Teaching Pupils With Perfect Pitch, Teaching pupils with Perfect Pitch Options

[kjpt99]

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Hello, I need advice/help teaching my daughter.
I am an experienced instrumental teacher having some difficulty teaching my daughter of 7yrs.
I strongly suspect she has perfect pitch from testing her out recently and having looked up this ability on the internet she displays the following characteristics of people with perfect pitch i.e.
1. Wanting to play things fast
2. Great frustration when she can't play something the first time.
3. A strong need to experiment and play around and working out tunes on her instrument.
4. Finding the reading of notes quite difficult even though her reading of text (books) is two years ahead of her actual age.
5. Wanting to give up at times even though she likes doing it.
6. Finding the process of learning boring and slow.

I teach her piano but she also has Violin lessons and loves singing (because it's easier I suppose) so I do a bit of everything to try and lessen the stress and mix and match what I want to achieve and what she wants to do.

Does anyone have and ideas about how people with Perfect Pitch operate and learn and how to teach these people before my daughter gives up through frustration from not producing what she has in her mind. Thanks kjpt99

[oboist]

These may be characteristics of "perfect pitch" but they sound to me also like most of my 7-year old pupils.

Seven is quite young to be trying to pursue the serious study of two musical instruments - maybe she's also finding it hard to take the piano seriously because her mother's teaching her? My son (when young) would often refuse to do anything sensible when I tried to teach him but was a perfectly normal pupil with everyone else and made good progress with them. :)

I have one 8-year old pupil who's managing two instruments (violin and piano) and she's also very able musically, but it's a struggle for her. Mostly my pupils who play two or more instruments are at least 10 years of age.

Perhaps letting her simply enjoy the violin and her singing for 18 months or so and then see where this leads you might be the best recipe now rather than trying to encourage her into things she has little appetite for doing properly at present. If she enjoys experimenting on the piano for a year, just enjoying the sounds and harmony she can produce, I doubt she'll come to any serious harm. Yes, her fingers may not be well drilled and organised but that can usually be sorted fairly easily when more formal lessons begin. She's obviously got a lively mind and all this demoralising business of having to read music etc gets in the way! Of course it needs to be done eventually (and, presumably, is being on the violin right now) but more of it probably does seem pretty tedious on the piano.

Personally, I've never found teaching pupils with perfect pitch to be any different to teaching those without it except when the tuning of the piano doesn't accord with their sense of pitch or when transposition is involved. They've usually had a head-start in aural tests but, otherwise, seem to have all the same make-up as any other, relatively able pupil.

[dacapo]

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I think I was probably about 7 when I discovered that I had perfect pitch (though I didn't know it had a name, nor did my parents!)

she displays the following characteristics of people with perfect pitch i.e. 
1. Wanting to play things fast 
2. Great frustration when she can't play something the first time. 
3. A strong need to experiment and play around and working out tunes on her instrument. 
4. Finding the reading of notes quite difficult even though her reading of text (books) is two years ahead of her actual age. 
5. Wanting to give up at times even though she likes doing it. 
6. Finding the process of learning boring and slow.

I don't know where those ideas came from, but I have no recollection that any of them applied to me. In particular I found music-reading easy and enjoyed exploring new music from the start. I didn't always want to practise, but never wanted to give up. In fact any threat of having my lessons stopped was enough to get me practising again!

I've only realised comparatively recently that one enormous "plus" of having perfect pitch as a pianist is that I don't need to look at my hands to check whether I'm playing the right notes. As an instrumental teacher and conductor it's a great bonus, because I know whether I'm hearing what I'm looking at on the page.

Sorry I can't offer any useful generalisations about how "people with perfect pitch" learn.

[elliewelly]

We don't learn differently to anyone else - all it is, is a good memory (we can name a note when we hear it). Apart from making sight singing easy, it doesn't affect learning. Or at least, mine didn't. I only realised it was unusual at 12 when my clarinet teacher told me.

[kjpt99]

We don't learn differently to anyone else - all it is, is a good memory (we can name a note when we hear it).  Apart from making sight singing easy, it doesn't affect learning.  Or at least, mine didn't.  I only realised it was unusual at 12 when my clarinet teacher told me.

Many thanks - you comments are much appreciated. K

[frumpybabes]

My son is 8 years old and I teach him piano he is currently grade 5 and he has been learning cello at school since last Sept. He is currently working on grade 3 cello. I suspected over the past year he may have perfect pitch but he was always close to the note I played as a game. But my suspicions were only confirmed in over this holiday when he told his friends mum her piano was a semitone out all the way. He thought her piano was amazing.... he told she must have had it especially tuned that way.

I made no issue with it, the biggest problem I find is that if his cello is out of tune even slightly on any string he will play till his ears and move his hand accordingly which is fine until you play an open string. This is how i suspected he may have perfect pitch when he start cello lessons.

However I like to say it doesnt help him with the aurals as he is not aware how it can help him or really understand what is being asked.

Now he is more aware I wonder if he will better in his grade 5 aural. He has past all his exams with distinction so far.

1. want to play fast, my son does that but I let him do it once and then tell him about all the little details and say play it again slower with this, this and this in it. Then build around that. He usually corrects himself and slows down as he is concentrating on what I have asked for.
2. I think frustration is the age they are at.... you asking a very young child for something very complex, they just dont have enough patience..... all my children struggle with that and overcome it 90% of the time even my 6 year old.
3. All children like to experiment my youngest favourite 5 mins is to invent his own tune to finish off his practice. He invented this part of practice :) and the others are slowly following suit.
4. Um.... I think that is probably quite hard for them especially if they are reading 2 clefs. Has she realised that the treble clef in violin is the same as in piano. Believe me some of my students dont suss that one out for ages....... even the teens

5. Yes wanting to give up my eldest is good at that one on both instruments he frequently feels that way but wouldnt give up cos of the bands/orchestras and courses he can go on..... Meanwhile I while threaten to pack it all in if he fails to practice or continues with the paddies. He is nearly 10 and still has them so I tend to ignore or pack his instrument away before it breaks.
6. oh yes this doesnt seem to affect them so much now they are on the higher grades and there sightreading is good so that helps them.

