The acquisition of absolute pitch for the mainstreamed, special educational needs and academically talented under Lau Chiu Kay Music Educatherapy

Abstract

Absolute pitch (AP) is an ability to identify or produce tones without references. It is rare among musicians. This study examined the effectiveness of Lau Chiu Kay Music Educatherapy in training students to develop AP and identified factors that exerted significant influences. Three academically talented, 103 mainstreamed and 38 special educational needs students at Music Home, with an age range of 2 to 25, constituted the sample. It was a case study incorporating a one-group-pretest-post-test quasi-experiment. An AP assessment and a questionnaire were utilized. Results showed that (a) Lau Chiu Kay Music Educatherapy helped all subjects to develop AP. (b) Singing absolute solfge, accurate tuning, interest and attention were influencing factors, whereas the gender, aptitude, age of onset, language background, acute memory, auditory sensitivity, pitch identification practice, inheritance, tinnitus and chromesthesia were not. (c) AP could be developed within one to two months and during the starting grade of the piano learning. (d) The verbal encoding strategy was the major processing strategy, etc. Following theories can be suggested: (a) AP is innate. (b) AP is a successful outcome of the tonal-absolute solfge with the octave designation labelling association. (c) AP may have a sensitive period. (d) AP is developmental etc.