Perfect pitch article says it's genetic

[JimmyM]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070827/hl_nm/gene_pitch_dc

Didn;t want to post the whole article, but in short, these researchers say that perfect pitch, defined as being able to identify a note without a reference pitch to go by, is something people either have or they don't with little or no in-between, so the theory is it's caused by a gene or series of genes.

Unfortunately, they also said that perfect pitch gets less accurate as you age. I can attest to this. I have it, and back in the day, I was the guy who calibrated everyone's turntables to the right speed. Never used a tuner and I was always dead on. But I seem to have a problem now with hearing certain notes, especially C# and D. And last week I wrote a quick chart from a recording without referencing the key, and I wrote it in F but it was in E. That's a major interval for a bassist/guitarist. I notice it's most affected when I'm really tired. So I think they're right about it deteriorating over time.

I don't know if I buy the genetic thing, though. I have nobody in my family history that indicates I would have perfect pitch. And nobody but a cousin in my immediate family has any real musicial ability. My mom might have been a good pianist but she took it too seriously. But it does seem to spring up in people out of nowhere. I never learned how to do it. I thought everyone who played music could do it until I was 17. So maybe it is genetic. Maybe they can come up with a pill that restores it in old farts like me

Know what's weird, though? I've seen people who have no musical ability at all and have terrible voices, yet they seem to have perfect pitch. They can sing a song they know and hit the right key every time. Artie Lange, who's the resident comedian on the Howard Stern show, can do it. He likes to sing AC/DC and Springsteen songs, and he sings them in pitch every time. They even sync'ed his voice by itself singing an old Anne Murray song to the karaoke track, and it was in perfect pitch the whole way through. His voice doesn't have much tone to it, but I think he's got perfect pitch.

So what does this all mean? Hell, I don't know. It's quarter to five in the morning!

[dlloyd]

I don't know about it being genetic... I firmly believe it can be learned. Perhaps there is a genetic predisposition to it, whereby some are able to learn perfect pitch and some aren't?

[Christopher]

Fascinating, captain.

[anon_6j591b0]

When I was in school practicing several hours a day my relative pitch developed to the point I could, through sheer repetition, hear an A 440 with no immediate reference. I was playing quite a bit then with someone with true perfect pitch and I never got close to what she could hear. I believe true perfect pitch is a physical thing that can't be "developed" any more than a color blind person can learn to see the normal visible spectrum of light.

[hbarcat]

After about 10 years of playing bass (perhaps 5,000 hours), I spontaneously developed the ability to reproduce a low 'E' with no reference. From there, I practiced discerning the notes chromatically above that, and now can do the whole octave.

The ability isn't perfect, though. If I'm very tired, or have been drinking, it becomes less accurate and I could be off by as much as a half step..

[Poop-Loops]

Originally Posted by dlloyd

I don't know about it being genetic... I firmly believe it can be learned. Perhaps there is a genetic predisposition to it, whereby some are able to learn perfect pitch and some aren't?

"Firmly believe" and scientific evidence are two very different things.

[jenderfazz]

I'm quite sure that, like most other things, genetics can predispose someone to have perfect pitch, or be completely tone deaf.

If not genetics, maybe it has something to do with a young child's upbringing. We all know how important the first 5 years of a child's life are. Either way, it's definitely one or the other, or a combination of both. It's the only way to explain why there's a huge discrepancy among regular non-musicians in that regard.

That said, the question is whether perfect pitch is ENTIRELY genetic/developed at a young age, or whether it's something you can develop later in life.

I'm convinced that perfect pitch is genetic. Relative pitch can be improved upon, and certain pitches can be nailed through repetition/practice. But I do believe that those with perfect pitch were blessed with a certain genetic predisposition. That explains why certain non-musical people, as you described, can have perfect pitch, but no musical tone to their voice.

Acquired skills have nothing to do with genetics. A particularly musical father can have a musical child if he teaches him and surrounds him with music, but musical skill can't be passed on to a child genetically. Which is why some of the best musicians of all time have come from musical families while others were the first in line.

It's like a football player that comes from a family of famous athletes. It's not like he acquired those football skills through genetics, although his physical prowess is definitely something passed down. Without nurture, he won't amount to much.

[jasonbraatz]

I agree. I've always thought that the ability is genetic, but that you have to also "unlock" it when you're very young.

[lemur821]

That article says no such thing. All it says is that somehow a scientist was convinced of that fact by a web poll, of all things. I'd like to know what this person thinks of its alleged trainability in young children. Probably hasn't even heard of it.

EDIT: I'm being too harsh on the researcher though. I'm sure the journalist got a hefty portion of the article wrong.

[JimmyM]

No, the article did say that. Notice I said it was a theory at this stage.

[geoffkhan]

My brother and I both have perfect pitch (and two relatives a ways back)... so I guess that makes sense then that it's genetic.

[BetterBottomEnd]

You need to differentiate between perfect (absolute) pitch and relative pitch. You are born with perfect pitch. People with perfect will tell you what note the lunch bell is, what note Darth Vader's light saber pulsates at, what frequency the checkout scanner out the supermarket is all without any frame of reference. People with extremely good relative pitch can maybe pull a 440 A out of the air. People with perfect pitch can sometimes "see" a certain note as a color, something out of tune can make them physically nauseas.

Having good relative pitch and absolute pitch are two very different things. Just because you have perfect pitch doesn't mean you have all the reactions that I listed but some people do.

[geoffkhan]

Originally Posted by BetterBottomEnd

People with perfect will tell you what note the lunch bell is, what note Darth Vader's light saber pulsates at, what frequency the checkout scanner out the supermarket is all without any frame of reference.

Hahah, it's so true.

The elevator in the music building at my university is tuned to a 440. How appropriate!

[JimmyM]

Well, I think one thing we can agree on is that perfect pitch means pretty much nothing in the money-making aspect of music. Maybe you can learn songs a little quicker than others, but that's about it.

[dlloyd]

Take the test...

http://perfectpitch.ucsf.edu/pptest_pre.php

[JimmyM]

Phew! I've still got it!

[lemur821]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

No, the article did say that. Notice I said it was a theory at this stage.

Read it again, it says nothing of the kind. It says that one or more genes may or may not be responsible for perfect pitch. I'm inclined to be skeptical, considering the number of researchers who have believed this and failed to prove it.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by lemur821

Read it again, it says nothing of the kind. It says that one or more genes may or may not be responsible for perfect pitch.

That's what's known as a "theory." A theory is an unproven conclusion based on evidence. Just because the word "theory" wasn't used in the article doesn't mean it's not one.

BTW, I agree with you that it probably isn't genetic. Nothing in my family tree would indicate that I would have it, nor in anyone else I know who has it. But please, let's not nitpick the wording to death.