What Is Absolute Pitch?

Absolute pitch, also known as perfect pitch, is described here as a rare, innate ability. Nail Yavuzoğlu defines it as perceiving sounds with the brain rather than the ear. In his explanation, the ear takes 440 Hz as a reference, and a differentiating region in the cochlea separates sound into components before sending them through the auditory system. This is attributed to a frequency map in the brain, with neighbouring cells sensitive to successive frequencies.

Many people have abilities resembling aspects of absolute pitch. Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis, director of the Music Cognition Laboratory at the University of Arkansas, cites a prevalence of one in 10,000. In a 2015 Aeon article, however, she noted research suggesting that the other 9,999 people may also possess fragments of this ability.

Minanur Balcan
Rekor Sanat – Singing Teacher