the hearing issue

[Calvin Walley]

1st let me say that i am certain that i do not have the best hearing of the 1000s of forum members
but it seems that a few have well above what i think is agerage hearing
it may in part be like learning to hear certain chords ( some are easier to hear than others ) but with the chords i thnk we all hear them but have to learn to recognize what we are hearing
some claim to be able to tell the most minute differences in tone or pitch that for many of us is
simply beyond us
so my question becomes is this ablity natural or learned ?
i suspect it might be a bit of both
but still there are some that make claims that i must admit to being a little suspect about

[Gwyneth Morgan]

I recall a demonstration in which a couple of tones with a certain relationship were heard differently by different people. The demonstration was meant to show two different inherent styles of hearing, that I think were known as "analytic" and "synthetic". The gist of it was that the naturally analytic listeners could more easily differentiate the parts of a complex tone, any by extension, could more easily separate musical parts in an orchestration.

One of the points made was also that it was possible to teach analytic listening - audio engineers have to acquire this skill if they don't already have it - but once learned it is essentially impossible to go back.

[Charles Davidson]

As far as tone goes,I love the tone Eric Johnson has,allways liked his playing,Read an interview by him,he said he could tell the difference in a stomp box by the brand of battery that was in it,I have trouble believing that,BUT if it's true,that guy has a hell of a GREAT ear. DYKBC.

[Eric Philippsen]

I have no doubt that some have highly developed hearing. A lot of audio engineers fit in that group. Talk to TC Furlong, who owns an audio company, or Brad Sarno, and it doesn't take long for one to appreciate their ears.

A couple of weeks ago I sat next to an engineer as he tweaked and mastered a demo. He was kind enough to explain what and why he was doing what he did....as he did it. Wow. He "heard" so much and was able to dissect every tone and feature of a track.

The subject of hearing is so complex. My brother is an ear, nose and throat surgeon and to listen to him talk about hearing is fascinating and informative.

[Jerome Hawkes]

you CAN aquire an 'educated musical ear' - however, it is just as much work and effort as learning the instrument - in other words, its not a 6 week course. this will sound funny, but the key to this is to listen...i mean really get in there and listen to tones - it develops over years of playing and paying attention to whats going on. i learned A LOT when i started playing steel because all of a sudden, i was listening to the sound of 1 or 2 tones moving either up or down - i never did this on guitar, i just made the chord form.

now - you can (and i have, as my ears were not up to my other bandmates) try some of the ear-training courses out there - yeah, they are boring and you will fail at it for a while, but it will come and your hearing will get better. what i mean is that sure, you can hear a minor from a major, or a dim chord, but can you pick out the "inside" notes - can you hear which inversion, guide tone lines, extentions, etc..

the key is "what are you listening for" - when you know that, you are on your way.

[Calvin Walley]

i just wonder if hearing that is that acute is a blessing or a curse

[Donny Hinson]

i just wonder if hearing that is that acute is a blessing or a curse

I think it's a blessing!

Men lose their hearing faster than women. The average male's hearing response (to high frequencies) begins to degrade when he reaches his 20's. An average female retains her high frequency hearing response til her late 30's.

[Calvin Walley]

Donny

on the other hand, the person that has the acute hearing is always fretting over things we can't hear
it may or may not make them a better player. the rest of us cant hear it so we will never know haha

[Tracy Sheehan]

i just wonder if hearing that is that acute is a blessing or a curse

Calvin,my self and every other steel player i have ever talked to that has perfect pitch,which one is born with agrees it is a curse.You have to learn to live with every thing sounding a little out of tune,which it is.Tracy

[Tracy Sheehan]

i just wonder if hearing that is that acute is a blessing or a curse

Calvin.every steel player i ever talked to and my self agree having a perfect pitch ear is a curse.It is something one is born with.
Nothing sounds really in tune,which it isn't.Tracy

[Tracy Sheehan]

i just wonder if hearing that is that acute is a blessing or a curse

Calvin.every steel player i ever talked to and my self agree having a perfect pitch ear is a curse.It is something one is born with.
Nothing sounds really in tune,which it isn't.Tracy

Sorry about the double post.Thought the first didn't click. Ratts.Maybe i will ge it right yet.

