Absolute pitch: Music and beyond

“Perfect pitch,” known in the scientific literature as “absolute pitch” (AP), is a rare phenomenon that has fascinated musicians and scientists alike for over a century. There has been a great deal of conflict in the literature between advocates of the two main theories on the etiology of AP: some believe that AP is learned early in life through intensive musical training, whereas others believe AP to be largely innate. Both theories are alike, however, in considering AP to be exclusively a musical phenomenon. We propose a paradigm shift by presenting here a new model of AP, one that is predicated on two principles: (1) that AP may be relatively independent of musical experience; and (2) that there are different types of AP, each of which can be ascribed to discrete neurobiological mechanisms. We also review data from a diverse series of experiments that were designed to test explicitly both the predictions of our model and a series of historical myths about AP. In each case, the data strongly support our model. We conclude with a general discussion on the nature of AP, the relevance of these findings for other areas of research, and future directions of study.