Archives, Episode 88: Absolute or Perfect Pitch

This is an episode that is near and dear to my heart. Absolute Pitch (sometimes inaccurately called ‘perfect’ pitch) is something I had, then lost. And its something that people who don’t have it can never understand. When you have it, it seems as ‘normal’ as being able to identify the colour of your socks….and it’s a mystery why others aren’t able to do that.

In this episode I talk about my own experience. But it’s mostly about various musicians who have or had it, and how it affected them. And, like all my episodes, I play recordings by some of these musicians.

Only about one in 10,000 people are said to have it…..and it’s generally considered something you are born with….or at least learned at a very early age. It’s not something you can learn to have as an adult—despite certain online courses that claim to teach absolute pitch.

It’s very different from relative pitch—which we need to learn (even if you have absolute pitch). I talk about that difference.

Next week my summer reruns will end and I’ll begin posting new episodes for the 2021-2022 season.