04 Sep 2007

Pitch perception skewed by modern tuning

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg19526194.100

tuning_fork.png[New Scientist, 3 September 2007]

Mozart had it; Leonard Bernstein had it; even Jimi Hendrix reportedly had perfect pitch - the ability to recognise a musical note without a reference tone. Now it seems that orchestral tuning may be skewing note perception in people with this rare talent.