PERFECT PITCH FOR YOU by Alla Elana Cohen
…exclusively available through Len Rhodes Music!
This book is addressed to the widest circles of musicians— professional and amateur—to music teachers, to students of music schools and colleges, to performers, composers, to music-lovers of all levels of proficiency and musical background, to parents who would like to help their children develop perfect pitch, to all who are interested in this fascinating subject—developing the sense of pitch and pitch memory. This book is the result of many years of my pedagogical work with adults and children. It is based on my observations and analysis of my practical experience, the essence of which is the conclusion: perfect pitch is necessary and perfect pitch is possible to develop, both in grown-ups and children. The book consists of two parts—the first one discussing the mechanism of pitch perception and touching various important questions in connection with developing perfect pitch. The second part describes in detail the process of developing perfect pitch, starting "from scratch," in stages. To my readers—please, be patient, and read the first part of the book carefully, everything in this book is interconnected, so it is impossible to understand the second part of it without reading the first. Alla Elana Cohen.
What her students say…
When I first started ear-training with Alla Cohen, I had no idea that I would soon be able to do what I do now. In the beginning, I had difficulty identifying notes in the two octaves of the piano —above and below middle C. I now have perfect pitch in all the octaves of the piano. I can not only identify separate notes, but notes in the intervals and chords, and not only on the piano. I can now tell what key the piece is in when listening to a recording. I now play cello with better intonation and better tone, and it helps me in my composing.
Eleanor, 10 year old composer and cellist, student of New England Conservatory, Prep. School ASCAP Morton Gould Award winner Pikes Peak Young Composers first place winner MTNA National level winner (2nd place) 2006 MTNA National level winner (1st place) 2007
When I first started ear-training with Professor Cohen, it was hard for me to recognize all the notes, especially the black keys on the piano, but as I learned more about each note, it became easier for me to figure out all the notes.
Shanlyn, 10 year old composer and pianist, student of New England Conservatory, Prep. School Pikes Peak Young Composers first place winner ASCAP Morton Gould Award Honorable mention.
When Professor Cohen proposed the possibility of learning perfect pitch, we highly doubted that we would ever find ourselves recognizing notes instantaneously. However, she introduced the notes strategically. First, she began with the white keys, and eloquently explained what sounds and motions these keys denoted. Upon the start of every lesson, she added yet another note to the ones we were already familiar with. Before we knew it, we were able to easily distinguish pitches in all octaves of the piano, separate as well as in the intervals and chords.
Danielle and Arielle, 15 year old twin sisters, composers and pianists, students of New England Conservatory, Prep. School ASCAP Morton Gould Award winners Carnegie Hall debut 2005 Pikes Peak Young Composers winners
Professor Cohen's teaching technique of perfect pitch is brilliant. I now listen and view music in a way that I never thought was possible. Through her dedicated instruction and teaching methods, she has allowed me to grow as a musician and composer.
Dayton, 16 year old composer and pianist student of New England Conservatory, Prep. School Pikes Peak Young Composers first place winner
Before the course, everything was in black and white, and when I started it, I could experience hearing colors for the first time. It is not about hearing pitches only, but also about grasping the deepest and richest meaning of music. It is a lot of fun to practice the exercises with a friend and see how our ears mutually open up.
Frank B. Guitar performance major, Berklee College of Music
I was introduced to Professor Cohen's unique method in my first lesson with her and was intrigued how each note could be discerned from the others by simply listening to what "direction" the note went in, regardless of octave or instrument. This method helped me profoundly with intonation, and continues to help me in all my musical endeavors.
Justin, 16 year old violinist, composer, student of New England Conservatory Prep. School
Professor Cohen's system opened my ears to a world of color and beauty. Her unique approach is necessary for all people who want to make good music. Her discoveries in pitch recognition, and her system of teaching them, should be known and used by ALL musicians. As a composer, (her) help was indispensible to my career. A composer has only a set of good ears and a perceptive, receptive soul behind them. That is what Professor Cohen gave me, and that is what I cannot live without.
