To those who don’t have the ability, perfect pitch can almost feel like magic. The power to sing a middle C at will, to name the notes in a chord, and even to figure out the pitch of a smoke alarm are all impressive to the vast majority of people without perfect pitch. But, for those with the ability, it’s as simple as telling whether a sweater is green or yellow. Perfect pitch (technically referred to as absolute pitch), is the ability to name or produce a pitch without reference to any other pitches or notation. It’s a rare ability, thought to occur in less than .01% of people, but the prevalence is much higher in musicians, with some estimates as high as 4%.  

It may seem like luck of the draw whether you have perfect pitch or not, but in fact, these studies of prevalence point to a crucial fact: perfect pitch depends on musical training. More than that, studies of musicians’ development indicate that early training is key. Most people with perfect pitch began training at a very early age, often at age 5 or before. In contrast, almost nobody who starts music lessons after age 9 will go on to develop the ability.  

Some studies have looked for a genetic component of perfect pitch. The findings show some evidence that perfect pitch may run in families, but even here, the role of early training cannot be ignored. Other studies have taken the opposite approach and tried to train perfect pitch in adults. While there was some evidence that some highly trained musicians could improve in pitch naming, the effects of intensive training were marginal at best, and never led to the kind of fluent pitch naming that we would typically associate with perfect pitch. 

The result of all this research is that developing perfect pitch requires a combination of early training and natural predisposition. Early music training will help, but not guarantee, perfect pitch development. Interestingly, the type of music training can even have an impact on a musician’s perfect pitch later in life. Sounds that a musician grows up with will become easier to identify than less-familiar ones. For example, a violinist might find it easier to name pitches on the violin than the clarinet, and there are even reports of people finding pitch identification easier on their own personal piano than an unfamiliar piano.  

Some of these effects even go beyond personal idiosyncrasies.For example, most people with perfect pitch find it a bit easier to name notes that are played on a piano’s white keys than sharps or flats, and it tends to be easier to name notes played in the middle register, rather than very high or low notes. This is because more music and more training occurs in that register in those keys. Thus, developing musicians gain more experience with those pitches, strengthening associations and implicitly practicing these particular pitch identification skills. 

Taken together, we can see that perfect pitch is yet another case where early music training can lead to big effects. And while it is certainly not a requirement for musical expertise or high-level ability, it is a useful skill that is dependent on early music experience that can carry on throughout a musician’s lifetime.