What Is ‘Perfect Pitch’? Is It Possible To Learn It?

Question: What Is ‘Perfect Pitch’?
Answer: Perfect pitch (or ‘absolute pitch’) refers to the ability to identify a note by hearing it. For instance a tone is played and you can instantly determine what it is without the use of a reference tone.

As soon as a second tone is played and the name of the first tone has been established, you are not using absolute pitch any longer but relative pitch.

People with spontaneous ‘perfect pitch’ have certain brain structures in common. It is believed that this genetic predisposition may cause these people to perceive pitches as they do without any external coaching or explanation.  They perceive pitches distinctly as very young children and learn the names for those pitches some time later.

The learnability of perfect pitch has long been highly debated.

Is perfect pitch a benefit in regard to musical learning?

Not necessarily. Most professionals, students and educators disregard this ability and do not consider it as a desirable skill to train.

See also: Music Can Improve Memory

Is ‘perfect pitch’ a common ability?

The ability is considered remarkably rare, estimated to be less than one in 10,000 individuals. It has always been a very desired ability among musicians, especially since several famous composers, including Mozart, reportedly had it.

It has long been considered that this special talent is established in childhood based on early musical training and that it was not possible for adults to acquire this skill.

Is it possible for an adult to learn ‘perfect pitch’?

New study conducted by UChicago psychologists shows that some people can be trained to learn absolute pitch the training’s effects last for months.

Whether this adult-acquired ‘perfect pitch’ can be compared to the performance of “true” perfect pitch – is unclear.

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Source: The University of Chicago