[Blindtlk] absolute pitch

[Laurie Porter]

So, I wonder what percentage of blind people who have perfect pitch come
from families with  a genetic predisposition to to musical backgrounds? or
"? I would imagine that people possessing such a gift have perhaps a strong
background in a musical family and that the talent has evolved through the
family. I'm the daughter of several generations of blind piano tuners, and
music or relative pitch was something I never had to learn as if   I was
predisposed to it. My  father,   uncles and grandfather grew up in the 30s
and 40s where piano tuning was considered one of teh only means of achieving
gainful employment at the time and so they were encouraged to develop their
skill based upon the sterotype that all blind people have greater musical
abilities than the sighted.  I say this only because I feel that a genetic
predisposition to music has nothing to do with blindness. I can't help to
think that they not possessed such a predisposition, that they wouldnot
have earned   the reputation of successful regardless of how much sight they
had.  As for people with absolute pich, it's been my experience  that  those
people seem to have it hard wired in the brain and that it is not
necessarily a skill that is developed through training. They either have it,
or they don't. I do know some people who are autistic and I also know other
sighted tuners and musicians who have good relative pitch and they too have
come from musical families.
----- Original Message  ----- 
From: "Don Mitchell" <donmi at comcast.net>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 4:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] absolute pitch


> According to research I have seen about 5 percent of the general
> population in the united states have absolute pitch. In China, where pitch
> differentiation is a part of the spoken language the percentage goes up to
> 48 percent. Working at the piano tuning school and being a musician I find
> that the percentage of absolute pitch seems to be higher in blind people.
> Based on what has been found among the Chinese I surmise that because we
> are blind we listen more then sighted persons and because this is much
> more significant for us to listen some develop this skill. I do know
> sighted persons who have absolute pitch. I am not aware of studies on the
> subject so my ideas are just observations and not necessarily the complete
> truth.
>
> Don Mitchell
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ron Poire" <rpoire at comcast.net>
> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, December 24, 2009 5:06 PM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] absolute pitch
>
>
>> Hi all,
>> I don't know of any studies done to prove the point either way.
>> In my experience, the blind people I know, don't seem to have any
>> prevailance in absolute pitch.
>> I have very good relative pitch, and am stil a few hertz off when trying
>> to pull a string to the correct pitch.
>> Since I am a piano technician by trade, I will use my pitch perception to
>> put a new string in the ball park, or correct a piano's pitch with more
>> than a 1/4 tone deviance.
>> If a group of blind people prevail in having absolute pitch, that just
>> happens to be the way the ball bounces.
>>
>> Merry Christmas,
>>
>> Ron Poire RPT
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: <kishia.mason at gmail.com>
>> To: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, December 24, 2009 12:55 AM
>> Subject: [Blindtlk] absolute pitch
>>
>>
>>> Goes anyone have a theory as to why many blind people have perfect
>>> pitch?
>>>
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>>
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>
>
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