Training to learn perfect pitch is a controversial topic. It is not certain whether a child with the ability has learned it or was born with it. Most agree, it is learned at a very young age. Many people believe it is a skill, which can be acquired while others disagree, even when presented with evidence to the contrary. More info at perfect pitch training.
Perfect pitch is associated with some analogies, which try to enlighten our understanding of the experience and help people to develop the ability. Most widespread is the color analogy. Hearing the twelve notes is a different experience for those who have perfect pitch than it is for other people. There is a distinct character of each note, different from its actual pitch. The distinct quality of each note is how it is remembered and recognized. The analogy with colors is that each note has a “pitch color”, so the spectrum of frequency that we hear is divided into “pitch colors”, rather like the spectrum of light we see is perceived as colors. To describe the experience of perfect pitch, this works quite well. However, to take this analogy any further and try to use it to understand the biology or the psychology of perfect pitch is somewhat flawed. The eye is able to see color by the use of three types of cone in the retina. One for green, one red, and one for intensity. The brain receives the three signals and calculates blue from the total minus green and red. Everyone can see colors and it is part of the biology of the eye. Some not as well as others (color blind) because the cones in their retinas differ slightly from the majority. Frequency receptors in the ear exist, but they are not split into sections for each note. The analogy falls down because there is no similar biological apparatus in the ear. See more at: perfect pitch software.
Perfect pitch has also been compared to the acquisition of language, particularly that the notes are like phonemes. The short sounds of language are called phonemes. The “d” or “g” sounds, for example. If a sentence is a melody then these could be said to be the notes. But for a phoneme to be, it must have a frame of time. The shape of a particular phoneme is determined by the variance in sound over the time it takes to pronounce the phoneme. The recognition of notes by perfect pitch does not rely on time. The note played will sound as it is no matter the length of the note.
The recognition of a note could be said to be like the recognition of a harmonic spectrum. This is by the dimension of frequency, rather than time. The ability to hear different instruments and recognize them is one example. A flute sounds like a flute because of the harmonic spectrum it produces. A more impressive example of the human ability to recognize and identify harmonic spectra is the way we can all recognize familiar voices. One’s mothers’ voice is instantly recognizable, no matter what mood she is in or what she is talking about. There is something very specific about the timbre of her voice, which is instantly identified without even thinking. It is an amazing ability when you think about it. These sounds do contain other characteristics, though, which is the one flaw in the analogy. There are extra cues in the way a person speaks or the noises an instrument makes (as well as the tonal sounds).These cam aid the listener to identify the sound. However, it is the most apt analogy. Read more about this at what is perfect pitch?
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