The Perfect Pitch Test

[Manolito Mystiq]

https://perfectpitchtest.com/

I did it several times, today. Just now, I got 12 out of 12, but I might’ve just been lucky.

I tend to recall intros of songs I hear when a given note has been played:

C: The Simpsons Theme (Danny Elfman)
C#/Db: The Winner Takes It All (ABBA)
D: The Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber)
D#/Eb: You’re Still the One (Shania Twain)
E: The Unforgiven (Metallica), Welcome Home (Metallica)
F: Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
F#/Gb: Hotel California (Eagles, The)
G: Mars: Bringer of War (Gustav Holst)
G#/Ab: Somebody to Love (Queen)
A: Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin), Kashmir (Led Zeppelin)
A#/Bb: Legend of Zelda NES (Koji Kondo)
B: Batman Theme (Danny Elfman), Fade to Black (Metallica)

And I might have used some relative pitch skills unconsciously. It’s worth a try, though: Pick your favorite melodies/songs covering the twelve tones. Long, steady, and isolated notes are obviously recommended (intro to The Unforgiven), but combined with countermelodies/harmonies could work as well (at least it does to me with Hotel California). Somebody to Love is not a good example because of Freddie’s glide to the A-flat.

The easiest ones for me are B, C#, E, and C.

EDIT: Just did a fast run, 0 mistakes. I still think I’m cheating a bit. We’ll see how it goes.

[Fiery Winds]

12 out of 12 on relative pitch, 5 out of 12 on perfect pitch.

[BlobVanDam]

I'm a bit rusty, so I only got 11 out of 12 on the first run. Got 12/12 on the next 2 though.
I think Ab is probably the note that tripped me up. Some notes I'm better on than others for some reason. Maybe it's just a matter of how often I'm hearing them. I'll never mess up an "E", for example.

[?]

12/12 on perfect pitch!

[kirksnosehair]

12/12 on the relative pitch test.  I don't have perfect pitch.

[Ħ]

A lot of times, I hear from people that perfect pitch is a genetic gift. After thinking about that for a while, that doesn't make much sense. How could you be born with built-in recognition of a very recent human construct?

[kirksnosehair]

From the Wikipedia page on Absolute Pitch:

Absolute pitch may also be related to certain genes, possibly an dominant genetic though it "might be nothing more than a general human capacity whose expression is strongly biased by the level and type of exposure to music that people experience in a given culture."[17]

[Ħ]

So...basically it's just conjecture whether or not people are genetically predisposed to have perfect pitch. It's not conclusive.

[kirksnosehair]

Is anything really "conclusive" in life? 


I think not 

[Ħ]

No, but this is far from conclusive.

[kirksnosehair]

I think the genetic gift concept explains why some people have it and some people don't.  We're all products of genetics.  Just because the measurement by which we identify tonality is a human construct does not mean that the ability to accurately identify a specific tone without a point of reference isn't a genetically inherited ability.  Conclusive?  No.  But neither is your assertion that it's not genetic.

[Ħ]

I haven't asserted that it's not genetic. All I said was that it wasn't conclusive, and therefore we shouldn't attribute perfect pitch to genetics.


Anyway, I speculate that genetics do play a role, but training, practice, and experience probably play a bigger role. I can't justify it, but that's my hunch.

[kirksnosehair]

I haven't asserted that it's not genetic. All I said was that it wasn't conclusive, and therefore we shouldn't attribute perfect pitch to genetics.


Anyway, I speculate that genetics do play a role, but training, practice, and experience probably play a bigger role. I can't justify it, but that's my hunch.

But that doesn't explain how people who have absolutely zero training practice nor experience are still able to correctly identify a given pitch, every time.

[Ħ]

If you've never had training, you don't know the musical alphabet. So how on earth would you be able to identify a pitch? Some experience is required to learn basic music concepts (such as the musical alphabet and what pitches sound like), so there's no way to test if someone had perfect pitch purely based on their genetics.

Besides, the ratio between the contribution of genetics and experience to perfect pitch may be different for individuals. For example, I've got decent pitch (by laymen's standards) and can identify more common notes. But that took years of learning music theory and learning how to play instruments. It's clearly a skill that can be developed.

