Recently, I watched an Instagram video about “perfect pitch”.
The video showed a chap listening to a whole array of sounds.
…And as he listened, he would quickly say out loud what the note was.
The sounds were a bizarre mix of household items such as a microwave, a glass being tapped, and the humming of a fridge.
It was a demonstration of the bizarre skills of “perfect pitch”.
Perfect pitch is the ability to know exactly what a note is just by listening to it.
Well, the other day me and Archie did our own little experiment like this.
Well, kind of.
The sun was shining and Allan, the quirky next-door neighbour, got mowing his lawn.
Archie started doing an impression of the lawnmower going “mprrrrr.”
For fun, I joined in and then my geeky side came out.
I wondered, “What is the pitch of the lawnmower?”
As I was humming it, I was picturing in my mind where on the guitar this note was.
I knew it was a low note on the guitar.
My calculated guess was it was the note of A.
I was not certain it was definitely this note, and I wouldn’t have bet my lawnmower on it!
…But I was pretty certain I was close.
Then I picked up the guitar to check – I was wrong.
The note was not A.
“Darn ears, you’ve tricked me”! I hollered.
In fact, I was just one fret away – the note was A#.
No “perfect pitch” for me, but I already knew that.
Truth be told, having perfect pitch is rare and far from essential for us guitarists.
…But, developing your ears to get to the point you can work out notes is super useful.
It allows us guitarists to work out famous songs, riffs, and melodies faster… and it will help you play the notes you hear in your own head.
It takes time, but it’s definitely a skill that pays dividends.
As I say to students, “Just a little ear training goes a long way”.
…And I’ve had hearing problems in my right ear most of my life.
Touch wood, the issues aren’t going to get much worse.
…But the fact is, the hearing in my right ear is a fair bit worse than my left ear.
I’m telling you this to let you know, ear training is a skill that you can develop, even with issues like this.
It takes time, but it’s powerful.
…And when it comes to ear training, it doesn’t have to mean brutal hard work and endless exercises.
In fact, one of the bonuses I’m giving out with my Guitarists Get Theory book is a two-part ear training podcast I recorded recently.
Part 1 gives you the skills and tools to develop your ears. Part 2 gives you some fun tests to measure how you are getting on.
That’s just one of the multiple bonuses and online content that comes with the book.
Anyway, copies of the book are running very low now – there are just 8 left in stock.
I’ve been surprised at how many have sold already, so I want to give you fair warning that you may go to the sales page and see a notification saying stocks have run out.
Once they run out, I will get more printed, but it will take a while so I’ll probably not run a promo on this again for at least a month or two.
Anyway, to find out more about it, you can check out the book below…
Find out more about Guitarists Get Theory (Spiral-Bound Book and Online Course)
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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