How to Hear and Identify Pitch – Perfect Pitch Training

In music, pitch is the frequency at which a note vibrates: lower notes have a lower frequency, while higher notes vibrate at higher frequencies. These differences in pitch are one of the basic distinguishing features of music.

Even most non-musicians can easily distinguish a very low note from a very high one, though they might not be able to explain why or provide any details as to what these specific notes are. Distinguishing pitches that are very close in frequency is another matter. This is especially true when the notes sound at the same time.

However, musicians certainly need to be able to hear even marginally different pitches accurately. Hearing pitch is crucial to a musician’s ability to reproduce those pitches, which in turn makes it possible to play by ear or transcribe music, improvise, or compose.

This isn’t just a case of being able to tell a B from a B-flat. Musicians need to be able to distinguish different pitches that fall within a semitone of one another; in other words, they have to know whether something is in tune or not. If you sing, or play stringed instruments like the violin or cello, this is an especially important ability to have.  If a singer can’t hear pitch accurately, then he or she has no reliable way of staying in-tune.

Very few people are born with the ability to hear pitch accurately enough to meet the needs of the musician. However, anyone, regardless of their perception of their own talent, can learn to hear pitch. This is done by going through ear training. Ear training – which involves various simple exercises designed to cultivate the learner’s ability to correctly hear individual pitches, the intervals between pitches, and more – is used by professional musicians and virtually all music degree programs to ensure that musicians are in command of this essential skill.

An unskilled ear represents a barrier preventing musicians from reaching their potential.  If you’re interested in playing by ear, transcription, composition, or even just playing well with other musicians, you’ll need to be able to hear pitch. It’s not impossible, or even difficult; it just takes practice. Ear training is the only way to learn how to hear pitch accurately.