Absolute pitch has always been considered a unique ability, available only to those who were lucky enough to be born with it or develop it in early childhood. But what if this is not entirely true? As IZ reports with reference to SciTechDaily, a new study by scientists from the University of Surrey proves that absolute pitch can be obtained at any age. The scientists conducted an experiment in which twelve musicians participated, and for eight weeks they underwent special training. The course was designed to eliminate the use of relative pitch and force the brain to focus exclusively on recognizing pure notes.
The results of the study were a real discovery. On average, the participants were able to identify seven notes with 90% accuracy, and two of them reached the level of perfect recognition of all twelve notes. This overturns the traditional idea that absolute pitch is a rare gift. It turns out that the right approach to training can change even what was considered an innate feature. Researchers are convinced that this ability develops in the same way as any other cognitive skill. So absolute pitch is not a genetic privilege, but the result of hard work and training.
This news was a real breakthrough for musicians. Many believed that if you did not get absolute pitch in childhood, it was already too late. But this study proves the opposite: the right technique allows you to learn to perceive sound with absolute accuracy. In the future, such programs can be used not only for musicians, but also for anyone who wants to better understand music, work with sound, or even develop their hearing for other areas of activity.
Scientists have debunked one of the most common myths in the music world. Perfect pitch is not an exceptional feature available only to the chosen ones, but a skill that can be acquired. This opens up new horizons for those who have always dreamed of hearing music perfectly, but believed that they did not have a natural gift for this. As the study showed, the capabilities of the human brain are much broader than we thought.
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