A Longitudinal Investigation of Elementary School Children's Absolute Pitch Identification Abilities

Abstract

A longitudinal investigation of elementary school children' s absolute pitch identification abilities was carried out. 14 elementary school children were asked to identify 24 chromatic tones' names heard through headphones. Similar tests were repeated once-per-year from grade 1 until grade 4. The children were divided into four groups according to type of their response development. The 1st group (N=5) had the highest ability, followed by the 2nd group (N=3), the 3rd group (N=2), and the 4th group (N=4). The following findings were obtained: (1) It was not necessarily the case that the pitch identification ability developed with children's growth; (2) White key pitches were more precisely identified than black key pitches; and (3) No support was found that a black key pitch like F# or B b used in easy songs could be learned earlier. Strong individual differences were found in these results.