IS ABSOLUTE PITCH A SPECIAL ABILITY OR SOMETHING WE ALL HAVE? A REVIEW BASED ON GENETIC, NEUROSCIENTIFIC AND EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGICAL FINDINGS

Abstract

Absolute pitch (AP), the ability to identify and produce musical pitches without a reference point, is extremely rare and is considered to be a special ability. Although research has focused on this topic for decades, there is no consensus about why AP only occurs in 1 out of 10.000 individuals and how it is acquired. Therefore, the present article aims to review and reconcile the previous findings in order to understand the potential contribution of training and genetics in AP acquisition. Based on experimental psychological and genetic findings, it is concluded that although some components of AP are implicit and exist in the general population, both early musical training and genetic factors are crucial for AP development. This conclusion is supported by neuroscientific findings that provide evidence for differences in activations in specific brain areas between AP possessors and non-possessors.

Keywords

• absolute pitch
• musical training
• pitch memory
• pitch labelling
• relative pitch