How far can one go out of tune before the average musician notices?

[anonymous278347457]

Half a semitone? Quarter semitone? 8th semitone?

Personally, unless its a long sustained note when you can hear the obvious oscillating. I can't really tell if something in a riff is out of tune by less than half a semi-tone, and even then I can't tell how much. But I haven't been playing bass or guitar for that long, and my piano doesn't go out of tune for months.


So how far do you think someone could go out of tune without the "average" musician without perfect pitch to notice/care/cause unpleasantness ?


What about the general, non musically educated public?

[bryan bailey]

Quite a bit. A lot for non musicians.

I have really good if not perfect relative pitch so I can tell instantly if something isn't right. You can usually tell when I'm glaring at my guitarist for a couple songs essentially non stop. But normal(non musical) people really don't notice. At least I don't think they do as much

[lemur821]

Since everybody is playing far from in-tune intervals anyway, you've got a lot of wiggle room. The illusion will fall down on stuff like octaves though.

[one]

I think us musicians still have a relatively large area for mistake about tuning (especially when playing!)
Strings are not always going to be perfectly in tune, you possibly bend your string 50% of the time and even if you have 'perfect' pitch, i believe it's never going to be perfect 100% of the time to 8th semitone or better.

As long as it's still the correct note, i doubt 70% of musicians would notice. I think quiet far to be honest.

[mike phillips]

in the year and a half i have been playin i can tell when im out of tune. its usually about a half step down for me. i dont know if thats a good ear good or bad.

[KeithBMI]

Depends how loud it is.

[spudmaster34]

I have a really good ear for recignizing things being out of tune, I have learned not to be bothered by it or else I would have gone insane by now

[Marley's Ghost]

ask this guy.....

[saxnbass]

If it's really fast, then it's hard for me to tell. If not, then I can usually tell fairly well. A guitartist can play a chord and I can tell if it's out of tune (even if it's not that out of tune). And if he plays the chord slowly (string by string), I can tell him which string is out.

[cb56]

I played a whole song a half step sharp just to see if the soundman that was telling me I was too loud would notice....
He didn't.

[kobass]

I dunno. Come hear me play my fretless sometime and we'll see!

[4-string Steve]

I have a pretty good ear for hearing what is in tune or out of tune, but before I started playing instruments, and didn't even really know if it was out of tune or not unless it was really bad sounding.

[Foamy]

I believe I read this recently. I think it's called a "comma", and it's a ninth of a semi-tone.

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by Marley's Ghost

ask this guy.....

His next book is better - How to Cover Your Piano Like a Chair

[ryco]

Originally Posted by cb56

I played a whole song a half step sharp just to see if the soundman that was telling me I was too loud would notice....
He didn't.

LMFAO! Classic! Heeheeheee......

[Rocker949]

Enchanter_Tim, your avatar of the astronaut is totally cracking me up. If that is her mug shot, it has to be the worst mug shot in world history.