Out of tune bending.

[Tatosh Guitar]

For what is worth, I was told, years ago, by some university hotshot (which means nothing, to be frank) that I had perfect pitch as well. That said, I don't think I do.

AC/DC's Phil Rudd is famously a behind-the-beat drummer, and I think that's a huge part of their sound. Nothing wrong with that. 

Same for VH. You hear Ed's isolated tracks and you can hear he doesn't have an exactly standard approach to rhythm. Maybe it was Alex, or a combination of the two. But you can't deny they were amazing.

As I previously posted, this applies to pitch and singers as well. Just a couple days ago I was listening to an unadulterated Priest live recording, and I caught Rob being a cent or two flat during some of his high screams. Still love him to death. Same goes for Michael Kiske of Helloween. He is famously flat a lot, yet he still sounds awesome.

All the above examples are great stuff, along with Beck's song as well. I can hear it, but it is not bad per se, and it doesn't take from my enjoyment of them.

But then there are other extreme examples, like the video I mentioned in the first post, which is a cover of another song and that got everything right except for the way out of tune bending. Not only was it way off, but it also seemed to be the player wasn't even aware of it. Now that I can't stomach. 

[MelodicGrit]

Sometimes it just works.  Several years back I transcribed a bunch of Trower's early work with Procol Harum from the 60s.  He straightened his bending issues out later, but on PH's first three albums especially (S/T, Shine on Brightly, and A Salty Dog) some of his bends were so far out I couldn't be sure what the intended target note was.  When you slow it down it sounds like a random bending sh*tstorm but played at normal speed it (mostly) sounds good.  

[eduardoritos]

So, fuck DJ, start doing your music with your ears and fingers, and after, you can talk about music.


 

I get that, and largely agree with you. But what I'm saying in the context of this discussion is that a LOT of the greats -- including Jeff Beck, many drummers, and for that matter EVH, don't always play perfectly. 
 

 

Im ok with you on this. And  sometimes, not perfect is better, more natural, 

[Tatosh Guitar]

Im ok with you on this. And  sometimes, not perfect is better, more natural, 

 

I think that might be the reason why I enjoy Gary or Sykes more than I like Vai and Petrucci. Nothing against the later, they are obviously out of this world players, but, they don't do as much for me. 

[merlo_zeppelin]

There's a point in which rhythym and pitch perfection is not only overkill, but also unnatural and dull sounding. Take for example all mainstream music from the past 15 years, all 100% auto-tuned and beat-aligned.
Also take into account the fact that the instruments we use (except for digital synths) are unable to be 100% in tune.

[MAdX]

While I'm very much a perfectionist when it comes to my own playing, it's usually the tiny imperfections (in an otherwise solid performance) that makes other peoples music really enjoyable to me. It becomes more human and it gets easier for me to connect on an emotional level. Perfect usually spells predictable. Predictable usually spells boring.

I like to say that I'm not a fan of music, I'm a fan of humans playing music. 
 

[eduardoritos]

I like to say that I'm not a fan of music, I'm a fan of humans playing music. 
 

 

AMEN. 

[Dr Nick]

Apparently I have perfect pitch - I really struggled during the cassette era, I could hear the change in intonation when different tape players had different speeds, and it was SO annoying. And I couldn't work out why nobody else could hear it. 

Strangely, it's a bit harder to hear when it's you playing, because you (to some extent) hear what you expect to hear, and then you check it and realise you were out. 

It also, wierdly, makes it harder to use a capo, because I know what I expect chord shapes to sound like, and when what comes out of the guitar doesn't match my finger shape, it does my head in. Transposing is not a problem, BTW, but I know what it SHOULD sound like. 

Same with alternative tunings. I can cope with a low D string or a semitone drop, but full tone down...ugh!

[Dinosaur David B]

Apparently I have perfect pitch - I really struggled during the cassette era, I could hear the change in intonation when different tape players had different speeds, and it was SO annoying. And I couldn't work out why nobody else could hear it. 

Strangely, it's a bit harder to hear when it's you playing, because you (to some extent) hear what you expect to hear, and then you check it and realise you were out. 

It also, wierdly, makes it harder to use a capo, because I know what I expect chord shapes to sound like, and when what comes out of the guitar doesn't match my finger shape, it does my head in. Transposing is not a problem, BTW, but I know what it SHOULD sound like. 

Same with alternative tunings. I can cope with a low D string or a semitone drop, but full tone down...ugh!


 

What you're describing is not perfect pitch. 


Perfect pitch refers to a person's ability to identify any musical note by name after hearing it, without reference to other notes. Perfect pitch—also known more technically as absolute pitch—can also refer to the ability that some singers have to sing a given note on cue.

So, for example, if I'm tuning my guitar and I don't have a tuner handy, I can say "Amy, give me an A," and she'll sing A440. She also instantly hears what key a song is in without any reference, and if, for example, the artist has tuned down a half step or more to play it live. 

But what you're describing is what I think others here are also noting, going back to Cause We Ended as Lovers. The ability to hear when things are off at the cent level (or off by just a few cents). Like for example, the difference between A440 and A430.  Most people don't hear that difference. Amy, for example, does not hear any pitch issues in Cause We Ended as Lovers, nor do I, and apparently, nor did Jeff Beck, or presumably he would have fixed it. 

I'm not disputing that others hear it. But if you do, that doesn't mean you have perfect pitch, but you have acute hearing that might be somewhat analogous to say, guys like Chuck Yeager and Ted Williams who had 20-10 vision, when the rest of us have 20-20 (if we're lucky). 


 
 

[Dr Nick]

Oh I can do that as well. I got in trouble during a physics lesson once when you had to hang weights on a wire dangling over a pulley to achieve a certain tension and frequency when it was plucked. They wanted us to use some sort of formula to achieve 440Hz. 
I did it by ear and wrote out the weight. 
Nailed it, and the teacher wouldn't believe me.