"Let me begin by saying that my opinion on the matter of learning absolute pitch is obviously going to be regarded with skepticism. After all, I make part of my income by teaching people absolute pitch. And while I don't ask you to credulously believe me, I would ask you to keep an open mind to the possibility of learning absolute pitch.

If you're someone who wants absolute pitch, I fully understand your desire. Who wouldn't want to be able to name notes on demand and have a better understanding of what it is they hear from moment to moment? But I also see people come to me for absolute pitch advice with the absolute wrong motive. They want music to be absolutely no work. The quest for absolute pitch seems to be strongly tied to the disposition of absolute laziness.

Making music can be very hard work. Learning how to make music can be very hard work. And learning absolute pitch can be equally as hard. So if you really want to be a successful musician, prepare yourself for a lifetime of ups and downs, successes and frustrations, and challenges to your commitment to the path.

If you've gone that far, and you are fully committed to do whatever it takes to be the best musician you can possibly be, then you undoubtedly are aware of the need to constantly improve your ear. Then let's move on and uncover the various ways to develop your aural acuity.

The aural modality has a multitude of submodalities. Sound has pitch, timbre, rhythm, location... I could go on and on and on. So it's important for you as a musician to become acquainted with all the different aspects of sound. Like any other goal you may have, it's important to make a list of objectives--where you would like to be--and create a step-by-step plan to achieve these outcomes.

If absolute pitch should make it to this list of hearing objectives, then gather as much information as you can, set some deadlines, and go to work. However, make sure that this is only one of your objectives. As you've learned and probably already know, absolute pitch is not the be all and end all of aural acuity. So don't chase it to the exclusion of all else. Absolute pitch can sometimes take years to acquire. Improve your relative pitch. Improve your rhythmic ear, your compositional ear, and whatever other ear you determine is important to you. Patience and perseverance is the key to a skill as refined as absolute pitch.

Can absolute pitch be learned? Indeed, yes. Should you learn absolute pitch? I believe you should. There's many benefits to having absolute pitch as well as many wonderful lessons and insights to be learned along the way. But as I've said, make it part of your ear training practice, not all of it. And if you decide not to learn absolute pitch, then let it go completely. Please don't contribute to the disinformation of absolute pitch hearing by repeating apocryphal statements found on internet forums by people who have never even tried to learn absolute pitch for themselves.

One day, children will be taught in school to name notes like they learn the alphabet. Until that day comes, we need as many musicians as possible to test the theories and publish the research. At this time, there is no absolute right or wrong way to teach or learn absolute pitch. It just takes time, patience, and perseverance. So if you need the motivation, think of all the musicians in the future you will help by giving them the belief that they too can learn absolute pitch. Because you did it!

Visit the Blog for Ear Training Tips. "

~ Graham English
(author of "Absolute Ptch Power")
Visit the Graham English Blog for Ear Training Tips