Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hplabsz!marvit From: marvit@hplpm.hpl.hp.com (Peter Marvit) Newsgroups: comp.music Subject: Re: learning perfect pitch Message-ID: Date: 1 Dec 89 13:33:10 GMT References: : <2698@dciem.dciem.dnd.ca> Sender: news@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM Followup-To: comp.music Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Palo Alto, CA Lines: 16 In-reply-to: king@dciem.dciem.dnd.ca's message of 30 Nov 89 14:21:01 GMT Well, just a single data point, but I was part of a psychological/musical experiment a few years ago testing the hypothesis that absolute pitch could be learned. The results were mixed. All subjects were trained on a single note, rather than all 12. At the end of the period (3 months?) most people could accurately recognize or produce their pitch (mine was C), though not with 100% accuracy. A follow-up a year later showed that the "learned" ability was substantially lost. For a nice overview, look in "Psychology of Music", Diana Deutsch editor. There is a chapter reviewing absolute pitch literature. I cannot find my copy at the moment,. or I would offer more than anecdotal information. -Peter "I need absolute sales pitch" Marvit HP Labs Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com