Joseph B., composer
I had the chance to take a course with Professor Cohen at the New England Conservatory. She is gifted with the ability to break down and communicate her perception of music to others. Hearing about this book excited me since it is a wonderful opportunity for others to get insights into (her) unique world of hearing music.
Johannes B., composer, graduate student of New England Conservatory
The Perfect Pitch course has transformed me into a completely different musician. My ability to discern pitches, harmonies and intervals was dramatically enhanced. I am tremendously grateful for the experience and guidance. Strongly recommended for any serious musician.
William C., composer and conductor graduate of Berklee College of Music
I was extremely interested in the "Perfect Pitch "course and at the same time very hesitant— wondering whether obtaining perfect pitch is in fact possible...Professor Cohen has truly opened a new world to me... she has been a tremendous influence!
Michael C.
Names have been given to the Trees of the Forest. Thank You.
John D.
I am taking this perfect pitch class with Alla Cohen twenty-one years after graduating from the New England Conservatory with a major in percussion performance…this class and her method are amazing!
Jeff F., Boston Ballet Orchestra Member
Having inborn perfect pitch, I attended Professor Cohen's class because I wanted to get acquainted with her method, and to be able to apply it in my own pedagogical work. I was amazed how (her) unique method worked with the students—professional and amateur musicians—who attended the class, coming to it without any pitch recognition; all of them showed wonderful results, doing something they were not able to do before. I am sure all musicians—teachers, performers, composers—should get acquainted with this course; it will open for them a totally new musical world.
Yoshiko Hiramatsu-Kline, free-lance pianist, piano teacher, and New England Conservatory graduate
The insight of approaching and studying perfect pitch coming from Professor Cohen's perfect pitch course not only helped me in developing a sense of different physical characteristics of pitches, but also in improved instant recognition of them.
Ho M. T., composer student of Berklee College of Music
Through Professor Cohen's perfect pitch classes I discovered how meaningful every single note can be. Shirin H. Professor Cohen's perfect pitch course is a labor of love. Besides being a gifted pianist and composer, she is a dedicated and supportive teacher who believes that perfect pitch is AN INNATE ABILITY IN EVERYONE, and that it can be developed with practice and training, which I have experienced and witnessed in her class. Whether you are a skeptic or a believer, this book will teach you about tones as color and motion, and you will never hear sound or music in the same way again!
Paul LaRocca, DSM Productions Arranger and Composer
Perfect Pitch can be learned (sometimes slowly), thanks for sharpening my ears, Alla!
Donald C.
Her approach of teaching pitch through tone color has immensely helped me. When I play the cello now, I search for the pure color of each tone.
Michele M.
For me, Alla Cohen found a way for anyone to develop perfect pitch. She’s a MASTER!
Joao Marcos M.
Professor Cohen's approach to perfect pitch ear training opened my mind to combinations of pitches I had not perceived before. Chords, which in the past left me unmoved, or I found to be even abrasive, now become amazingly rich and beautiful blends of bright and mellow tones.
Eric Ranvig, composer
Professor Cohen is able to stimulate abilities that I didn't know existed. Her impressionistic descriptions of the characteristic flavors of each pitch are profound; now when I sit down at a keyboard to play along with a piece I haven't heard before, I start it on the right notes.
David S. R.
Professor Cohen's perfect pitch class has literally opened a new world to me. I am in a new musical dimension as I learn how to distinguish pitches in all octaves. My ear is much more sensitive to the nuances and colors of the notes.
Melinda R.
Professor Cohen's method is a comprehensive approach to ear training that extends far beyond simply naming or singing pitches. This course has been a revelation for me in my approach to listening and understanding music, not just practically but philosophically.
Michael Schachter, composer and pianist, student of Harvard University
…this course…has totally opened new doors for me in terms of how I think about music.
Tanayi S.
