A Cross-sectional Investigation of Elementary School Children's Absolute Pitch Identification Abilities

Abstract

A cross-sectional investigation of elementary school children's absolute pitch identification abilities was conducted. 462 elementary school children were examined with real tone tests and a questionnaire. The following results were obtained: (1) 3% of participants possessed absolute pitch and 8% showed considerable absolute pitch identification ability; (2) participants with higher absolute pitch abilities identified pitches correctly regardless of key color or pitch range, whereas those with lower abilities had difficulty in identifying black key pitches or pitches out of the middle octave range; (3) a positive correlation was found between years of musical training and the level of absolute pitch ability, although the relation between the beginning of musical training and the level of absolute pitch was unclear; (4) absolute pitch appeared to develop from accustomed pitches (white-key pitches or middle range pitches) to a wider range of pitches (black-key pitches or pitches out of the middle range); and (5) a considerable number of participants with no musical training tended to recognize the middle C pitch.