Is it impossible to acquire absolute pitch in adulthood?

Area of Science:

• Auditory Neuroscience
• Music Cognition
• Perceptual Learning

Background:

• Absolute pitch (AP) is the rare ability to identify musical notes without external reference.
• It is widely believed that AP can only be acquired during a critical developmental period in childhood, requiring specific genetic predispositions and early musical training.
• Previous research has been limited by small sample sizes and insufficient training durations, failing to adequately test the potential for adult AP acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether adults can acquire absolute pitch (AP) through intensive, personalized training.
• To challenge the prevailing notion that AP acquisition is impossible in adulthood.
• To explore the characteristics of AP learning in adults and compare it to established AP possessors.

Main Methods:

• Three experiments were conducted involving adults undergoing a computerized, gamified training protocol.
• Training duration varied from 12 to 40 hours, gradually increasing the number of pitches from three to twelve.
• Training encompassed diverse octaves, timbres, and environments (laboratory and non-laboratory settings).

Main Results:

• AP learning in adults exhibited characteristics of perceptual learning, including stimulus-dependent generalization.
• Improvements in pitch naming accuracy were sustained for at least one to three months post-training.
• 14% of participants achieved accuracy comparable to 'AP possessors' after training on twelve pitches.

Conclusions:

• Absolute pitch (AP) is learnable in adulthood, contradicting the necessity of early-life critical periods and rare genetic factors.
• These findings necessitate a re-evaluation of the role of learning in AP development.
• Further research is needed to differentiate between aspects of AP trainable in adulthood and those potentially unique to exceptional, early-acquired AP.