Do I have Perfect (Absolute) Pitch or Relative Pitch?
81The Difference Between Perfect Pitch and Relative Pitch
Perfect Pitch is also known as Absolute Pitch. It means that if you ask a person to sing the note A for example, they can produce the pitch with perfect, absolute accuracy without the aid of an instrument. And they can produce any other pitch you may request of them with the same accuracy.
Relative Pitch is knowing where one pitch is, (for example C) and then as a result be able to find any other pitch (such as G flat) based on knowing the distance of the second pitch from C. The difference is that Perfect or Absolute pitch is the ability to produce any pitch name at will, while Relative Pitch is based on generally knowing where one pitch is, and then the ability to find other pitches as a result.
Relative pitch may not include the ability to recall a pitch accurately. It is usually based on having a single pitched played, then being able to find other pitches based on the distance of the first pitch to another. However, there are people who possess Relative Pitch who can recall a pitch (or perhaps some pitches, but not all) and then from there accurately produce other pitches.
Relative Pitch is Generally a Learned Ability
With training, very good Relative Pitch can be learned over time. For some, it may be developed a little easier than it is for others. Usually well developed Relative Pitch can be learned through music lessons and performance opportunities.
Can Perfect Pitch be Learned?
There is some debate as to whether or not learning Perfect or Absolute Pitch is possible. However, most authoritative sources agree that it is generally not a learned ability. It does seem that it can apparently be further refined as music experience and learning intensify. Some people with Perfect Pitch can identify how far sharp or flat any pitch may be, rather than only possessing the ability to identify it.
Recent research in Australia suggests that babies recognize their mother's voices as well as the pitch and timbre. This may mean that many, if not all, could be born with Perfect Pitch, but through disuse, lose it within a few years. This idea is consistent with the how children also learn their native language within the first few years of their lives, and children in multi lingual families seem to be able to switch back and forth between languages without difficulty. However, the ability to learn languages with relative ease seems to be greatly reduced over time.
There is a theory and speculation that Asian children who speak a tonal language, such as Chinese, have a greater propensity to develop Perfect Pitch because of the sensitivity to tone given to words (high, medium or low), which also relates to pitch. As a result, there are studies being conducted to determine if it is true that Perfect Pitch occurs more frequently among these groups than in western groups of children. More information on this subject can be found here.
There are courses which purport teaching Perfect or Absolute Pitch. While these courses can help develop pitch recognition, it does seem doubtful that they can actually teach Perfect Pitch. Beware of such advertisements. Such claims should be accompanied by a money back guarantee. These courses may, however, help to develop and refine other pitch recognition skills associated with Relative Pitch.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Having Perfect Pitch
While there are many items to list on both sides, here are a few of the more important issues in each category—
Advantages:
• help in memorizing music
• help in tuning instruments
• recognize pitches not in tune
• help singers and singing ensembles find a pitch without pitch pipe
Disadvantages:
• difficult when working with out-of-tune instruments or groups.
• ability lies in identifying absolute pitches not in relationships between intervals.
• creates difficulty in transposing music. (Can be overcome by highly developing ability to transpose.)
• difficulty in transposing music while performing. (Again, can be overcome by developing this skill.)
Other advantages and disadvantages also exist and can be found by doing Google searches and reading additional resource material.
Relative Pitch and Perfect Pitch are Both Valuable Musical Abilities
While a small portion of the population possesses Perfect Pitch, and it seems to be highly sought after by many musicians, neither of these abilities should be placed above the other in terms of musical benefit . Both are very beneficial to the world of music, and both are needed. These abilities compliment each other, and thus work harmoniously together. Which ever one you may possess is a benefit for yourself, and the world of music. In simplest terms, one is incomplete without the other.
Additional Resources and Related Articles
Smartwave Software makes a great game aimed at helping people develop their pitch recognition skills. It can be downloaded here.
Other related articles about music and music publishing include: "Learn to Read Music in Ten Minutes," here, "DIY: Publish Your Own Sheet Music," here, "How to Find a Sheet Music Publisher," here, "How to Write Parts for a Transposing Instrument," here, "How to Play Piano with Nine and One Half Fingers," (humor), here, and "A Piano Parable for Christmas," here.
Famous People with Perfect Pitch
Here is complete list of articles and topics by Daniel Carter.
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Interesting reminder of a long ago discussion. My son is a musician and when he was in college we went over the differences between perfect pitch and relative pitch. Good job.
Yes, Aya, I do think that if a person with perfect pitch can remove their reliance on pitch somewhat to include a greater scope of how music is constructed and flows, then it becomes more applicable and useful overall. In most cases. those with perfect pitch have somewhat limited abilities based on their perception of everything being based on pitch and its accuracy. Those with relative pitch actually seem to have greater musical gifts in regard to be able to see how music works and functions, and relationships between not just pitches, but harmonic constructions overall, as well as being able to accept and understand musical interpretation without getting hung up on pitch accuracy.
