There are courses and books and tapes that teach you how to do it. It's not something new. You already HAVE it in you, it's just latent. If someone points out what to listen for, you get sensitized to it.
Don't take my word for it - the internet is full of information, which will tell you pretty much the same thing I have.
Hearing something as out of tune is like the most basic concept of relative pitch - you can TELL it's out of tune. Some people can't tell if a string is down a step - I worked with a guitarist like that once - tone deaf they call it. He didn't know whether a string was out of tune or not!
Totally tone deaf! And then there are some guys who can tell that a string is a microtone off - your ears have become sensitive to it.
For eg, there was a thread where we were all discussing 'fizz'. Some people turned on and off the parameter, and couldn't tell the difference. To some of us, it was blatantly obvious. Different LEVELS of listening.
Take another eg - some guys mentioned on this thread that they could tell some notes - that's some raw 'perfect pitch' at work - they can TELL that a note is B or G or whatever. If they listen closely enough, they might be able to tell G#, and E and C, and whatever else. It's the infant stages of it. My gf has advanced PP - she can tell a note even if it's a thick synth note - I can't do that always. Sometimes I hear it, sometimes I don't. Different levels.
Again, it's all about LISTENING - something guitarists don't like to do - we like to only listen to ourselves! :lol
Take for eg nikki and cliff - I'm almost sure that they have it, or can develop it if they listen a little - they have achieved a level of listening, and it is evident when they post some of the descriptions of what they hear. They have learned to get 'inside' the sound. In a similar way, PP is about getting 'inside' the note....and then you hear that the C note has a vibe going on.....and the E sounds dark, and the F# sounds twangy. But it's at different levels in different people. There was a thread where myself and nikki described pick attacks, and we were immediately condescended - shut up n play yer guitar they said - so I did!
But we were able to hear something in the sound...something VERY subtle. The note 'colors' are the same - they'e VERY subtle. Sometimes I make mistakes - I don't have it fully developed, and I don't want it to be either. My gf has it quite developed, but even she makes mistakes occasionally, sometimes ones that I pick up on....but we both have a pretty high level of accuracy.
Timbre makes a difference - it's why piano notes are easy to pick out, but guitar notes are a little harder. I can tell C on the piano EASY. But C on the guitar? I might have to let it settle in my ear for a second.
But again, don't take my word for it - the internet is full of very similar stories if you think I'm lying :lol Read up some more and tell me what conclusion you come to
