or play a note and ask you to identify the tone, hoping you’ll guess wrong…
Cons
Having absolute pitch is a blessing and a curse. It’s easy to depend on it too much if I’m not careful. For example, sometimes when learning a new tune it can be tempting to get lazy and say “I’ll just listen to it a few times and I’ll be good to go” rather than sitting down with my bass and running through the song the right way to perfect my part. As I said above, it’s nice to have this ability to learn songs quickly if my time is limited. But if I have a week or two to prepare, then I need to do it right!
Perfect pitch makes it difficult for me to play and sing simultaneously. When I play, I don’t just see shapes on the fretboard- I hear them in my head which allows me to anticipate the next note before it’s played. So if I attempt to sing, my brain is unable to separate what my hands are playing from the melody or harmony I should be singing (which usually ends with me singing what I’m playing on my bass). And then there’s rhythm… for me, trying to play a bass line while singing a melody with a completely different rhythm sounds downright awful!
While there are benefits to having perfect pitch when it comes to playing music, enjoying music has its downsides. I often find myself trying to identify the chord progression of a chorus instead of just listening to the music if I’m in the crowd and not onstage. Having a conversation in a coffee shop with friends and family can be difficult for me if there is music playing in the background- my mind wants to identify the notes of the bass groove rather than focus on the people in front of me.
In Conclusion…
Perfect pitch is an amazing gift and it certainly has its perks, but it isn’t a magic bullet and it won’t make you a superior instrumentalist. Musicianship still requires practice, discipline and determination.
To me it’s a musical advantage, or “superpower.” We all tend to have strengths and weaknesses in different aspects of music. Singing and playing simultaneously, exceptional sight reading skills, playing multiple instruments, songwriting, and being able to master a certain technique are all musical superpowers.
If you’re a gamer like me, think of your favorite RPG. Your archer may be quick and stealthy, but one hit can mean instant death. On the other hand, your warrior may not have any long-range attacks but he is unmatched at melee combat and can take a beating or two.
This is what makes us all unique as musicians. If every musician in the world had the exact same musical qualities as me, the world would be a dull place.
What’s your musical superpower?