However, as I mentioned, one really is not without the other. They seem to be interdependent on each other to make music a full, rich experience.
Smireles, thanks for reading!
Dan, I really enjoyed your article and would like to add a few thoughts from personal experience. From what I have always understood, PP is inherited. My grandmother had PP but nobody else in my family does nor any of my children. A person will not know they have perfect pitch unless they have had enough music lessons to read music . . . otherwise they wouldn't be able to identify the names of the pitches. My brother and I started piano lesson when I was 5 and he was 11. When he practiced and played wrong notes, I was always correcting him as I listened from another room. He became very annoyed with me and therefore grew up hating to practice. Can you blame him? My piano teacher discovered my PP at a piano lesson. Having this ability allowed me to learn faster. As I listen, I have a visual image and "see" the notes of the score in my mind. When I attend a concert and a vocalist hits C two octaves above middle C, I silently applaud and therefore feel appreciate their talent more than someone without PP.
Memorizing was also effortless! When my piano teacher assigned me a new tune, I would always ask her to play it for first. She didn't realize that was my lazy way of learning it faster. Once I heard it, I immediately knew how it was supposed to sound so I didn't have to work to learn the notes or rhythms.
Whenever I hear sounds, I identify those with a pitch. . . the doorbell, a musical toy, and any sound that makes a pitch. Hearing people sing off key drives me bananas but I have learned through the years to tune them out. I was once asked to accompany a choir on a very old grand piano on a concert tour. The piano was so old it was not tuned to A440 but rather, 1/2 step lower. As I looked at the music and played notes 1/2 step lower, it threw me into such a frenzy I froze and could not play. When I see music, I also HEAR it in my mind so I was thinking two notes instead of one. Do you get the picture? PP is a blessing but yet a curse at times like this. I hope others will share their experiences and apologize for taking so much space on your blog. I always enjoy your articles. Please keep writing. How about an article for parents: WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO START MUSIC LESSONS FOR MY CHILD?
Kathleen, thanks for your keen insights. Always much appreciated!
I have no idea what the right age to start a child in music lessons!! LOL It varies SO MUCH from child to child! But I'll look into it....
Thanks again!
Very good article. It has been an interesting ride as the child of a parent with Perfect Pitch. I am a singer, and never learned to play the piano. In fact, I really hated practicing because my mom would call out my wrong notes from the kitchen while I practiced. I loved her ability because she could transpose and play anything that I ever needed to sing. I would say that because of her, I learned relative pitch. I always hoped that my pitch would be perfect, but hearing notes and being on key always came naturally to me- without effort. I thought everyone was like this. Now that I have children of my own, that don't sing on key- I realize this is not the case. This can be taught, but it's not as easy for them as it was for me.
Following up on the "age to start music lessons question". We all know it varies from child to child. One thing I have learned, is to let your child play the style and type of music that interests them the most. This sparks the desire to keep on playing. My oldest son is learning to play guitar. Many teachers will only start with classical music on the acoustic guitar. My son wants to play rock on the electric. He is excited to learn because he is playing music that is desirable to him. The same is true for my 13 year old niece. Her desire to play piano took off when she started playing current hits from the radio. I love to hear her play the theme from "The office" of another popular hit. Just my two cents.
Thanks, Heather, for your insights. All of these comments are very helpful and I think will be a great aid to other musicians with questions.
My kids and myself all took to popular music first, then learning classics after, and I can say that this is the best way to keep a child's interest in music in the beginning.
Thanks for your great comments!
I am a friend of Kathy's who directed me to this site. So, tell me, is playing by ear, (the ability to hear a piece then play it as it is heard), perfect pitch? I know a blessed few who do not read a note of music but play better than I do after a 110 years of lessons and playing!
Enjoyed the input...thank you.
Playing by ear can be based on either perfect of relative pitch. I have good relative pitch and have always played by ear. I have a few friends with perfect pitch who also play by ear. Playing by ear means that you are able to hear pitches and harmonic progressions and duplicate them on an instrument (most likely, piano, in this case). The ability to read music or not doesn't effect being able to play by ear. It's an independent skill. In fact, many who can play by ear at a young age often have difficulty reading music, because they rely so heavily on being able to hear and play. That was actually my case when I was young. It took a long time to be able to read music as a result.
this is a very interesting hub and thoroughly done as well. i had no idea that all of this went into a pitch. i guess i just assumed that you open up and let it out. thanks for an interesting read.
