In the Spring of 2005, mom wanted to record some of her compositions in the recording studio. As I began preparing the studio for the recording, Mom had interrupted me to inform me that the tuning of the keyboard was not in tune with A440. I thought to myself this could not be possible as I was using a Midi controller to trigger her sounds in the digital workstation. I explained to her that this was unlikely to occur because of the digital setup we were using. She insisted I was mistaken, so I began to investigate this matter further. After 30 minutes, I was hesitant to tell Mom she was correct, the piano was not in tune. To my amazement, the Midi Controller was pitched up 7 cents. A full semi-tone is equal to 100 cents and she was able to distinguish the difference of pitch by 7% of the semi-tone. Keep in my mind, there was no backing music for her to play along with at this point in the recording session. The moment she hit those piano keys she was up in arms about the piano being out of tune. Not only was mom an amazing pianist but, she had the gift of perfect pitch and the unique ability to sight read music with great improvisation. With or without the piano, she heard every single note within the sheet of music she was reading and was able to determine if it was a good piece of music or not.
Justin Daniels