Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [absolute-pitch]

The ability to identify pitch without having to make a comparison to a reference note. Also colloquially called perfect pitch. Absolute pitch is often used in contrast to relative pitch, the ability to infer given pitches in relation to others.

Absolute pitch, also colloquially called perfect pitch, is the ability to directly identify musical . To count as absolute pitch, this must be without having to make a comparison to a reference note extrinsic to the mind (such as a musical instrument or muscle memory in the vocal cords). More precisely, it is the ability to identify pitch class, rather than to directly estimate frequency.

63 questions
25
votes
10 answers

Can absolute pitch be learned or acquired by anyone?

As a companion to questions about absolute (or perfect) pitch, discussions about if the trait is achievable through training are sure to follow. After these discussions I have read up a bit on the subject, and changed my views somewhat. I thought it…
Meaningful Username
  • 6,747
  • 3
  • 30
  • 50
14
votes
2 answers

How common is perfect pitch?

It is said here that 1 in 10,000 people have absolute pitch. I wonder if there is any serious poll that could confirm this. Do you know any study that could tell how common/uncommon it is to have absolute pitch ?
Benjamin Crouzier
  • 369
  • 1
  • 3
  • 8
13
votes
5 answers

Why don't all humans have absolute pitch?

I'm not looking for an evolutionary reason. I'm looking for answer based on how the brain works. I believe the way the brain works is not solely determined by natural selection. Sometimes natural selection will select for a certain ability and then…
Timothy
  • 327
  • 2
  • 9
4
votes
5 answers

Does absolute pitch always cover the all musical sound range?

There is a question here about the musician who can only identify the pitch of the one single note correctly. Well, this is not completely worthless maybe and could replace a tuning fork. However I wonder, how often the perfect pitch would not span…
h22
  • 4,494
  • 6
  • 27
  • 62
4
votes
3 answers

Perfect pitch before musical training

My understanding is perfect pitch is something people are born with. How does it manifest before musical training? If the whole point of perfect pitch is someone could hear a pitch and then say it's a C or a C4, they could only name those after some…
Michael Curtis
  • 56,724
  • 2
  • 49
  • 154
4
votes
2 answers

How precise and how accurate is perfect/absolute pitch?

For those that need a reminder of the difference between accuracy and precision I don't have perfect pitch. For those who do, how accurately and precisely can you recognise, say 440Hz for an A. (1) You can hear a note, and say that it is nearer to…
chasly - supports Monica
  • 3,952
  • 10
  • 27
3
votes
2 answers

Do "Perfect Pitch Programming" tracks actually work?

This is super similar to some other popular questions concerning perfect pitch, but I thought that it was specific enough to avoid closing. The idea of having perfect pitch has always appealed to me, and, on a whim, and at 10:30 PM, I googled "learn…
General Nuisance
  • 3,847
  • 1
  • 24
  • 44
3
votes
4 answers

How to approach absolute pitch recognition: compare to the remembered reference or to assign special pitch quality to the note?

How to approach absolute pitch recognition: compare to the remembered reference (or a root sound from a song) or to assign a special pitch quality to the note? I can recognize several pitches, but do mistakes sometimes when testing hearing with…
VassiaAlk
  • 375
  • 2
  • 11
2
votes
4 answers

Improving a Child's Absolute Pitch

I am teaching an child of 7 who has white key absolute pitch. In particular, they can sing any notes of the C major scale without a reference tone and can name the pitch of any of the white notes without looking. However, they cannot currently do…
JazzFan
  • 29
  • 1
2
votes
2 answers

Question to those who have perfect / absolute pitch: can you instantly name the notes you hear in your head as well?

I'm interested in knowing if people who have perfect pitch (so those who can instantly name a note by just hearing it) also can name the notes they hear in their heads. I'd prefer answers from people who really have perfect pitch or personally know…
lambshop
  • 69
  • 2
1
vote
2 answers

Tell the difference between a natural and a sharp/flat tone?

Is it possible to tell whether or not a single note that you hear is a white key or a black key on a piano (i.e. whether a note is natural or sharp/flat)? Can anybody actually do this? I've heard from my music teacher that it is possible to train…
Dr C
  • 318
  • 1
  • 3
  • 9
1
vote
0 answers

Is there a space in between relative pitch and perfect pitch?

I absolutely have relative pitch down. I can recognize most intervals immediately. As for perfect pitch, it just doesn't work consistently. I have a tone in my head and when I check with the guitar I'm off. It can be off by as much as a fifth. Then…
Emanuel Landeholm
  • 581
  • 1
  • 5
  • 12
0
votes
0 answers

Is it possible to improve your sense of pitch? How?

I've been doing this: http://tonedear.com/ear-training/absolute-perfect-pitch-test For some basic pitch testing. I set it to be as easy as possible, just two notes, C and D. I get almost every question wrong, and I'm 50 iterations in. Should I give…
temporary_user_name
  • 2,904
  • 6
  • 28
  • 44
0
votes
1 answer

How do I determine I have perfect pitch

I was recently told about this and I was wondering do I have perfect pitch or some variation of it. I have no prior musical experience in any shape or form yet despite this I have always been able to replicate any piece of music or sound I hear…
James
  • 1
-2
votes
2 answers

Do i have perfect pitch , if i corrected my friend about her high note

My friend was having trouble with a high note , I checked the song out and sang the song almost instantly and I also hit the high note , a week or 2 later she randomly started going higher in pitch and then stopped , and I told her she was quite…
Neha .V. Kumar
  • 7