37th Annual Student Research Conference
The Science of Perfect Pitch: Combining Genetics, Neuroscience, and Musical Training
Trenton Kiesling
Dr. Charles Gran, Faculty Mentor
Absolute pitch (AP), referred to more-commonly as perfect pitch, is defined as the ability to recognize and correctly assign a pitch label to a designated tone without an external reference. Historically, the ability has been perceived as largely due to genetic factors and musical training within a critical period during a person’ childhood, however more recent studies have leaned towards the fact the ability might be able to be a learned ability. In this paper I examine the potential genetic and psychological aspects of the ability, including through the use of neuroimaging with regard to the latter aspect, and examine training methods that could be used for the most efficient training of AP (or relative pitch if perfect pitch is determined to be unattainable).
Keywords: Perfect pitch, Absolute pitch
Topic(s):Music
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 101-1
Location: SUB Alumni Room
Time: 9:15