[Fiery Winds]

If you've never had training, you don't know the musical alphabet. So how on earth would you be able to identify a pitch? Some experience is required to learn basic music concepts (such as the musical alphabet and what pitches sound like), so there's no way to test if someone had perfect pitch purely based on their genetics.

Besides, the ratio between the contribution of genetics and experience to perfect pitch may be different for individuals. For example, I've got decent pitch (by laymen's standards) and can identify more common notes. But that took years of learning music theory and learning how to play instruments. It's clearly a skill that can be developed.

Pretty easily, actually.  Many people who have/develop perfect pitch relate the sound to something, be it a color, emotion, shape, etc.  If you play a variety of notes, and someone without any musical training whatsoever identifies each note with their own representation, and does so consistently, that person has perfect pitch. 

I haven't studied a lot about this, but I'm inclined to say it's a combination of genetics and training.  Some people are extremely gifted at math because their brain is wired for it from the get go.  Others are just as good at math (or better) because they put in the time and dedication to learn.

[Ħ]

If you've never had training, you don't know the musical alphabet. So how on earth would you be able to identify a pitch? Some experience is required to learn basic music concepts (such as the musical alphabet and what pitches sound like), so there's no way to test if someone had perfect pitch purely based on their genetics.

Besides, the ratio between the contribution of genetics and experience to perfect pitch may be different for individuals. For example, I've got decent pitch (by laymen's standards) and can identify more common notes. But that took years of learning music theory and learning how to play instruments. It's clearly a skill that can be developed.

Pretty easily, actually.  Many people who have/develop perfect pitch relate the sound to something, be it a color, emotion, shape, etc.  If you play a variety of notes, and someone without any musical training whatsoever identifies each note with their own representation, and does so consistently, that person has perfect pitch. 

That makes sense.

[Prog Snob]

If you've never had training, you don't know the musical alphabet. So how on earth would you be able to identify a pitch? Some experience is required to learn basic music concepts (such as the musical alphabet and what pitches sound like), so there's no way to test if someone had perfect pitch purely based on their genetics.

Besides, the ratio between the contribution of genetics and experience to perfect pitch may be different for individuals. For example, I've got decent pitch (by laymen's standards) and can identify more common notes. But that took years of learning music theory and learning how to play instruments. It's clearly a skill that can be developed.

Pretty easily, actually.  Many people who have/develop perfect pitch relate the sound to something, be it a color, emotion, shape, etc.  If you play a variety of notes, and someone without any musical training whatsoever identifies each note with their own representation, and does so consistently, that person has perfect pitch. 

I haven't studied a lot about this, but I'm inclined to say it's a combination of genetics and training.  Some people are extremely gifted at math because their brain is wired for it from the get go.  Others are just as good at math (or better) because they put in the time and dedication to learn.

Sounds like something one would express after listening to David Lucas Burge's Perfect Pitch course.   

[BlobVanDam]

I think Perfect Pitch is definitely genetic. I have had perfect pitch my entire life that I can remember, and I can recall songs I haven't heard in literally 20 years, and still recall them in the correct key from memory. And for as long as I can remember since childhood, the half a semitone pitch difference in movies (if you're in a PAL region like me, that is) has always bugged the crap out of me.
And all of this is from long before I knew what perfect pitch even was, or trained my ear in any way. It wasn't until I was 17 or 18 that I found out that there's a such thing as not being pitch perfect, because I figured everyone was the same as me (my sister has perfect pitch too, and she's never had ear training, so it never seemed out of the ordinary to me). Once I realized it was uncommon, then I decided to train my ear to give it more practical application.

Perfect pitch is not something that needs to be trained to have the ability there and noticeable in every day life. I believe you're either born with it, or you're not. The ear training is just a matter of associating names to notes etc to achieve what most people consider perfect pitch, but even without that training, people with perfect pitch will recall songs in correct key every time, because it's about how the brain stores sound. I think of perfect pitch as being the equivalent of a photographic memory for sound. The brain is just wired differently to most people for storing/recalling sound.

Maybe you can learn note memory to be able to identify notes, but it's not the same as true perfect pitch. Perfect Pitch is not something you use at will, or can turn on/off, or need to train to have it exist.

