# It \*does\* come in handy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 11, 2000, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-does-come-in-handy/423 "2000-01-11T16:10:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quadzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a4c791/32.png) [@Quadzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quadzilla)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2000, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-does-come-in-handy/423/1 "2000-01-11T16:10:00Z")
As a percussionist, and having played timpani for five years now, I can vouch for the usefulness of perfect pitch. Although I don’t think I have it, it comes in handy when trying to tune them. Tuning kettledrums (without the use of a pitch indicator on the side of the drum) involves pushing a pedal up or down in order to reach just the right note, sometimes within a VERY short amount of time. If a timpanist does not have perfect pitch, then there is a definite need to get relative pitch in a hurry, often by having a mallet player give him/her notes. There is nothing more embarassing, to me, than having a band director waiting on you to get pitches from the bell player while the audience patiently waits - thus the usefulness of perfect pitch. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2000, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-does-come-in-handy/423/2 "2000-01-11T17:38:00Z")
The column being discussed is [What is perfect pitch, and what good is it? (08-Feb-1991)](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_236b.html)