Twenty five years after obtaining a Bachelor of Music in composition I attended Professor Cohen's perfect pitch class at New England Conservatory, having spent a lifetime thinking that the goal of spontaneous pitch recognition was not available to me. Under her guidance, subtleties of timbre, attack, decay, phase shift, and even my emotional response to these sounds were brought to the surface and allowed me to listen deeply and hear what I had never noticed before. Most extraordinary was obtaining the ability to pick out all the pitches in the context of chords and even clusters of closely spaced notes. Professor Cohen is an extraordinary composer, pianist, teacher and author,who brings rare insights to the mysteries of the sonic world, communicating its message in a language we can understand.
David Swerdlove, composer, saxophonist
Alla Cohen's course revealed an entirely new dimension of sound to me, a dimension of brightness and hardness and movement within each individual pitch, similar to the complex qualities of the human voice. Her teachings have touched all aspects of my musicianship, from listening, to playing, to composing. They fundamentally affect my awareness of sound and inform each choice I make in composing.
Matthew A. Wright, Ph.D. Harvard Medical School
In her introduction, Professor Alla Elana Cohen sites "Music Fell from the Heavens" - Joseph A. Bachour. Music before 1750 is about heaven. Our window to heaven. Music through the Vienna classics is about humans trying to get to heaven, and mostly making it. Music in the Romantic age is about humans trying to find heaven on earth, though not the right search. Music in the 20th century is about humans discovering that heaven is not to be found on earth, and deciding that heaven does not even exist. Humans are stuck with humans. Music fell from the heavens, my teacher told me, and thus: the heavens do exist, and music does exist, and we exist, and music came from heights and must be high. Music must now rebuild our vision of heaven. A heavy heaven, or lofty heaven. A heaven with weight from human faults, though one is still able to soar with the highest inspiration of human imagination. Music fell, my teacher told me, but from the heavens.
Author Alla Elana Cohen is a composer, pianist and music theorist. She is on the faculty at Berklee College of Music, and the New England Conservatory, where she teaches composition, harmony, counterpoint and ear-training by her own method. She received her education in Moscow, Russia, graduating from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with the greatest honors of distinction. As a composer, she works in all the genres of orchestral and chamber music. Her compositions have been performed with much success throughout the USA. Many composition students of Professor Cohen have been winners of numerous prestigious Young Composers' Competitions, at state, national and international levels. She has been recognized as a composer by ASCAP, being a recipient of ASCAPLUS Awards, and has received commissions from the Music Teachers National Association (USA). As a teacher, she has been awarded for "inspiring, educating and mentoring young musicians to become composers of tomorrow" by ASCAP, as well as being the recipient of numerous Certificates of Recognition and Awards as a teacher of MTNA Young Composers' Competition National level winners.
The Miraculous Bell-Ringer or 121 Sharps and 121 Flats 9
There was a unique musician in Moscow, Russia, in the third and fourth decades of the 20th century. He was a composer and a church bellringer, his name was Konstantin Saradjev, junior. Legends were circulating about his musical genius, especially of his superperfect ear for music. His life was tragically short. But he succeeded to write a book in which he presented music theory of his own, based on his unique sense of pitch and on his art of bell-ringing. The manuscript, unfortunately, was lost in Soviet Russia; only several pages—the preface—remained. He wrote: The perfect pitch I have I would call 'true ear'—the ability to hear with every fiber of your being the tone that is issued forth by any object, not only by vibrating objects—to hear the tone of each stone, crystal, metal. Pythagoras had such an ear, and, by words of his students, had the tone clue to all the mysteries of nature. Each precious crystal has its individual tonality and the color which corresponds to this tonality. Every inanimate object and each living being on the Earth and in the cosmos issues forth its, or his or her own tone. 'True ear' can determine the tone of each human being just looking at this person. For 'true ear' there are no limits the same way as the cosmos has no limits. Elements of 'true ear' we can meet in many people, but in our century they are not developed.