Ear training / relative vs absolute pitch
Relative pitch vs absolute pitch: what the difference actually is
Absolute pitch (also called perfect pitch) is the ability to name a played note without any reference tone. Relative pitch is the ability to name an interval or a scale degree given a reference. Most working musicians rely on relative pitch. The two skills are different and neither is what most listeners assume.
The public conversation about pitch is confused. Some people think absolute pitch is a rare gift only some people can have. Some people think relative pitch is a lesser version of the same skill. Neither is quite right.
Absolute pitch: what it is
A player with absolute pitch hears a note in isolation and names it. No reference required. More common in players who began training before age six, and in speakers of tonal languages. Adult acquisition is disputed; studies show small gains, not full acquisition.
Relative pitch: what it is
A player with relative pitch hears a reference tone, then names intervals from it. Given a C, they identify a perfect fifth up as G, a major third up as E. This is the skill that lets a musician transcribe, transpose, or improvise over changes without reading.
What working musicians actually use
Relative pitch, almost universally. A jazz musician improvising over changes derives the scale from the current chord by ear. Even musicians with absolute pitch use relative pitch for real work, because musical thinking is about intervals and scale degrees.
Karpinski’s ear-training curriculum builds relative pitch systematically over four semesters, with interval identification in the first semester and full harmonic dictation by the fourth. He notes that even students with absolute pitch benefit from relative-pitch training, because absolute pitch alone does not automate the perception of interval, function, or scale degree. Absolute pitch and relative pitch are different skills that overlap only partially.
Karpinski, Manual for Ear Training and Sight Singing, 2nd ed, preface.
Can adults train absolute pitch?
Probably not to the full form. Studies show adults can learn a small set of frequently used pitches with training, but rarely across the chromatic scale reliably. Better use of the same time: relative pitch.
Train relative pitch, five minutes a day
Use the free ear trainer. Start with the beginner interval set (perfect fifth, perfect fourth, major and minor third, octave). Ten minutes a day. See the interval training essay for the anchor-song system.
Reality check
Strong relative pitch, no absolute: transpose, improvise, transcribe, sight-sing. Absolute pitch, weak relative: none of those reliably. Pick relative.
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