Early Music Training and Absolute Pitch

Abstract

IN their article, “Absolute Pitch in Williams Syndrome,” Lenhoff, Perales, and Hickok (2001) state: “It is generally accepted that the acquisition of AP [absolute pitch] depends on musical exposure and training between the ages of 3 and 6” (p. 491). To explain the fact that four of the five subjects with Williams syndrome who had AP started music training after age six, they suggest that in Williams syndrome, “the normal critical period . . . for acquiring AP” is extended. The consistently observed and indisputable association between AP and early music training (Baharloo, Service, Risch, Gitschier, & Freimer, 2000; Gregersen, Kowalsky, Kohn, & Marvin, 1999; Takeuchi & Hulse, 1993) is widely interpreted as a causal relationship. In a recent paper documenting this association, for example, Baharloo et al. (2000) conclude that early (before age 6) music training is required for the development of AP. Because the nature of the association between AP and early music training has implications for both the processes involved in the development of AP and the design and interpretation of genetic and other studies of AP, we thought it worthwhile to offer some additional data on this matter.