Popularly known as perfect pitch, absolute pitch is the ability to identify and reproduce musical notes without any external reference or guidance. Many geneticists today have hypothesized that this unique ability is found in people who have a certain set of rare ‘music genes’. However, this is not to say that only people with these genes can have the absolute pitch ability. Here is a video of a young boy calling out the notes as his brother plays them on the Piano:
The ability to identify musical notes in a song is very much the same as the ability to identify different colours in a picture. This apparently simple task happens in your brain so naturally as if you are born with it. But, the fact is that you are born with the capacity to learn it and not the ability itself. If you weren’t exposed to early training in the task you would not be able to carry it out today. Perfect pitch ability is the exact same, you are born with the capacity to learn it, but if you do not practice and train early enough you will not be able to use it later.
Picture by Zupao. Source: flickr.com
There is a vast ongoing research called the University of California Genetics of Absolute Pitch Study which is led by Doctor Jane Gitschier. This study which is open to public, consists of two online components: a brief survey and a pitch-naming test through which people with absolute pitch ability will be identified. Those of whom pass the test will be asked to send a blood sample for futher genetic testing. Through this study, Dr. Gitschier and her colleagues have found that many absolute pitch individuals started pitch-traning before the age of seven. This finding supports the fact that the perfect pitch ability can be learned if practice and training begins early in life. However, another interesting finding of this study magnifies the importance of the genetics component in development of this ability. That is, a person with a sibling who has the absolute pitch ability is 15 times more likely to acquire the ability as opposed to an individual who does not have any family background in absolute pitch. Here is a short video summarizing Dr. Gitschier’s study:
Additionally, a new article published by the Journal of Acoustic Society of America states that children speaking tonal languages such as Mandarin and Vietnamese are up to nine times higher chance of developing the absolute pitch ability. This is because in these languages there are words that have different meanings if spoken in different pitches. In Mandarin the word “ma” if spoken in a high pitch means mom, and if in a lower pitch means horse.
Picture by: Zokoy. Source: flickr.com
All in all, Even though One in every 10,000 Americans have a genetic advantage and children with tonal mother languages have a slightly higher chance of learning this ability, you shouldn’t feel discouraged if you are not a part of either group. Many people today are learning the absolute pitch ability by taking the lessons early and practicing everyday.
Ashkan Nasr
