DJ Are You Tone Deaf or Perfect Pitch and Everything in Between

0:00 Tone deaf, saying person, person tone

Alright guys, so this video is about are you tone deaf or maybe the opposite side of the scale. Now very quickly as well, I had my tooth taken out, front tooth last week, I had an abscess at the top of it and it was a horrendous experience, I do not recommend it to anyone. Put a long story short, when I was 11 some idiot 19 year old picked me up through me, cracked both my front teeth, had caps on them and numerous things. This one was loose over years and eventually it came out but luckily I'm going to get a cap on there or something anyway. So anyway, that aside, what is this video about? It's about the different levels of you being able to hear music and understand music. Are you musically minded?

Do you have a musical ear? Or are you, which is the first conversation, tone deaf? So what is tone deaf? Well let's imagine, and I'm not saying this is the person who's tone deaf, but have you ever been into a nightclub or bar pub or just into any kind of room where there's music playing and you have someone doing the dad dance. Now this is the sort of person who just cannot dance, they can't. You could play a house tune. Two, three, four, and they'll dance out of time. And then you put an R&B tune on, and they're still dancing how they were before. They've got no concept of timing. Not only that, but when the track, the next track comes on, and it's a completely different musical experience, they're like whoa, and they're still doing it. Now that I'm not saying is the person who's tone deaf, but it's very likely they do not understand music.

1:47 It's almost as though something is wrong

Now, another way of maybe better explaining someone who, again possibly, you know the thing is I can't say for definite, but I can pretty much guarantee you that if you've ever been to a bar pub club, you heard a DJ, and every single track they play just does not work musically from one to the other. They just don't work! You know, they could be playing 10 house tracks, popular house tracks from this year, yet when you hear the mix, the music isn't happening. It's almost as though something is wrong. It's like it, you know that track does not musically match with that one and then again and again and again if it happens once then they're probably not tone deaf. If it happens, you know the greater proportion of time of the time because again if they're picking straws,

You know the law of averages states, that somewhere along that choice of music, you're going to pick one that will be in key. But because there are less tracks or no, I'll start again. You know it's a bit like let's say I love my analogies having a big bag full of red apples and a few green. You know you're going to have more chance of picking out the red apples because there's less as the green so that's the analogy with choosing music. If you're randomly choosing music. So if you hear or have heard a DJ who just does not seem to be able to give you a musical experience, then it is very likely there what's known as tone deaf their ears, their brain. It's not the laptop. It's nothing. It's about the person cannot hear music now the next one and again this is my interpretation.

4:30 You can sense you can feel

Okay, this isn't something on the web. This is my interpretation of the scale of you. And if you can, you can understand music. The next one is the basic sort of concept. Now that's when you can hear the music and you understand that there is musical content, but you may be more prone to relying completely on the likes of say mixed in key or the program that you're using to give you the keys of the tracks. And when you mix those keys, you feel a warmth inside. You feel as though. Yeah, that works. On the other hand, when you do a mix and you don't use mixed in key on you take a random track, you feel as though there's something wrong. It's just not right, but you're not sure. But you do have to use the programs now that someone who's got like a very basic knowledge because you cannot mix by yourself in key,

But you can with the program. And when the program does it for you, you understand what's going on. You can sense you can feel. It's a good mix as opposed to you doing it by yourself and thinking I'm picking at straws. The other one is an average. You're able to feel what's going on. You consider understand you will maybe use the programs, but on the odd occasion you'll just have this feeling that you know I know what track goes with that, and I can sense that these tracks work well together and you can construct a mix by yourself. As well as using the program. Now, the next one is above average and this one is someone who can understand and hear a track is or a mix that is in key and also you can hear a mix that's out of key.

So for example, you will be at a bar pub club and you'll listen, you'll be sat there with your mates or your donkey or whoever you with me. Oh sorry, random a little bit and you know, you're listening to the tunes and you listen to the mix by the DJ and all of a sudden the DJ does a duff mix and you'll turn and you will notice that that's a duff mix. It just doesn't sound right. It's a little bit like you know you're there on a nice cruise, you know sun shining waters calm and all of a sudden a wave hits the side of the boat and you get soaking so what the hell is that you understand? Also, you as a DJ when you do a mix, you're able to construct a nice musical mix with the odd glitch. Okay, the next one is very good.

6:57 There is one more which is known as perfect pitch

Now this is when you'll go into a club and straight away you will understand. Yeah, that's a bad mix but also what you will be able to do yourself as a DJ. This is the important part when you've got a very good ear is you can not only mix harmonically, which is, of course, what we need, what we want to do, what we aspire to do. But you don't need any programs. Okay? You don't need the mixed in key. What you can do as well is you're able to take the listener on a journey. You can take them up a key or down or at the same key so you understand which musical where you're going. Now there is one more which is known as perfect pitch. Now, this is something that a lot of top musicians have. This is something that maybe good quality producers will have.

So what is perfect pitch? Well,

You know, tracks have notes the music, you know, if you play a keyboard, a piano that has been set correctly. So every note is exactly how it should be. Someone with perfect pitch will be able to. Tell you exactly what note you're playing. All right, not, you know, again, we have to look at the different levels. Someone who is really good at mixing will be able to mix musically for the rest of their life. But if you said to them, well, what's that note? And you played a note on a keyboard, they may be able to get it but you know, they're more inclined to think, well, you know, I can form this great mix. You play notes on a keyboard. I don't know, but you play but, but this is the, but if you played another note with that,

They would be able to tell you if those two notes worked. You see, that's how musical mixing works. If you imagine, if we go to the very basics, I'm digressing do apologize. If we go to the very basics, if you've got a keyboard in front of you and you play one note on that keyboard and then you play another, you've got to play those two. Now, do those two notes work together? If they do, then if you imagine that's track one, that's track two. It's very likely those two tracks will mix together. Whereas someone who has perfect pitch will be able to say, yeah, that note and that note over there without even playing it will work together. And if they were blindfolded, they would be able to give you the note that you're playing as well.

So that is someone with perfect pitch. And this is something I'm pretty much afraid to say that you're born with. Okay? You know, and it's pretty much exactly the same as, let's say someone who is born. They're musically minded and eventually they can play the piano or they can play the guitar. I mean you can teach anyone to play an instrument anybody if you have the time and also if you have the dedication, but there are levels to being able to understand the music and this is it. For example, I could probably end up playing the guitar, but I would never ever be as good as a proper guitarist because that's when the feeling comes out. This is their feeling. This is they understand everything about the guitar.

Now, where would I put myself? I'd put myself. I don't know above average maybe to very good. I have not got perfect pitch. I'll be honest with you. I haven't but someone who has can just form fantastic. Mixes because they understand the musical notes, you know, and they're very clinical about their mixes because if they bring in another track and there is a slight deviation in the notes. They'll be like no I can't use that and a lot of other people who think it's fine, but to them there could be five notes here five notes in the other one and maybe one note during those five does not work while it's overlapping the other one from the other track. So to them, it's a no-no, but to us. It's like well, yeah sounds all right.

So I hope that's been a help and if you want any more information then give me a bell by the way. I'm also still doing the tutorials one-to-one. It can either be done via Facebook or by Skype and that's myself here in this room giving you lessons through the webcam and all you have to have is a webcam. The microphone on the webcam is fine. I teach. UK GMT time most days from 8 o'clock in the morning to 8 a.m. At night. All right practice and enjoy. Thank you.

This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.