Sorry for the ramble.

[theseoafs]

I don't have perfect pitch, and I don't think I ever will.  It seems like a strict upper limit in my ability: I just can't associate names with notes, though I have tried. My relative pitch is very good, though.

[mrjazzguitar]

i don't have perfect pitch but got 12/12 on the perfect pitch test first try, just woke up. clearly not an accurate assessment. A real perfect pitch test can only be done in person, and longer phrases and diads, triads and tetrads etc. have to be part of it. That's the stuff perfect pitch people can do without thinking. I can transcribe polyphonic music pretty damn quickly, but the approach and basic ease is different with perfect pitch.

EDIT: I don't want to get into a stupid perfect pitch debate. There has been a ton of research done, but bottom line is when you know people that really have perfect pitch, its another freakin thing than just identifying a pitch out of the blue. Most musicians can do that. Also, perfect pitch is absolutely not directly correlated to musical talent. That would be like saying that someone that can see more color shades will be a more talented artist..   Almost none of the most artistic and creative and truly amazing musicians I know have perfect pitch. Its all the arrangers or film composers and so-so musicians that can copy things quickly or imitate styles or fit roles in a studio session ("sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan for this Pepsi commercial" or "write a soundtrack for this action movie that sounds just like Hanz Zimmer wrote it"). Perfect pitch allows for a very specific skill set that does not necessaritly translate to making good music. That said, there are plenty of beautiful artist musicians that have perfect pitch, of course.

The only reason I felt compelled to write this is that I used to (when I was like 15) wish I had perfect pitch so I had more potential as a musician - I realized pretty soon that of course that was nonsense.

[mrjazzguitar]

https://perfectpitchtest.com/

I did it several times, today. Just now, I got 12 out of 12, but I might’ve just been lucky.

I tend to recall intros of songs I hear when a given note has been played:

C: The Simpsons Theme (Danny Elfman)
C#/Db: The Winner Takes It All (ABBA)
D: The Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber)
D#/Eb: You’re Still the One (Shania Twain)
E: The Unforgiven (Metallica), Welcome Home (Metallica)
F: Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
F#/Gb: Hotel California (Eagles, The)
G: Mars: Bringer of War (Gustav Holst)
G#/Ab: Somebody to Love (Queen)
A: Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin), Kashmir (Led Zeppelin)
A#/Bb: Legend of Zelda NES (Koji Kondo)
B: Batman Theme (Danny Elfman), Fade to Black (Metallica)

And I might have used some relative pitch skills unconsciously. It’s worth a try, though: Pick your favorite melodies/songs covering the twelve tones. Long, steady, and isolated notes are obviously recommended (intro to The Unforgiven), but combined with countermelodies/harmonies could work as well (at least it does to me with Hotel California). Somebody to Love is not a good example because of Freddie’s glide to the A-flat.

The easiest ones for me are B, C#, E, and C.

EDIT: Just did a fast run, 0 mistakes. I still think I’m cheating a bit. We’ll see how it goes.

You don't have perfect pitch. Just a good (excellent) memory. When you're asked what color a green shirt is, do you think "oh that's the same color as Kermit the frog, who I know is green... that means the shirt is green" ??

[Manolito Mystiq]

Yeah, it feels like a buffer of many songs to which I know the key, being able to recall when a relating pitch is given.

Your example describes why in some way I feel it’s different. But then again, it’s more as if I can identify them but don’t have the corresponding names (notes) aligned, rather things that use them.

But that would be the same for someone who has perfect pitch, but knows no theory. She or he knows this note is higher than that, or: it's that white key in between the group of two black keys (D).

My family came along and tested me on the piano to which I made 2 mistakes out of 20.

Useful or not, my approach of writing down music has changed. I trust my ears more.
Hearing chords with this approach (perfect pitch or not) is for sure different. I can cancel out the sound of the chord itself and hear three pitches separately. Difficult to describe. I don’t mean that what you do with solfège.

It’s quite like playing a D major triad and while letting it ring, playing a C major triad under it a little later. It doesn’t sound the same as playing them at the same time, creating a C major 13 chord. But this I can ‘do’ with any chord.

