Absolute tonality and absolute pitch

Abstract

The initial 5 s of each of the 12 major‐key preludes from Bach's Well‐Tempered Clavichord was recorded as written and also shifted by ±1, 4, 6, or 7 semitones, and a randomized tape consisting of two repetitions of each of the 108 items was prepared. Twenty musicians, mostly pianists, decided whether each item was played in the correct key, transposed up, or transposed down; a simplified version of the original (correct) score was printed on the answer sheet. Only two subjects failed to discriminate, at the 5% confidence level, the correct rendition from the transposed ones, even when only the ±1‐semitone transpositions are considered. The four subjects claiming to possess absolute pitch performed slightly better than the rest, but it is clear that absolute identification of tonality is an ability that is more widespread than commonly supposed. The results support the “unlearning” theory of Abraham and Watt: an inborn potential for developing absolute pitch is relatively common, but it tends to become atrophied or suppressed because of the far greater importance of relative pitch in our musical environment. [Research supported by the Bryng Bryngelson Communication Disorders Research Fund.]