Introduction
When you are shown a color, for example, the one in the image below, I’m sure you have no trouble recognizing the name of the color. In this case, the name would be red. Our brains have little to no trouble recognizing different light waves and associating what we see with the name of a color. Although color is to do with light waves, this recognition skill is very similar to how perfect pitch, or absolute pitch, works, except instead of light waves, the brain is able to recognize and name sound waves. What exactly is perfect pitch and is it a skill you can train?
What is Perfect Pitch?
Perfect pitch, or absolute pitch, is a rare, but sought after skill by musicians, with Diana Deutsch stating 1 in 10,000 people have it. Absolute pitch is often described as the ability to recognize and name a note at random, without being provided a reference pitch. Some well known musicians that had perfect pitch include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Jimi Hendrix.
However, perfect pitch is not a fixed trait and is considered to be more of a spectrum. In Calum Moulton’s article, “Perfect Pitch Reconsidered,” he states perfect pitch should be considered more of a spectrum where some users can recognize notes without recent exposure to music, while others can only recognize notes on a familiar instrument. This is important because it shows there are many layers to perfect pitch.
Another similar skill is called relative pitch. Relative pitch is a common and easily trainable skill by musicians. Relative pitch is the ability to name the distance or relationship between two notes, even if the names of the notes themselves are unknown to the listener.
Theories
There are two main theories regarding which environmental and genetic factors play a role in the development of perfect pitch. The two of which being the “critical period” theory and the “skill acquisition theory”.
The “critical period” theory suggests that perfect pitch can only be developed if someone receives musical training during the “critical period.” A study done at Queens University, “Learning the Special Note,” defined the “critical period” to be around ages 5-6, as during their study, children of ages 5-6 were able to surpass the accuracy in pitch definition shown by adults and children 3-4 years old.
The “skill acquisition theory” suggests that perfect pitch is an auditory skill that can be developed and shaped by short and long term training and effort. Because this theory suggests perfect pitch is an auditory skill, many researchers believe that an individual’s ability to develop absolute pitch depends on their auditory working memory and their frequency following response (or FFR).
Auditory working memory is your brain’s ability to store and process the things you hear, in the short term.
The FFR is a brainwave created after an auditory stimulus that shows how your brain processes the pitch, timing, and tone of sound. By monitoring this signal, scientists are able to record, analyze, and reflect how your brain interpreted the sound.
How can Someone Develop Perfect Pitch?
This is a question scientists are still debating today and is based on the two theories described above. However, as science research advances, so do our possible answers to this question.
In Calum Moulton’s paper, “Perfect Pitch Reconsidered,” he considers early musical training to be a necessity when it comes to perfect pitch. Even though this article was written in 2014, nothing since then appears to contradict it.
In 2019, a study by Stephen C. Van Hedger, Shannon L. M. Heald, and Howard C. Nusbaum put 6 adult non-perfect pitch possessors through training to see if they would be able to train perfect pitch.
While most of the adults improved during training but did not pass the threshold to be considered a perfect-pitch possessor, two adults were able to cross the line after training, and successfully developed perfect pitch. This study showed that the critical period theory might not be accurate, but prior music training might still be necessary considering both adults that were able to train perfect pitch had been given musical training in the past.
A study done at the University of Chicago, “Auditory working memory predicts individual differences in absolute pitch learning” showed there was a significant relationship found between auditory working memory and pitch recognition learning. This is because auditory working memory allows your brain to remember the sound it heard long enough for your brain to compare that sound with other pitches, allowing you to recognize and maybe even name the note you heard.
So, someone’s auditory working memory might be a more determining factor in perfect pitch development than the age the training was done at.
How Fixed is Perfect Pitch?
One study changed how scientists viewed perfect pitch itself. Two UChicago graduate students, Shannon Heald and Stephen Hedger showed that individuals with perfect pitch can be “tricked” into thinking a song is in tune, by gradually decreasing the pitch. This demonstrates that perfect pitch is not a rock hard trait and can be shaped or trained, which goes against how perfect pitch was viewed in the past.
Another important factor to note is timbre (pronounced TAM-ber). Timbre is the tone of a sound that changes based on the instrument the sound was played from. A study done at the University of Chicago, “Individual differences in human frequency-following response predict pitch labeling ability,” showed individuals with perfect pitch were about 24% more accurate identifying notes when the sound came from a piano, versus a sine tone. A sine tone (or pure tone) is the simplest form of a frequency and unlike musical instruments, contains no other frequencies or harmonics.
Katherine Reis, a doctoral student involved in the study, believed that this means experience is most likely involved in pitch recognition, since people with perfect pitch were less successful when the notes were produced in an unfamiliar way.
