Absolute pitch: blessing or curse?

What is it about?

Absolute pitch (AP) is an interdisciplinary phenomenon that has been the subject of re-search in the field of genetics, neuroscience, musicology, and psychology. Individuals with AP are able to identify the pitch of an isolated sound (passive AP) or to produce that sound (active AP) without a reference point. The aim of the authors is to give a literature review on AP, with special regard to psychological and Hungarian aspects. The phenomenon of AP was already known in the 18th century, but it was only in the last decades of the 19th century that it became the focus of research. Relatively small number of epidemiological studies have been carried out on AP. On the basis of study results, AP is very rare, its prevalence is given over a wide range, between 0.01 and 1% in the general population, and between 3.4 and 20% among trained musicians. AP is more prevalent among blind persons, Asian musicians, and those with autism spectrum disorder. Several forms of AP are distinguished, the relationship between AP and relative pitch is under the scope of studies. Implicit AP is a remarkable phenomenon. The cause of AP and the process of its development have not yet been explored, however, the interaction of genetic, environmental and neural factors seems to be crucial. There are strong evidences for the role of genetic factors and early music training. Neural correlates of AP, structural and functional differences in the nervous system of people with and without AP have been demonstrated, and the performances of these groups in musical tasks also differ. Keywords: absolute pitch, methods, prevalence, environmental and genetic factors, neural correlates

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