[PuffyPat]

After a few years without any type of ear training, I'll take a 7/12 (relative) any day. I was never good with intervals anyways, so I take that as a win for me.

[RoeDent]

12/12 on both.

[rumborak]

I have pretty good interval recognition, but in terms of absolute pitch I'm pretty bad. I think it's partially because I trained myself to be so; my inherent like for weird key changes would probably screw me if I always viewed pitches through an unchanging raster.

[Kotowboy]

1 out of 12 on perfect Pitch

  FUCK YEAH

[Kotowboy]

8 out of 12 on relative pitch.

I *still* get major seconds and thirds confused. They're too close together

[Cruithne]

12/12 on the relative pitch - if I got anything less I'd be concerned for the people who have to sit near me at the local choral society! However, I know fine well I don't have perfect pitch so there's really no point me trying that!

I might be able to manage a good perfect pitch score if I'd just been listening to something that I knew the key of so I had a reference pitch to start from but it would be gaming the test rather than giving a true representation of my lack of perfect pitch.

It'd be interesting to find out how many of the (70 ish) people at my choral society have perfect pitch - very few, I think. I know the lead tenor doesn't and he's a phenomenally good singer.

[weezul]

12/12 on perfect pitch. However, I wouldn't say I have perfect pitch, just a great pitch memory, and then pretty damn near-perfect relative pitch. If you're sure you have the first note right, the rest are a doddle. My first note was Eb, and I figured it out by playing back Pull Me Under in my mind. Just think of that unmistakeable guitar tone and your reference is there.

[weezul]

the half a semitone pitch difference in movies (if you're in a PAL region like me, that is) has always bugged the crap out of me.

I know of no worse pain. It kills me every time

[jsem]

i don't have perfect pitch but got 12/12 on the perfect pitch test first try, just woke up. clearly not an accurate assessment. A real perfect pitch test can only be done in person, and longer phrases and diads, triads and tetrads etc. have to be part of it. That's the stuff perfect pitch people can do without thinking. I can transcribe polyphonic music pretty damn quickly, but the approach and basic ease is different with perfect pitch.

EDIT: I don't want to get into a stupid perfect pitch debate. There has been a ton of research done, but bottom line is when you know people that really have perfect pitch, its another freakin thing than just identifying a pitch out of the blue. Most musicians can do that. Also, perfect pitch is absolutely not directly correlated to musical talent. That would be like saying that someone that can see more color shades will be a more talented artist..   Almost none of the most artistic and creative and truly amazing musicians I know have perfect pitch. Its all the arrangers or film composers and so-so musicians that can copy things quickly or imitate styles or fit roles in a studio session ("sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan for this Pepsi commercial" or "write a soundtrack for this action movie that sounds just like Hanz Zimmer wrote it"). Perfect pitch allows for a very specific skill set that does not necessaritly translate to making good music. That said, there are plenty of beautiful artist musicians that have perfect pitch, of course.

The only reason I felt compelled to write this is that I used to (when I was like 15) wish I had perfect pitch so I had more potential as a musician - I realized pretty soon that of course that was nonsense.

Very well said.

[Magikernandy]

Perfect pitch is a bit overrated and not as perfect as most people  think since the western 12-tone scale isn´t perfectly in tune it´s full of aproximations. There are countless of microtones as well, you can hear them in some Indian music etc.

Good relative pitch and  a very good timing is a lot more important to have as a musician.

[Kotowboy]

Yeah my music teacher once tried to explain to me the difference between G# and Ab.

Even using a strobe tuner to explain it. Went over my head a bit

[Lucien]

My computer won't let me play the sounds, but from what it looks like I know I'll get 12/12. Having played the upright bass for 6 years, I know exactly what G, D, A, and E sound like, and I use those 4 notes as reference to find any others.


So I have acquired perfect pitch? 

[BlobVanDam]

My computer won't let me play the sounds, but from what it looks like I know I'll get 12/12. Having played the upright bass for 6 years, I know exactly what G, D, A, and E sound like, and I use those 4 notes as reference to find any others.


So I have acquired perfect pitch? 

You can't acquire true perfect pitch, but you might just have perfect pitch, and have memorized those particular notes. Or maybe you just have a well trained pitch memory.