Can Perfect Pitch Really Be Learned by Adults?

In this video, Britt Andrew Burns clears up a lot of misinformation about absolute pitch (aka perfect pitch) and explains his story in how he developed it. #absolutepitch #perfectpitch #eartraining

[glennwayland-rs]

I totally agree with you. After 30 years having this course on my shelf, I'm finally going to go and finish the course. As a professional musician for 40 years. You can still improve on your music. Thanks for your post!!

[gerardyun]

I took the Burgess course decades ago when I was first thinking about being an actual musician. I was more curious than anything else since I've kind of always been able to play what I heard even without early lessons, etc. I think he started on F# and Bb and something happened about week 3 and then it has been pretty strong ever since. I love hearing this way, hearing into the note, into the sound. Yes, I went on in music even without much of a background as a kid, and have a doctorate in conducting. I am now teaching at university level in Community Music in Canada and much of my research is in the larger area of Listening, which is great. I think people have all kinds of weird superpowers and being able to learn exceptional listening opens us to the most amazing world. There really are no limits. This is an awesome video and I love your narration. OMG I see C as white too! F as brown. G as green. But that is another story. Thanks for this.

[rinnikfox]

This topic has interested me a lot lately from a cognitive science perspective I think you hit a lot of the same thoughts I had about how other people approach the subject. I've always thought that given the correct incentives, your body and brain are really good at adapting and learning new things, it's just figuring out how to train correctly is the hard part because your first instinct is to always fall back to the skills you already have.

[eagleeggs]

How are you going back and forth between perfect pitch and relative pitch? Are they functioning simultaneously, or do you jump back and forth in your perception? From horizontal to vertical

[hefewiseman]

this is good, pretty generous and honest offering, and I agree with your assessments, there are so many misconceptions about this skill., good insights

[vojtechmalina]

People forget how difficult it is to prove that something is impossible and how pointless it is share such formation, the effect is mostly demotivation, people then have no motivation to continue the research. Often there is a room for research somewhere, or a way that one didn't consider.

[thedolphin]

To my mind, congenital perfect pitch is merely an accident of birth -- that is, nature patterning neurones in certain ways to and from your ear ... possibly layed down in-utero.

So because we now know the brain has neuroplasticity and can re-route interconnections where they once weren't, it makes perfect sense that one can MAKE THOSE links happen.

I believe, the best situation to help this is through autogenic relaxation, when the brain is subconsciously and unconsciously more open to reprogramming.

[eduardoandreasguitar]

It's really hard for me to learn anything by ear... I'm taking the course thanks to this video and I don't care if in the end I actually get PP or not. The concept of pitch colors is incredible to me and I'm sure no matter what it's going to make playing and listening to music even more enjoyable.

[maztx]

I started developing perfect pitch when I was 12 and the hardest note to recognize for me was Ab for some reason and my favorite note it Eb

[charlesgould]

I now notice sounds and voices that are unique, and I mimic by voice... some people don't like all the sounds I make. I enjoy the sound. Relative and absolute are separate.

[llnxvio]

I learned i had perfect pitch at 14. Its something ur born with, but it remains dormant if you aren't taught how to use it. Thats why not every kid who played piano when they were like 5 has it. Its a rare ability, and it's also a skill. People have different levels of pitch recognition, and some people have higher skill ceilings that others.

[theuniversalconnection]

You are amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this video. Keep up the great work. Blessings to you.

[Ribiveer]

the song at 12:31 sounds to me like it's in C minor, not F minor. I guess this is a section of the song where it has modulated? The second version sounds like B minor.

[thepianoplayer]

Once learned a piano version of "What a Wonderful World" in F. Played the piece on an out-of-tune piano in a store so sounded like the song is in E. People who has perfect pitch claim they are used to listening to a song in 1 key they can't play it in any other key except that specific key.

[michaelharvey]

Great video! Several of my students find that Db takes more time to hear absolutely.

[wyattstevens]

Fascinating! I don't have AP right now, but Dan Levitin's 1994 technique has helped me out- I thought Beato etc. were correct! (By the way I'm gen Z, but know what cassettes are.) But when you say "it took me less than a week to develop perfect pitch, " how long/day did you practice? Now that I've seen this (and had the same reaction to the training as you did on day 4) I want to try it out! As long as I know how Burge's technique works, that is- don't want to spend $300+!

Interestingly, 10:37 reminded me of one of my favorite book series (if you want to look it up, it's "Mystwick School of Musicraft") and how one of its quotes is "... music is there for those who listen." (On official series merch, it's in classical Latin: "AVDIENTIBVS MVSICA ADEST" - ok, technically not all that: it's in a middle-ground, where this is more modernized [V -> U and the letters are in the right case])

[tonepot]

What goes through your head when you hear a pitch that's around halfway between two pitches?

[solideomusical]

When I was in college I used to try and attain perfect pitch. Without any reference notes (on piano) I was either able to 'nail it' or narrow it down to 'within a half step' but never 'perfect.' My professor, who had perfect pitch, found this notable.

Since then I have not really applied myself to it but I tend to agree with you and not the naysayers. There are also more recent studies on this that align with your take. There is a young lady on YT (I think her name is 'Cindy Zou') who says that all of the pianists in her country had it and when she came to America she was surprised to learn that some people didn't. She tries to diminish the role of it in a successful musical career and even says she failed some transcription test because of her perfect pitch.

Are you recommending Burge's course?

[wenhaozheng]

Thank you sir，this video helped me a lot on understanding what sound is

[maximuswilliam]

Can your absolute pitch abilities ables you to recognize each note of a melody when it played very fast?