Did Freddie have perfect pitch?

I know the guy wasn't perfect live (he was great though), but the fact that he could "play what he had heard on the radio" sparks a question: Did Freddie possess perfect pitch?

"Perfect" is a bit relative to everyone's ear. If you enjoy listening to crappy crowd recordings and judging from that I think I may have found your problem. If you have listened to the retail release of the '81 Montreal concert, either the CD version, or preferably the 5.1 Blu-Ray edition, that's what I like to call a perfect live performance (in terms of Freddie's vocal performance, as some people seem to want to understand something else).

You don't need perfect pitch to play what you hear on the radio. Fred, AFAIK, only had relative pitch. A very well-trained one, though, enough to complement his genius.

another dumbfucking question from you and i should be surprised to be not even at that.

@Sebastian: Was He well trained?

No, too much adrenalin in latter years detracted from the vocal pitch, if properly concentrating then yes

Ya you don't need perfect pitch to figure out songs on the radio. That just takes intervalic skills

No, you don't "need" perfect pitch to play stuff you hear on the radio, but read THIS:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art17748.asp

"Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar, where he lived with his mother, father and younger sister. He attended a boarding school in Bombay where his talent for the piano was first noticed. Friends commented that he could hear anything on the radio, and turn around and play it on the piano."

If Freddie can hear stuff, then just turn around and play it on the piano--that's a sign. He's got some form of Perfect Pitch--maybe not the "obvious" form of it. But he's definitely got more than a "good ear."

In retrospect, friends could've commented loads of things. That's hardly defining evidence.

I can hear anything on the radio and play it on my guitar... has nothing to do with perfect pitch though.
If you play every day (which Freddie did) you understand what notes are where on an instrument.
Having absolute hearing (hearing what key a song is in without playing it) helps alot.
But that is also due to a lot of playing and good memory.

Just practice everyday, and you'll be as good as freddie. Piano-wise that is.

Dane wrote:

Just practice everyday, and you'll be as good as freddie.

I await your next chart topping composition with interest...

Right, I think a few misunderstandings need to be cleared up here:

1) "Perfect pitch" refers to being able to tell exactly what tone or combination of tones is sounding by ear (passive perfect pitch) and/or being able to 'hear' in one's mind or vocalise the exact tone(s) from, for instance, musical notation (active perfect pitch). It has nothing to do with the pitch-quality of a voice or instrument or anything like that.

2) Disregarding for a moment that, like Sebastian said, such latter day testimonies by friends and relatives have little or no value as evidence, being able to play a song upon hearing it (note that there are no comments on whether or not he was able to copy the song exactly or whether he was able to do what is usually referred to as "faking", meaning playing a correct-sounding accompaniment on the fly, common in jazz) is evidence of both relative pitch and a good musical ear and mind, but not necessarily of perfect pitch. In fact, most people with perfect pitch would have a lot of trouble playing a piece of music by ear if, for instance, the piano they were doing that on was a fraction of a tone out-of-tune in relation to the original recording.

freddie wasnt even close to perfect pitch.  musical genius he was but perfect pitch you only need to hear outtakes of his singing to know he was deaf to music without a refernce.

ThomasQuinn wrote: Right, I think a few misunderstandings need to be cleared up here:

1) "Perfect pitch" refers to being able to tell exactly what tone or combination of tones is sounding by ear (passive perfect pitch) and/or being able to 'hear' in one's mind or vocalise the exact tone(s) from, for instance, musical notation (active perfect pitch). It has nothing to do with the pitch-quality of a voice or instrument or anything like that.

2) Disregarding for a moment that, like Sebastian said, such latter day testimonies by friends and relatives have little or no value as evidence, being able to play a song upon hearing it (note that there are no comments on whether or not he was able to copy the song exactly or whether he was able to do what is usually referred to as "faking", meaning playing a correct-sounding accompaniment on the fly, common in jazz) is evidence of both relative pitch and a good musical ear and mind, but not necessarily of perfect pitch. In fact, most people with perfect pitch would have a lot of trouble playing a piece of music by ear if, for instance, the piano they were doing that on was a fraction of a tone out-of-tune in relation to the original recording.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Paravicini

This guy has perfect pitch--yet he can play anything after hearing it once (I don't know if that's related to perfect pitch or his Savant Syndrome/Autism).

I have perfect pitch myself--and let me tell you: It's a blessing and a curse at the same time. While I can identify notes, key signatures, tunings, the pitches of machines/vehicles and (to an extent) chords without references, it's a pain sometimes.

mooghead wrote: Dane wrote:

Just practice everyday, and you'll be as good as freddie.

I await your next chart topping composition with interest...
Being in the charts nowadays has little to do with being a good musician I'm afraid.