Pascal Penotet

L'Oreille relative absolue

The absolute ear, which can be defined as the ability to associate with any sound heard the name of the corresponding note - and vice versa - without recourse to any reference note, in an innate manner as it were, is the subject of much confusion and inaccuracy, even fantasy, with the qualifier absolute taking on the meaning of omnipotent or infallible. The relative ear, on the other hand, does not enjoy the same prestige: could it be because this expression, taken literally, seems to designate an "approximate" ear? Yet it's the same ability to relate - in both directions - sounds and note names, but from a reference sound or note, such as the A of the tuning fork or the tonic of the musical phrase under consideration, or more generally and by extension, from the note heard previously. The notion of relative ear simply refers to the ability to read - and therefore write - the notes of a musical phrase one after the other, or more precisely in relation to each other. This ability, also known as inner hearing, qualifies those who possess it as readers; having an ear, or having a musical ear, is the only ability indispensable to any musician, including those with an absolute ear! The aim of this method is to develop this essential ability in such a way that what is innate and what is acquired through practice eventually merge, and above all in such a way that the latter can be considered almost infallible or absolute. Once this objective has been achieved, the title of the book will be justified: the musician will henceforth possess the absolute relative ear!