Category: Jam Session
I had a look at the live journal community page of the zone and found something there about people with perfect pitch... That made me think about something. Do you people who have perfect pitch have problems listening to music played on period instruments? I understand that pitch has changed a lot over the last hundreds of years... Now, when you hear say a concerto that is said to be in f-major, but because it's played on period instruments it's neither f-major nor e-major, if you compare it to modern pitch but something in between, does this distract you from the music and do you have a difficult time listening to it because it somehow seems wrong?
I would say the instruments from medieval times sound discordant to me, but then, the emphasis was definately on pleasing the king ect,not on perfecting your art... I don't always like the wind instruments, quite often, they seem to clash quite significantly with say a lute or even with the voices of the singers on the whole, I tend to steer clear of this genre
nah, surely not. These are things that many musicians call... umm, I don't know it in english, but a semitone is made up by 5 from these. These are also used in keyboards to generate portamento. Portamento is basically a smooth slide between a note and another. So if a song is ment to be in E but its 3 or 4 above it, then I would consider playing it in F. You just have to calculate the pitch, but it is not hard and it does not distract me or confuse my hearing.
Thanks for your views on this. Goblin, period instruments are not only used for playing medival music, but also for baroque music, Mozart, Hayden, and I once even heard a Verdi opera played on period instruments. And I guess that the composers whose names I just mentioned and many others as well were certainly trying hard to perfect their art... You hear this discordance because not only has pitch changed, but also tempering. Today we use equal temperament, but there is also meantone temperament and well temperament. I find it hard to explain the differences, but if you wanted to you could find something about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_temperament In baroque music I generally prefer period instruments to modern ones, because to me the sound seems more colourful.
I haven't got perfect pitch, but I do play electric guitar a bit, a lot more when I was younger though, and a bit of piano. However, what does annoy me is that if you listen to music on tape, each tape recorder has a slightly different pitch, so the instruments have to be tuned to that pitch, luckily with CD's there isn't this problem. But when I was learning guitar, transferring my music from one tape recorder to another prooved to be an annoyance for me, because the piece is no longer in its original key, it's either slightly sharper or flatter, oran actual whole semi-tone change may occur, This is annoying because of having to retune the guitar.Re-tuning is no big deal though, but the songs do sound subtly different sometimes with tapes.
never heard the name "period instruments" but I presume that referrs to ancient instruments, mainly wooden, or, what's trumpet? brass? .. it would totally confuse me if I was learning one of those instruments! I certainly couldn't respond to written music properly. actually I do remember a few months ago while jamming around with some instruments (trumpet specifically) I was actually wondering this same question Lol!
It can also refer to string instruments. Violins, cellos etc used to have gut strings, I think now they have strings made of steel.. but am not sure, but the material has changed anyway.
When I was younger I was very bothered by authenticly tuned instruments, but as I studdied music and learned to appreciate it, I've actually come to like the sound. Of course, I wouldn't want to hear a pop song or rock song plaied in such a manner, because that'd sure tramitize my ears!!! LOL
Hey people. i know no one has posted on this topic for ages, but I just felt like commenting anyway. I do have perfect pitch and I don't mind listening to music being sung or played at baroque pitch but it's a different matter when I'm singing myself. A few months ago the choir I sing in was doing some excerpts from Handel's messiah. We sang some of it at baroque pitch, so about a semitone lower than the written notation, and I found it rather frustrating. I'd be singing an f, but reading a g, and I had to concentrate a lot harder so that I wouldn't sing wrong notes!
I think hearing different scales and tuning systems is fascinating. Yeah, you have to get used to it when your ears are used to the standard kind of tuning, but I like a little something different once in a while. I've heard period instruments and those woodwinds sound kind of like oboes and basoons to me but with more of an edge to the sound. Again, not the kind of thing most of us are used to. I do have a recording of the Pacobell Cannon in D that sounds like it was done on period instruments. It's tuned down to C Sharp or something close to it and the strings play without vibrato which I think was the style then. I know little to nothing about this music but I've heard it now and then, so maybe somebody can clue me in on how the period performances compare to modern ones. I've got a pretty good ear for music but I do not have the best vocabulary to describe it, as I'm just a listener and not a musician, so I hope you guys can indulge me a bit.
This is a type of music I have not heard before. I'm verry verry ainel about my pitch, to the point where if something is not pitched right, I will pitch it down or up even if its a fewe cents. Period instruments is something I'd like to hear. Maybe someone can send me a few pieces to describe what you mean so I can hear it via YouSendIt.com? My e-mail address is jh926@comcast.net. Thanks!
This is a type of music I have not heard before. I'm verry verry ainel about my pitch, to the point where if something is not pitched right, I will pitch it down or up even if its a fewe cents. Period instruments is something I'd like to hear. Maybe someone can send me a few pieces to describe what you mean so I can hear it via YouSendIt.com? My e-mail address is jh926@comcast.net. Thanks!
It doesn't confuse my hearing, the only time I use perfect pitch is if I need to use it for me, or if someone needs a note or something. Lol.
I have perfect pitch, and if I'm playing an instrument that's a half step or so off, I have to do a mental shift to make it work, but after about 20 minute or so, I'm OK with it. I love the sounds of period instruments. One thing that distinguishes many of the older instruments from newer ones is that they made them to be soft, and many times, they were only played at one sound level. I'm particularly thinking of the recorder, which enjoyed a resurgance in the 20th century. I used to play recorder and harpsichord in an early music ensemble in college. It was my job to tune the harpsichord. I used to do "musically irreverent things" with the instrument. It was great fun to play Scott Joplin on it, or Duke Ellington. Yeah, did Beatles and other rock music too. It was really really fun!
Ah, I played a beautiful French Harpsichord after a master class last year at university. A very interesting instrument! Now, back to the reason I was posting here... Just a note about strings. Yes, the majority of people do not use gut strings anymore, but newer styles of strings for string instruments are not made of steel or other metal windings. They are however made of synthetic material which is meant to immitate gut strings. Obviously this does not apply to folk guitar, which is the popular steel string guitar.