[Brick Spieth]

Both my daughters have masters degrees in Music, one from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins, and the other from UCLA. They both had classes where the professor would play four note chords on a piano and they were expected to know what he played. They were tested on this as part of their music theory classes, so your ear can be developed.

When the kids are around and I'm having trouble figuring something out, they both can listen to a recording and tell me the chord structure, and the word DUH is usually used.

[Calvin Walley]

Brick

you poor poor man ...talk about your tough crowds haha

[Jerome Hawkes]

you may be referring to people with perfect pitch - i dont see how anyone with PP could even play the steel - for the first thing, its not tuned straight up - so that would drive you nuts to begin with. very FEW people have this. what you want to develop is great relative pitch - can you hear and pick out the 6, #5, b3, etc in a chord.
i dont think this could ever be considered a curse - actually attempting to progress without it is the curse
you should get Buddy Emmons' E9 chord vocabulary CD to hear what benefits this has.
i'm from the point of view that you should always be working on your hearing skills - the best way is to slow licks down and transcribe them and get away from tab - if you do this for 6 months you would be amazed at the results - your ears remember faster/longer than your eyes!

[Tracy Sheehan]

you may be referring to people with perfect pitch - i dont see how anyone with PP could even play the steel - for the first thing, its not tuned straight up - so that would drive you nuts to begin with. very FEW people have this. what you want to develop is great relative pitch - can you hear and pick out the 6, #5, b3, etc in a chord.
i dont think this could ever be considered a curse - actually attempting to progress without it is the curse
you should get Buddy Emmons' E9 chord vocabulary CD to hear what benefits this has.
i'm from the point of view that you should always be working on your hearing skills - the best way is to slow licks down and transcribe them and get away from tab - if you do this for 6 months you would be amazed at the results - your ears remember faster/longer than your eyes!

Jerome.Back when i started on steel there were no electronic tuners.The lead player or my self would tune one string to a tuning fork then the rest of the band with him.
Or,if there was a piano we would tune to it.Have the piano player give a chord.Not a note.Some of those pianos were tuned so flat,but as bands tuned together back then we were all in tune together.
I have posted before that i was born with perfect pitch and didn't realize it until years later.
AS i took up fiddle at an early age having perfect pitch ear was still a drag.I would hear any slightly off key note no one else heard.I have nothing against electronic tuners and my opinions do not matter any ways.
But to be honest,i believe too many are depending on a tuner instead of thier ear.
So many club bands i have heard are so out of tune with each other,but still no big deal if they do not hear it,and thank God most of the public who pays to hear bands are tone deaf.LOL.Tracy
My personal opinions of course.

[Donny Hinson]

Perfect pitch(also known as "absolute pitch") means merely that you can identify notes when you hear them. It does not mean you can tell when a single note is 5 cents flat or sharp (that's called "having a very good ear").

Many piano tuners have "perfect pitch", and pianos must be tuned tempered! Pedal steel at least has the the advantage that it can be tuned either JI or ET, so I contend it's the perfect instrument for anyone with "tuning preferences".

Yes, I have sensitive ears, and there are steel players (including some very famous ones) that I do not prefer to listen to. Not because of how they tune, but because their playing just has too many "beats" for my critical ear. Do I consider that a "curse"? Of course not! Do you think a fine chef or a wine connoisseur would consider their "critical palates" and refined taste a curse?

[Calvin Walley]

i'm not sure if this relates to pitch or what,
but some can seem to tell the difference in tiny changes to the bass , mids and treble setting on a amp
but i can't tell any difference in a setting of say 3 to 4 on the treble
maybe this is why some of us are always fiddling with the amp settings