From then until now...

For years top composers and musicians have used a secret weapon that few others knew about. This secret weapon is an ability we all posses, you just haven't discovered it yet! That secret is (which is no secret at all) is the power of PERFECT AND RELATIVE PITCH.

Perfect pitch training and music ear training has been an essential tool for composers for hundreds of years used by Bach, Mozart, Chopin even today it still benefits truly great musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Steve Vai, Frank Sinatra and many many more. My music teacher at School had it, it was an impressive trick that he would use to delight and inspire us with.

Bach's genius was not just his ability to write beautiful music but to hear a short phrase played by another musician (perhaps in his ensemble?), see it's musical value remember the tune in his head and later turn that one phrase into a master piece......all done in his head! Now that is a cool skill that we all could do with, a degree of talent is optional plus!!

One small problem though is many believe perfect pitch is something that you are born with? NOT TRUE. I regarded myself years ago to have an ok ear but not brilliant, certainly not perfect pitch. When I studied and began to learn the correct techniques I discovered music ear training is not a secret weapon and definitely not the exclusive right of those who are "born with it".....truth is we are born with it! We just forget how to use it.

Put simply music ear training and absolute pitch is all about music memory if you can memorise what middle C sounds like you can do the same for D and then E etc etc. Once you have memorised and locked the notes in your head you too will have that secret weapon. Let's put it another way. We have all listened to a pop song and then had the melody (good or bad) running round our heads for the rest of the day. Now that's interesting because in your head is a melody that you heard perhaps 3 or 4 times (if it was the chorus at least). A complex series of notes that get stuck in your head is a good example that we all have the ability of perfect pitch, we just have to learn how to harness that ability so that we can use when playing or writing our music.

If you are serious about your music both writing and playing you will be doing yourself a massive service when you study and learn the art of music ear training. I will not lie it takes dedication and a small amount of effort but if you want to achieve greatness this is a skill you need and the rewards will completely change the way you approach music!

"Schubert did not need a piano. It made him lose his train of thought." Harold Schonberg

To get you going here are a few tips to help you on your way.

Tip One: Awareness and an Open Mind

This is a very simple exercise that you can practice anywhere. Basically all you do is relax your mind and allow EVER sound around you to flood into your ears. Become consciously aware of all sounds that are around you where there location is, how dominant the sounds are etc. Next focus on one sound train your mind to hear just that sound. Then move on to another sound and focus purely on that sound. OK now go back to the first or maybe move to another etc etc.

Example: As I write this I am writing at a lop top. I can hear the wind blowing outside rustling the dry leaves that have fallen from the trees (it's November in the UK and very cold!) I can also hear people talking in another part of the building I'm in; far off and faint is the low hum of cars. The most dominant sound is this noise lap top fan. As the fan is loudest I focus on that first then I move to the rustling leaves and so on........

So why am doing this and how does it relate to music? Perfect pitch allows you to hear music and either write it down or play/sing later from memory. Music however rarely consists of one instrument. To transcribe an orchestra you would have to focus on each individual element. If you can focus your mind and hone in on one sound you can transcribe more quickly.

Tip Two: Singing in Unison

Often over looked by the beginner as it is a skill that most think is easy to do. However the reality is if you practice singing in unison with another vioce of instrument your best friend, that's you ears by the way, will become incredibly accurate and that much more acute to slight pitch changes.

Try singing whole notes along with the piano. Think of the note you are singing as a line that must remain straight. Don't add vibrato that's not the object, train your voice to match the freqeuncy of the note exactly. By doing this you will be able to fine tune your ear and thus develop your ability to hear notes with more precision.

Tip Three: The Octave - One Voice

OK the buck stops here! This is where you really start to give your ear a work out. Learning intervals is essential to relative pitch which is the ability to distinguish musical intervals by ear.

The octave is your first musical stop when learning intervals (after singing in unison). The octave is the primary interval and when played together can sometimes sound as one voice. The octave when doubling a musical line is often used to reinforce the melody and is felt rather than heard.

Sing up and down one octave with the piano or other instrument. It should feel natural comfortable and like falling of a log. It is the most natural of intervals leaping from one octave to the other. The octave is free from dissonance and is open and pure.

Practise until you can sing the octave at will.

Tip Four: Learn the FIFTH!!!!

The second interval that you must learn is the power of the 5th. The 5th has a special relationship to the root of a scale or chord and thus is an important interval that you should be able to recognise immediately. Visualize the 5th in the middle of the scale slap bang in the middle of the scale. The 5th is open and stable and naturally leads down or up to the root.

Practice at a piano or on your instrument. Play first and then sing afterwards using different notes and at different octaves and pitches. Once you have this secure in your mind you will start to hear the 5th when listening to music.

I hope these tips help to dispel some of the myths surrounding perfect pitch and have given you some ideas as to how you can begin to learn and train your ear to hear music better!