Developing Relative Pitch
Learn the difference between perfect pitch and relative pitch, and how to develop your relative pitch skills.
Perfect Pitch vs. Relative Pitch
Perfect Pitch (Absolute Pitch)
The ability to identify or produce a musical note without a reference tone. This is a rare ability that some people are born with or develop at a very young age.
Example: Hearing a note and immediately knowing it's an A4.
Relative Pitch
The ability to identify the relationship between notes. This is what most musicians develop through ear training and is more practical for most musical situations.
Example: Hearing two notes and knowing the interval is a perfect 5th.
Good news: You don't need perfect pitch to be an excellent musician! Relative pitch is what most professional musicians use, and it can be developed through consistent practice.
Why Relative Pitch Matters
Relative pitch is more useful in most musical situations because:
- It helps you understand musical relationships and harmony
- It's essential for transposition (playing in different keys)
- It enables you to identify chord progressions and intervals
- It's crucial for improvisation and composition
- It works regardless of the key or tuning system
Developing Relative Pitch
1. Interval Recognition
Start by learning to recognize intervals. Each interval has a unique "color" or character. Practice identifying intervals both melodically (one note after another) and harmonically (simultaneously).
2. Use Reference Songs
Associate each interval with a song you know. For example:
- Minor 2nd: "Jaws" theme
- Major 2nd: "Happy Birthday"
- Perfect 4th: "Here Comes the Bride"
- Perfect 5th: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
- Major 6th: "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"
- Octave: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
3. Sing Intervals
Singing intervals helps internalize them. Play a note, then sing the interval above or below it. This develops your muscle memory for intervals.
4. Practice with a Tonic
Always establish a reference note (tonic) before identifying intervals. This helps you develop a sense of scale degrees and tonal relationships.
Scale Degrees
Understanding scale degrees is crucial for relative pitch. Each note in a scale has a function and a unique sound quality. Learning to identify scale degrees by ear is one of the most valuable ear training skills.
- 1st (Tonic): The home note, feels resolved and stable. The most important reference point. Practice singing "do" and returning to it.
- 2nd (Supertonic): Tends to move toward the tonic or dominant. Has a slight upward pull. Think "re" in solfege.
- 3rd (Mediant): Defines major or minor quality. Major 3rd sounds bright, minor 3rd sounds dark. Think "mi" in solfege.
- 4th (Subdominant): Creates tension, wants to resolve. Often moves to 3rd or 5th. Think "fa" in solfege.
- 5th (Dominant): Strong pull back to tonic. Very stable but creates expectation. Think "sol" in solfege.
- 6th (Submediant): Often moves to dominant or tonic. In major, has a sweet quality. Think "la" in solfege.
- 7th (Leading Tone): Strong pull to tonic, creates maximum tension. In major, wants to resolve up. Think "ti" in solfege.
Practice Method: Solfege
Solfege (do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do) is an excellent tool for learning scale degrees. Each syllable corresponds to a scale degree:
- Do = 1st degree (tonic)
- Re = 2nd degree (supertonic)
- Mi = 3rd degree (mediant)
- Fa = 4th degree (subdominant)
- Sol = 5th degree (dominant)
- La = 6th degree (submediant)
- Ti = 7th degree (leading tone)
Practice singing scales using solfege, then practice identifying individual scale degrees by singing the solfege syllable.
Practice identifying scale degrees by playing a scale and then playing individual notes, trying to identify which degree they are. Start with the tonic, then try to hear the relationship to the tonic.
Building Your Relative Pitch Skills
Daily Practice Routine
- 5 minutes: Interval recognition (start with perfect intervals)
- 5 minutes: Scale degree identification
- 5 minutes: Singing intervals and scale degrees
- 5 minutes: Active listening to music (identify intervals/chords)
Progressive Learning Path
- Perfect intervals (unison, 4th, 5th, octave)
- Major and minor 3rds and 6ths
- Major and minor 2nds and 7ths
- Tritone (augmented 4th/diminished 5th)
- Scale degrees in major keys
- Scale degrees in minor keys
- Chord recognition
Practice Tips
- • Start with simple intervals (unison, octave, perfect 5th) before moving to more complex ones
- • Practice both ascending and descending intervals
- • Use the interactive exercises in this course to reinforce your learning
- • Be patient - relative pitch develops gradually with consistent practice
- • Try to identify intervals in the music you listen to daily
- • Always establish a tonic before identifying intervals or scale degrees
- • Sing everything you're trying to identify - it helps internalize the relationships
- • Use reference songs as memory aids, but don't rely on them exclusively
- • Practice in different keys to develop true relative pitch (not just memorization)
- • Record your progress and celebrate improvements, no matter how small
Key Takeaways
- Relative pitch is more practical than perfect pitch for most musicians
- Relative pitch can be developed through consistent practice
- Understanding scale degrees is fundamental to relative pitch
- Solfege is an excellent tool for learning scale degrees
- Reference songs help, but true relative pitch works in any key
- Daily practice, even for short periods, is more effective than occasional long sessions
- Singing intervals and scale degrees helps internalize them
- Relative pitch is essential for transposition, improvisation, and composition