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Question: Ear training and perfect pitch!?
I've been playing bass for about 8 or 9 months and have picked up very fast, and no I do not just play annoying little root and fifth note bass parts!.
I would really like to be able to hear a song and play it!.
I think playing by ear takes worlds more talent than sheet music and want to be able to do it!.
I have found the perfectpitch!.com site and have been looking all over for a trustworthy testimonial as to whether or not their perfect pitch or their relative pitch training programs work!.
I also want to know about any other ways to train my ear (please do not say playing to the radio)!.
Everyone I know either says being able to play by ear takes time or simply that you must be born with the ability!.
I am not neccessarily trying to develop perfect pitch I just want to be able to play by ear and also know what the pitches I'm thinking of are when I try to write my own music!.
If anyone can answer any of these questions please do!.Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
as qelery pointed out, singing might just help!. You obviously have a feel for your bass, since you want to start branching out!. Most instrumentalists can read off the paper a lot better than singers usually do ( until they take the time to learn to do it themselves, which also takes time and energy), but singers have the advantage of ultimately knowing where a pitch "feels" in their voice!. this is relative pitch, not perfect pitch, but it comes in very handy!. You can hum or sing a ntoe, and by the feel of it, know where it is ( more or less) in your range!.
Try looking into music theory ( there have got to be several web sites for that as well, nowadays) to help you with the ear training!. Keep testing yourself out!.
Yes, it does take time and patience!. No, not everyone is born with it, it's mostly a learned skill!. It can run you ragged at first, but as your skills pick up, so will your frustration drop off!.
If you play bass in your school band or orchestra, ask the conductor for information!. chances are he/she will be thrilled to pass on this information! There are hundreds of books also available, and have been for several hundred years, so you can't go too wrong with any of them!.!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

yea, its a tricky thing to learn, but not entirely possible!.

it helps alot if you're sort of born able to do it, then all you have to do is fine tune it, so to speak!.

but a good way i use for ear training, is listening to a song on the radio, start singing or whistling or humming along then stop, and turn the music off, and try and remember the notes exactly how it was played!. then turn the music back on and see how far off you were!Www@QuestionHome@Com

I used to do summer stock musicals (G&S) and would develop a limited perfect pitch ability during the season, but it was soon thereafter lost!. Now that I'm noodling on the piano more, it's coming back!. No special training needed!.

If you play regularly you will probably get something like that!. Not innate, but good enough!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Have you ever tried working on your singing!? I'm serious!. I used to be tone deaf (not completely, but close)!. Then I started singing and now I can play sing songs by ear on instruments!. Its much easier for me to hear melodies and break apart chords if I can sing them first!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think that being perfect pitch is more of an inherited trate!. But, my advice is listen to lots of music!. I listened to lots of Pete Fountain and the first day I picked up a clarinet I could play his songs!Www@QuestionHome@Com