The age-old question of whether adults can develop perfect pitch, the ability to identify musical notes without a reference tone, has been a topic of much debate. While it was once believed to be an innate skill acquired only during childhood, recent research suggests that developing perfect pitch as an adult may be possible, albeit with some caveats.
Historically, the prevailing theory posited that a “critical period” in early childhood dictated the acquisition of perfect pitch. This theory suggested that only children exposed to musical training during this period or possessing specific genetic predispositions could develop this ability. Adults, it was thought, were beyond this developmental window.
However, a 2013 study challenged this notion, suggesting that the drug valproate could potentially reopen this critical period, enabling some adults to learn perfect pitch through training. Further research conducted at the University of Chicago by Professor Howard Nusbaum and his team provided even more compelling evidence. Their study demonstrated that even without pharmaceutical intervention, some adults could learn to identify musical notes with brief training, retaining this ability for months and demonstrating improved accuracy compared to their pre-training performance.
While achieving the same level of accuracy as individuals who have possessed perfect pitch throughout their lives might be challenging for most adults, Professor Nusbaum’s research indicates that this skill is more malleable than previously believed. Perfect pitch appears to be linked to auditory working memory, the capacity to retain and interpret sounds like musical notes.
Interestingly, research by Van Hedger, Heald, and Nusbaum also revealed that even individuals with established perfect pitch can be influenced. By gradually detuning a musical piece over several minutes, they were able to “trick” participants with perfect pitch into perceiving out-of-tune music as in tune.
Furthermore, linguistic background and prior musical experience may play a role in an individual’s ability to identify musical notes and their likelihood of developing perfect pitch. Speakers of tonal languages, such as Mandarin, where word meanings change based on pitch, might have a higher predisposition to developing this ability. Early exposure to musical instruments also appears to be a contributing factor.
According to recent research from Nusbaum’s lab, led by doctoral student Katherine Reis, the “frequency following response” (FFR), a brain response measuring the ability to process and categorize sounds, is the strongest predictor of perfect pitch.
Crucially, the FFR is not fixed. Both individuals with and without perfect pitch can improve their FFR through practice. The observation that individuals perform better at identifying notes played on a piano compared to computer-generated sounds highlights the importance of familiarity with instrumental timbres. This suggests that while inherent aptitude may play a role, consistent training and exposure to real-world musical sounds are essential for developing and refining the ability to identify musical notes accurately. Therefore, while the path to perfect pitch as an adult may be challenging, it’s not necessarily out of reach.
