"Perfect pitch", or timing.?

Question

Hi,
I seem to be blessed or cursed with this this thing that goes -
"that is in G", or whatever.
Fine, but it seems to me that most folks recognise mistakes in timing, as opposed to the odd bum note.
Those that you get away with.
Go out of time, and everyone notices.
What is the thinking on this site, fellow amateur minstrels?

Bob

Answer 1

Totally agree with you there. I was playing at a concert the other day, and I had used my tuningmajiggit so that i knew i could never play a wrong note. mixed a crotchet and a minim (never liked them anyway. why not just call them notes??) and sounded REALLY BAD.

Answer 2

If we're talking as musicians, then how about playing the right notes AND getting the timing right? I had to laugh at the remark about crotchets and minims "never could get on with them " etc - I'll say no more about THAT !
If you've ever played at a gig where the audience allegedly "clap in time" - it must be one of the most off-putting things that can be done to real musicians and more than once I've grabbed a mic and told them to stop, simply because they NEVER stay in time, and even when I have to listen to it on the TV, I feel like screaming at them!
So come on boys and girls, timing IS as important as the right note, and don't forget, those "gaps" in the music are actually PART of it !

Answer 3

When you are talking about pure musicality, pitch is more important. Most people of course don't hear such things,. Timing however is what sets music apart. It stamps the musicians mark on a piece. An example, using old timers, Frank Sinatra sang the soliloquy from Carousel beautifully, but his vocalization does not match Gordon McRaes. McRae was the more talented singer but Sinatra added his own soul. The same with Santana and John McLaughlin. McLaughlin is the better guitarist, but doesn't have Santana's timing.

Answer 4

Yeah, you have a point. certainly when strumming a guitar, you can lift off a chord, and as long as you keep the rhythm going, people dont care. In fact its a widely used technique in alot of music especially punk and such. That said, have you ever listening to audience participation at a gig? No-one can clap in time, so its obviously not that important to them. My teacher once said that if your guitar is out of tune, but you play great, people are still going to think you suck. They'll think "i dont know why, but this sounds awful" So pitch is crucial. Our ears are better at recognising pitch deviation than rhythm deviation, in my experience.

Answer 5

my good friend who was once my mentor & before that my music teacher always said "it's about the space between the notes: it's the spaces that make the music, not the notes"

& I agree to a certain degree, but if you play a bum note, the public ceratinly won't forgive you for that.