Pitch sense certainly is crucial to horn playing, but the 'feel' (or 'taste' as I call it) for the production of pitches can serve perfectly well by itself for accurate playing. I rely on it, since I don't have 'stage 3' perfect pitch. I only 'hear' the pitch mentally in an almost abstract or intuitive way, though in the activity of playing I suppose I am able to predict and 'sing' if need be any pitch in question. Put another way, as I approach the first note of the day for example, I don't think I could sing the note I'm about to play, but I know exactly how to produce it, and recognize it as successful (or not) the instant I play.
On a related note ;-), I do have 'stage 1' perfect pitch, which allows me to readily identify the pitch absolutely when I hear a horn, whether live or on recording, in virtually any context, even if played by a beginner with non-hornlike tone. This implies of course that I am listening to horn sound in some way that is different than for other tonal colors somehow. David Burge (the 'Perfect Pitch Seminar' guy) describes all these phenomena in his writings. I assume that most experienced horn players share this 'stage 3' type of perfect pitch hearing ability? Bob Dickow Lionel Hampton School of Music -----Original Message----- Regarding posts suggesting that we should hear the tone in our mind before we play: does anyone disagree with this? I have read others writing that they have a "feel" where the pitch is, even if they don't consciously find the pitch in their mind. Both approaches work. _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
