Absolute or perfect pitch allows some musicians to identify a note without reference. Said to have been one of Mozart’s precocious talents, it has long been considered a faculty reserved for those who received musical training from childhood.
Now, a new British study published in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review calls this into question: researchers at the University of Surrey claim this skill can be acquired in adulthood through intensive training.
To test this hypothesis, they followed 12 musicians from various backgrounds through an eight-week programme. Unlike traditional methods that focus on specific pitch heights, their approach aimed to develop the perception of pitch classes, a key element in the development of absolute pitch.
To avoid any unconscious aid from comparison with other sounds, the participants had to rely solely on their internal perception. In addition, each exercise had to be completed several times to ensure the reliability of the results and exclude any accidental success.
The results are striking: while perfect pitch is often perceived as unattainable in adulthood, the participants showed remarkable progress. On average, they were able to identify seven musical pitches with an accuracy of at least 90%.
Meanwhile, two of them reached a level comparable to that of those rare individuals naturally gifted with this ability: they managed to quickly and accurately recognise all 12 notes of the chromatic scale.
Still a mysterious talent
For study co-author Yetta Wong, these discoveries are a breakthrough. “Our findings provide compelling evidence that perfect pitch is not limited to a select few. With focused training, adults can acquire this remarkable skill, much like how they learn other complex cognitive skills.”
Her colleague, Alan Wong, shares her enthusiasm, saying this research “has significant implications for our understanding of musical cognition and learning, and opens doors for musicians of all ages to explore and develop their musicality to its fullest potential”.
These discoveries could well revolutionise musical training, but many grey areas remain. There is no guarantee that rigorous training will be enough to systematically develop perfect pitch, and it remains impossible to accurately assess the proportion of the population that has it, even among musicians.
This debate as to whether it’s innate or can be acquired, therefore, continues to fuel scientific reflection. While absolute pitch was once attributed to the inner ear, it is now more commonly associated with the cerebral cortex.
Some researchers have even suggested the existence of a specific gene, while others, such as Yetta and Alan, are working to demonstrate that learning can induce its development.
One thing is certain: perfect pitch remains a fascinating subject that challenges scientific certainties. While this study suggests it is not strictly innate, it does not yet allow us to understand all the mechanisms involved.
Indeed, musical perception does indeed seem to be adaptable, but how far can this really go? The line between predisposition and acquisition remains blurred, and much research is still needed to unravel the mysteries of this extraordinary ability.