I dont think your above list will necessary say that your child has perfect pitch because all my kids fall into all the catergories but only one of mine has perfect pitch the other two have not even got relative pitch. However I could be lying cos they may have but not developed it yet, as 2 years ago I would have said that no.2 didnt have perfect pitch.

I think you need to continue support her and I am sure it will all come together it is early days yet as 2 instruments is alot at their age.

My 8 year old does percussion as well and there are so many instruments to play but he enjoys all of it. He cant wait to start drum kit this term in band. He really has a passion for music. He is also academically 2 years ahead, a little like your daughters reading, he read at 2 years. It was hard going.

let me know how she gets on

[kjpt99]

My son is 8 years old and I teach him piano he is currently grade 5 and he has been learning cello at school since last Sept.  He is currently working on grade 3 cello. I suspected over the past year he may have perfect pitch but he was always close to the note I played as a game.  But my suspicions were only confirmed in over this holiday when he told his friends mum her piano was a semitone out all the way.  He thought her piano was amazing.... he told she must have had it especially tuned that way.

I made no issue with it, the biggest problem I find is that if his cello is out of tune even slightly on any string he will play till his ears and move his hand accordingly which is fine until you play an open string.  This is how i  suspected he may have perfect pitch when he start cello lessons.

However I like to say it doesnt help him with the aurals as he is not aware how it can help him or really understand what is being asked.

Now he is more aware I wonder if he will better in his grade 5 aural.  He has past all his exams with distinction so far.

1. want to play fast, my son does that but I let him do it once and then tell him about all the little details and say play it again slower with this, this and this in it. Then build around that. He usually corrects himself and slows down as he is concentrating on what I have asked for.
2. I think frustration is the age they are at.... you asking a very young child for something very complex, they just dont have enough patience..... all my children struggle with that and overcome it 90% of the time even my 6 year old.
3. All children like to experiment my youngest favourite 5 mins is to invent his own tune to finish off his practice.  He invented this part of practice :) and the others are slowly following suit.
4. Um.... I think that is probably quite hard for them especially if they are reading 2 clefs.  Has she realised that the treble clef in violin is the same as in piano.  Believe me some of my students dont suss that one out for ages....... even the teens

5. Yes wanting to give up my eldest is good at that one on both instruments he frequently feels that way but wouldnt give up cos of the bands/orchestras and courses he can go on..... Meanwhile I while threaten to pack it all in if he fails to practice or continues with the paddies.  He is nearly 10 and still has them so I tend to ignore or pack his instrument away before it breaks.
6. oh yes this doesnt seem to affect them so much now they are on the higher grades and there sightreading is good so that helps them.

I dont think your above list will necessary say that your child has perfect pitch because all my kids fall into all the catergories but only one of mine has perfect pitch the other two have not even got relative pitch.  However I could be lying cos they may have but not developed it yet, as 2 years ago I would have said that no.2 didnt have perfect pitch.

I think you need to continue support her and I am sure it will all come together it is early days yet as 2 instruments is alot at their age. 

My 8 year old does percussion as well and there are so many instruments to play but he enjoys all of it.  He cant wait to start drum kit this term in band.  He really has a passion for music.  He is also academically 2 years ahead, a little like your daughters reading, he read at 2 years.  It was hard going.

let me know how she gets on

Very helpful - thanks a lot. I know she is more talented than I was at that age and more confident so it would be criminal not to encourage her. I suspect she will end up as a singer but I know how important and useful the piano is to any musician. I will persevere. Thanks again. K

[kjpt99]

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I think I was probably about 7 when I discovered that I had perfect pitch (though I didn't know it had a name, nor did my parents!)

she displays the following characteristics of people with perfect pitch i.e.  
1. Wanting to play things fast 
2. Great frustration when she can't play something the first time.  
3. A strong need to experiment and play around and working out tunes on her instrument.  
4. Finding the reading of notes quite difficult even though her reading of text (books) is two years ahead of her actual age. 
5. Wanting to give up at times even though she likes doing it. 
6. Finding the process of learning boring and slow.

I don't know where those ideas came from, but I have no recollection that any of them applied to me. In particular I found music-reading easy and enjoyed exploring new music from the start. I didn't always want to practise, but never wanted to give up. In fact any threat of having my lessons stopped was enough to get me practising again!

I've only realised comparatively recently that one enormous "plus" of having perfect pitch as a pianist is that I don't need to look at my hands to check whether I'm playing the right notes. As an instrumental teacher and conductor it's a great bonus, because I know whether I'm hearing what I'm looking at on the page.

Sorry I can't offer any useful generalisations about how "people with perfect pitch" learn.

Great to know that - Thanks K

[musicmanNZ]

Playing things fast is FUN :)
That's why you do it.
I have slowed down a lot over the past couple of years and now love playing romantic music and know all about the importance of beautiful tone etc etc
BUT I still like showing off flying fingers sometimes!! :lol:

[elliewelly]

I agree that most of her frustrations seem to be common to young children, or at least the ones I teach anyway! Perfect pitch (being able to name a note, or recognise if it's not pitched exactly, e.g. on that flat piano that was mentioned) isn't particularly useful most of the time. Relative pitch (ability to identify and sing intervals) is much more useful, and is something that most musicians develop over time, to some degree.