AP and JI

I'm wondering if anyone on the list knows of any research
that may have been done on the subject of AP and JI...? For
example what would the perfect pitch identification ('note
naming') of an isolated 11/8, or an isolated 13/8 be? Is
this even a valid line of inquisition -- Is perfect pitch
more of an ability to identify discrepancies and distortions
from the specific/standard pitch practices of the day... or
is there something a lot more broad _and_ 'discriminating'
there?*

Dan

*I would tend to think that the application of 'harmony' or
'tonality' would not be effected one way or the other solely
on the basis of AP... But a refined or radical sense of
intonation? I'm certainly curious as to whether or not any
research has been done to examine these types of tendencies.

"D. Stearns" wrote:

> Dan what do you mean by AP??

Pat

On Thu, 11 Mar 1999 01:35:46 -0500, "D. Stearns" <stearns@capecod.net>
wrote:

>I'm wondering if anyone on the list knows of any research
>that may have been done on the subject of AP and JI...? For
>example what would the perfect pitch identification ('note
>naming') of an isolated 11/8, or an isolated 13/8 be? Is
>this even a valid line of inquisition -- Is perfect pitch
>more of an ability to identify discrepancies and distortions
>from the specific/standard pitch practices of the day... or
>is there something a lot more broad _and_ 'discriminating'
>there?*

I can just about distinguish quarter tones, but not quite. An 11/8 above
the standard C=261.63 Hz (i.e., 359.74 Hz) sounds like an F#. I don't hear
it by itself as a distinct note between F and F#. This may have something
to do with the fact that the old piano I played for many years when I was
learning was tuned a quarter-tone flat. But it's probably just that I can't
quite identify pitch accurately enough for 24-tet. The note that's written
"E" in Blackwood's 16-note etude sounds distinctly like an F to me (at
342.37 Hz, it's only 34 cents below the standard 12-tone F at 349.23 Hz).

With practice, I think I could learn to identify each of the notes in the
16-note scale in isolation, maybe even the 19-note scale, but I don't think
I could get much more accurate than that (and that's with harmonic timbres
in the octaves near middle C. Pure sine waves and inharmonic timbres are
harder to identify. The notes in the octave above the range of the piano
actually start to sound flatter than they really are, before they exceed
the range of identifiable pitch.)

>I don't hear
>it by itself as a distinct note between F and F#. This may have something
>to do with the fact that the old piano I played for many years when I was
>learning was tuned a quarter-tone flat.

A friend of mine with perfect pitch spent some years performing early music
at A415. Now he can't distinguish between the two. If you play him an A440
he will tell you that it's either an A or a Bb.

Bill

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^ Bill Alves email: alves@hmc.edu ^
^ Harvey Mudd College URL: http://www2.hmc.edu/~alves/ ^
^ 301 E. Twelfth St. (909)607-4170 (office) ^
^ Claremont CA 91711 USA (909)607-7600 (fax) ^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^