

(A note in modern tuning can vary in its exact frequency.) It may be directly analogous to recognizing colours, phonemes (speech sounds) or other categorical perception of sensory stimuli. Absolute pitch is an act of cognition, needing memory of the frequency, a label for the frequency (such as "B-flat"), and exposure to the common range considered a note. In fact, studies indicate that absolute pitch is more a linguistic ability than a musical one. Songbirds and wolves have exhibited the ability. Scientific studies related to absolute pitch Absolute pitch as a difference in cognition, not elementary sensationĪbsolute pitch is not limited to the realm of music, or even to humans. Absolute pitch is also common among those with Williams syndrome.
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However, musical training is necessary for full development of the auditory potential of a person with absolute pitch.Īmong autistics and savants, the incidence of absolute pitch rises to 1 in 20 or higher. Not all people with active absolute pitch are musicians.

Active absolute pitch possessors in the United States number about 1 in every 10,000. Usually, people with active absolute pitch are not only able to identify a note, but can recognize when that note is sharp or flat. Persons with active absolute pitch are able to sing any given note on cue, without prior pitch references. Those with passive absolute pitch are not always capable of singing a given note on command. Some may be able to identify several notes played simultaneously, and therefore identify complex chords. Persons with passive absolute pitch are able to identify individual notes that they hear, and can identify the key of a composition (assuming some degree of musical knowledge). The musicologist Richard Parncutt and the cognitive psychologist Daniel Levitin introduced the following distinctions in their entry on absolute pitch in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Both relative and absolute pitch work together in actual musical listening and practice, although individuals exhibit preferred strategies in using each skill. Individuals may possess both absolute pitch and relative pitch ability in varying degrees.