This is all very true. I have relative pitch and have always wanted to have been born with perfect pitch! I had a couple friends with perfect pitch that were able to zoom through the ear training and sight-singing classes in college. But, they got very annoyed with instruments playing out of tune and simple things like the doorbell... There's pros and cons to each!
Thanks for reading loveofnight and trose! Also, welcome, trose, to HP and also glad to connect with another musician!
I am an audiologist and the ear/brain connection always fascinates me. I did my thesis on auditory processing and it was interesting how some of the children in my study with an auditory processing disorder might not even be able to hear the difference between two similar pitches. This was an enjoyable read. As a barbershop singer it helps to have what I believe to be relative pitch...but to have absolute pitch...wow...it's just bizarre and mind boggling to me that people can actually visualize where the notes are on the scale. I remember driving in my music director's car two years ago to a singing competition and everything was a 'note' to her...such as the road noise. She would name the note! Maybe she has perfect pitch! Thanks Dan...sure enjoyed this discussion!
Thanks for reading and the great comments, Sherry!
I believe I have 'relative pitch' with a natural 7th (for harmonies.) My father had perfect pitch hearing...he could tune pianos and organs by ear, yet, as he puts it, couldn't sing his way out of a wet paper bag! LOL
Fascinating bits, Enelle! Thanks for reading and your comments.
Excellent Hub. As a music lover I have always wished that I had perfect pitch. My brother had a very clever ear. At age five he listened outside the door of my aunt's music teaching room where she wasd teaching on of her pupils. At the end of the lesson she took the pupil out to meet his parents and when she came back my brother was playing what she had just been teaching! He went on to become a professional musician and could play in many different styles.
Thanks for this very interesting article.
Love and peace
Tony
Thanks for sharing the story, Tony. It's always fascinating to hear about others' rather remarkable talents.
As mentioned in this post, hearing things off-key drives people with PP bananas. I have a solution to that: transpose it in your head, for example think of the music in a different clef or something. Also, teach yourself to play on a transposing keyboard, and stop cringing away from off-key stuff. Once u have done this, you PP will help you transpose things.
Learning the ability to transpose is a terrific skill for any musician, and so your suggestion is well noted, 28lorelei. Thanks for reading.
This article started quite a conversation. I think perfect pitch is still a mystery, but I think it can be learned to some extent. All it is, is pitch memory. If you can associate a pitch strongly with something else, you have the potential to recall the pitch when you hear it again. I wish I had this sort of memory! It would help my playing.
Hub up!
I believe in theory you are correct, daddyjb, but in practice, I don't think it's that easy, or many, many more people would have perfect pitch. Perhaps part of the reason why is because of what we naturally gravitate to. Those who have a great affinity to music will obviously spend more time working on such a skill, while those who don't have such an affinity may not. However, there are still those who effortlessly have the gift for no apparent reason. So I'm not sure how much skill is required in some cases, while developing skills in others will definitely improve one's chances of having perfect pitch.
I have good relative pitch. Not in all cases, but in many I can listen to a piece of music and tell what key it's in. I don't know why. Other times it seems a bit more fleeting.
Thanks for reading and the thumbs up!
Amazing hub here. Like you, I have fairly good relative pitch. Absolute pitch is something I've always wished I had, always thought it would make me a better musician, but now I see it's not everything it's cracked up to be!
Yes, I thought the same thing for a while, but after working with many musicians with perfect pitch, I saw the difficulties of having it as well as the benefits! Thanks for stopping by, BennytheWriter.
It's interesting to know the benefits and difficult of having perfect pitch. My son has perfect pitch while I don't. He is having so much problem with out-of-tune instrument. However, he has no problem in transposing music, maybe he was taught to do so. He was able to do transposition at 5 years old.
Yes, Ingenira, perfect pitch does have it's drawbacks, but as with any gift, it can be a benefit or a curse, depending on how you look at it, and how you are able to work with it. It's very difficult for me to listen to out of tune instruments, and I don't have perfect pitch. But I think the problem is compounded for people who do have it. Thanks for stopping by!
For over half of my life I have taught "Ear Training" to musicians as well as college music majors...and I have never found a better article to discribe the difference between perfect and relative pitch. Marvelous hub! I am sending your hub to most of my students and bookmarking it as well. And, I love "The Musicians by Caravaggio" image. How wonderful to have found you here on hubpages.
Consider me your fan and follower.
Thank you, vocalcoach! So much appreciated, and I appreciate the good referrals as well.
I look forward to getting to know your writings as well!
Aya Katz Level 4 Commenter 2 years ago
Daniel, I found a lot of new information in this hub. I never realized that there could actually be some situations where perfect pitch might be a disadvantage to those people who have that gift. Do you think that when someone with perfect pitch improves his understanding of relative pitch this might affect his ability to tap into perfect pitch?