Periodicity Pitch Shift is Absent in Absolute Pitch Possessors

Abstract

People possessing absolute pitch perception (AP) are able to label by ear the pitch of harmonic signals according to musical notation. This ability is relatively rare: the occurrence among western musicians is only a few percent, and AP is seldom seen in non-musicians. It is still not clear, how the phenomenon of AP emerges: although it was previously thought that it is inherited, evidence is accumulating that AP can be learned during a sensitive period in childhood (Miyazaki, 1988, Langendorf, 1992).