Download Jennifer Lancaster

An Investigation Into the Nature
of Absolute Pitch
By Jennifer Lancaster
Relative Pitch
• Music has a key and
tonal center
For instance: C major
C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C
• The tonic of this scale is
C
• When this scale is played
or a tone from it is given
as a reference, people
with RP can identify
pitches from it
• This identification is
done through interval
recognition
• Intervals are the
distances between each
of the pitches (see next
slide)
• Music students are
trained in this
Intervals
Absolute Pitch
• Needs no reference
• Remember not to
tones to identify and
confuse this with wellrecall pitches
developed RP or vocal
• Automatic
tension pitch
• Most people are told
• No one really knows
that this is unattainable
where this ability
• Most people are taught
comes from
about disadvantages in
• Four basic theories
having AP
Absolute Pitch Theories
• Heredity- inherited through
genetics
• Imprinting-learned only through a
critical period during
childhood
• Learning-anyone can learn at any time
• Unlearning-all born with potential, but
its “taught” out of us
Sample Survey Questions
1. Do you have a memory for all 12 pitches?
2. Are you confident in your ability to identify them
immediately?
3. How has your case of absolute pitch been
confirmed or documented?
4. What happens in your mind as you recognize a
pitch?
5. Does it take more thinking to place the pitch in
its correct octave?
(questions continued)
6. Do you associate pitch with colors?
7. Are the colors consistent every time?
8. Do the different timbres of instruments throw you
off?
9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of
having absolute pitch?
10. Did you have a piano or keyboard instrument in
your home as a child? Did you play it?
(questions continued)
11. Are there any other people in your family that
claim to have absolute pitch?
12. Do you believe your ability comes from a
memory for different pitch heights/levels, or
from some other quality in pitches that helps you
differentiate between them?
David Burge’s Color Hearing
Approach
• Color hearing does not have anything to do
with synethesia (a rare phenomenon in
which people hear music and see colors)
• Coloring hearing program does not train
through flashing colors in front of subjects’
eyes
Burge suggests that there is
another element to absolute
pitch, beyond the “normal”
way pitches are identified
(tone height)
Color Hearing Program
• Hearing the “deep characteristics” of each
individual pitch
• Some identify F# as twangy or Eb as mellow
• This program was implemented in an Ohio study
that yielded positive results
• First exercise has subjects play chromatic scale
and listening for characteristics of each pitch and
draw a “color” diagram
– This is to cross relate the senses of sight and
sound
As a child, we were taught to
identify colors. The majority of
us know that this is red
& this is
blue.
Why don’t we learn to
identify pitches?
With Burge’s program, one learns
to identify pitches as one might
learn to identify colors.
Challenges In Dealing With AP
In This Experiment
• Eliminating RP cues
– We will use pitches that are all the same
distance apart from each other
– Distractions between test items
• Motivation
– Possible incentives
– Useful skill
Our Experiment
• Small scale (6-10
subjects)
• Learn 6 pitches
• Training run for 2
months
• Pretest and Posttest
• Deep listening
activities
• Describing pitches
• Drills on pitches
• 20 minutes per day
• Subjects have partners