Both timbre and the ability to “re-tune” someone’s pitch recognition shows perfect pitch is not a rigid trait. If perfect pitch is a trait that can be shaped it opens the door to more possibilities with perfect pitch, including the capability to train the skill.
What kind of Musical Training Matters?
When researching, this was not one of my focus points, so the information I have in this area is very limited. However, I saw two things pop up and thought they were worth mentioning.
In Calum Moulton’s article, he brings up “fixed-do” and “moveable-do” training methods. Both of these methods have a specific rule for what note do would represent in solfege. Solfege is a system that assigns a symbol to each note in a scale. Essentially “fixed-do” methods like the Yamaha Method were more likely for the child to develop perfect pitch, as do always represented the same pitch. When using “moveable-do” training methods such as the Suzuki method, children were more likely to develop relative pitch, as do could represent any note.
The other thing to note is tonal language. Many of the sources I used brought up tonal language to have an impact on perfect pitch. In tonal language the pitch of your words can change the meaning, which requires the brain to process the auditory input in a way similar to that of perfect pitch.
Where do Scientists Land Today?
Many scientists have landed in different places and theories regarding perfect pitch. One perspective I specifically want to bring up was Howard Nusbaum. He was involved with many studies done at the University of Chicago and was involved in auditory learning for many years.
In “What is Perfect Pitch,” an article on UChicago News, Nusbaum believed that a person’s ability to develop perfect pitch may be a combination of their musical training and ability to use their auditory working memory and perceptual attention. (Perceptual attention is the brain’s ability to process large amounts of sensory information, including sound). For example, while some people were able to memorize notes over an eight-week period to a very similar level of those who naturally had perfect pitch, others were not.
Conclusion
Perfect pitch is a malleable spectrum of skills. While studies have proven that the “critical period” theory might not be accurate and adults can learn perfect pitch, there still seems to be reliance on your brain’s auditory working memory and FFR. So, while it is possible to train perfect pitch at any age it does not mean everyone will be able to train perfect pitch.
This information changes the way I look at perfect pitch. It seems the trait might not be reliant on the “luck of the draw,” and if you try, you have a good chance at developing some of the skill. For me, it opens up the world of possibilities made easier with perfect pitch, playing more effectively by ear, composing music while being able to hear the notes in my head, and so much more. Even if I’m never able to train this skill, the new opportunities mean it might just be worth a shot.
What Do You Think?
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and while I have shared mine, that doesn’t mean yours has to be the same. I have tried my best to include a variety of un-biased information however I am not perfect nor am I an expert, so I am limited in what kind of information I can include.
The sources I used to create this post are linked below so feel free to use this blog, those sources, or anything else you find to come up with your own detailed answer to the question, “What is Perfect Pitch, and is it Trainable?”
Sources
1. Witynski, Max. “Perfect Pitch, Explained.” UChicago News, University of Chicago, news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-is-perfect-pitch.
https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-is-perfect-pitch
2. Witynski, Max. “Why Can’t We Identify Music Notes as Well as We Do Colors? A Perfect Pitch Study Offers Clues.” UChicago News, University of Chicago, 30 Aug. 2021, news.uchicago.edu/story/why-cant-we-identify-music-notes-well-colors-perfect-pitch-study-offers-clues.
3. “Frequency-Following Response.” ScienceDirect Topics, Elsevier, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/frequency-following-response.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/frequency-following-response
4. Moulton, Calum. “Perfect Pitch Reconsidered.” Clinical Medicine, vol. 14, no. 5, Oct. 2014, pp. 517–519.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470211824023893
5. Deutsch, Diana. “Absolute Pitch.” The Psychology of Music, 3rd ed., edited by Diana Deutsch, Academic Press, 2013, pp. 141–182.
6. Van Hedger, Stephen C., et al. “Absolute Pitch Can Be Learned by Some Adults.” PLOS ONE, vol. 14, no. 9, 2019, e0223047.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0223047#sec001
7. Russo, Frank A., et al. “Learning the ‘Special Note’: Evidence for a Critical Period for Absolute Pitch Acquisition.” Music Perception, vol. 21, no. 1, 2003, pp. 119–127.
8. Van Hedger, Stephen C., et al. “Auditory Working Memory Predicts Individual Differences in Absolute Pitch Learning.” Cognition, vol. 140, 2015, pp. 95–110.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010027715000621?via%3Dihub#section-snippets
9. Reis, Katherine S., et al. “Individual Differences in Human Frequency-Following Response Predict Pitch Labeling Ability.” Scientific Reports, vol. 11, 2021, article no. 14290.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-93312-7
10. Schulze, Katrin, and Barbara Tillmann. “Working Memory for Pitch, Timbre, and Words.” Memory, vol. 21, no. 3, 2013, pp. 377–395.