Ever since I was a small child, I have been aware that I have perfect pitch. It started when I was about six years old and my mother had set me up with piano lessons. The teacher noticed that I could easily remember the new notes I was learning. I could identify them with no other reference. She told my mom, who was a church organist. In retrospect, my mom probably should have pushed me further in music, but I was her youngest child and not so interested in learning how to play the piano. I wish I had stuck with it. I would love to be able to play piano today.
Today, a friend asked me if I would help her write a short introduction to her art. My friend is a painter and music is part of what inspires her creativity. She says she has synesthesia, which means that certain sounds cause her to experience other sensations. I had never heard of synesthesia before, but it occurred to me that I had sort of experienced it myself. For instance, when I hear a D natural, I think of the color pink. When I hear a G natural, I think of magenta or maroon. Cs make me think of bright red or dark orange. The color/sound combinations are not as strong for other notes. I took a synesthesia battery, which included a test for absolute pitch. To my surprise, I didn't do that well on the absolute pitch test today, but I have taken other tests that confirm that I have perfect pitch.
On September 30, 2003, I took a test offered through the University of California, San Francisco. Actually, I took the test and scored very highly, but was distracted as I was taking it. The test is timed and requires some concentration and quick reflexes. So I took it again the next day, this time with the TV turned off and no distractions. When I got the positive results, I leveled with the coordinator and said I took the test twice. She said she had noticed that my scores were high the first time. I had noticed that the tones used in the test the day before were the exact same ones used in the second test. I notice that certain notes practically jump out at me and are very easy to identify, while others are trickier.
I have a feeling that today's absolute pitch "failure" might have also been due to distractions such as the TV and the fact that I had just taken a bunch of tests to see if I share my friend's synesthesia. Apparently, my scores for synesthesia were just over the cut off. A score of under 1, for instance, would mean one has synesthesia. I got a 1.08 or 1.05. I'm not sure what that means. I guess it means I have an idea of what my friend is talking about when she says she has synesthesia, but technically can't say I experience it myself. I see there are different forms of it and some of them absolutely do not apply to me. Any "synesthesia" experiences I have are mostly music related. I do see certain colors when I hear certain notes... and really, it's more single notes that inspire the colors than chords or whole pieces of music. Also, I can't say that I get sensory overload that often, though I am pretty sensitive to textures and sounds.
I notice as I get older, my ear is not quite as accurate as it once was. When I was very young, I could rattle off notes without thinking about it. Now that I'm middle aged, it's not nearly as easy as it used to be. As far as I know, no one else in my family has this little quirk, which is a fun party trick, but can be very annoying because it makes me crazy when something is not quite right.
My test scores from 2003...
Dear [knotty],
I am working with Dr. Jane Gitschier to recruit individuals for participation in the UC Genetics of Absolute Pitch Study. Thank you for your participation in the University of California Genetics of Absolute Pitch Study!
Your scores on the acoustical test meet the stringent criteria we have established for absolute pitch ability. Specifically, your score on the pure tone test of 28 exceeds our cutoff of 24.5 points and your score on the piano tone test score of 29 exceeds our cutoff of 27.8.
In addition, you indicate you are unsure if you have a relative with this same ability. Since the goal of this study is to discovery the gene or genes that are responsible for absolute pitch, it is imperative to identify families with at least two absolute pitch possessors. Would you be willing to ask your mother to take our auditory tone test? I would be happy to send her a CD version of the test if you think she might be more comfortable with this format.
Possibly you may discover that you do have other family members or friends who could also have this ability. If this is the case, would you please ask him or her to take our on-line test at http://perfectpitch.ucsf.edu?
It would also be helpful if you would provide us with a more detailed family history (see attached questionnaire). This should not require more than an additional 10-15 minutes of your time.
Many thanks again for your interest and participation in the study!
Sincerely,
Today, a friend asked me if I would help her write a short introduction to her art. My friend is a painter and music is part of what inspires her creativity. She says she has synesthesia, which means that certain sounds cause her to experience other sensations. I had never heard of synesthesia before, but it occurred to me that I had sort of experienced it myself. For instance, when I hear a D natural, I think of the color pink. When I hear a G natural, I think of magenta or maroon. Cs make me think of bright red or dark orange. The color/sound combinations are not as strong for other notes. I took a synesthesia battery, which included a test for absolute pitch. To my surprise, I didn't do that well on the absolute pitch test today, but I have taken other tests that confirm that I have perfect pitch.
On September 30, 2003, I took a test offered through the University of California, San Francisco. Actually, I took the test and scored very highly, but was distracted as I was taking it. The test is timed and requires some concentration and quick reflexes. So I took it again the next day, this time with the TV turned off and no distractions. When I got the positive results, I leveled with the coordinator and said I took the test twice. She said she had noticed that my scores were high the first time. I had noticed that the tones used in the test the day before were the exact same ones used in the second test. I notice that certain notes practically jump out at me and are very easy to identify, while others are trickier.
I have a feeling that today's absolute pitch "failure" might have also been due to distractions such as the TV and the fact that I had just taken a bunch of tests to see if I share my friend's synesthesia. Apparently, my scores for synesthesia were just over the cut off. A score of under 1, for instance, would mean one has synesthesia. I got a 1.08 or 1.05. I'm not sure what that means. I guess it means I have an idea of what my friend is talking about when she says she has synesthesia, but technically can't say I experience it myself. I see there are different forms of it and some of them absolutely do not apply to me. Any "synesthesia" experiences I have are mostly music related. I do see certain colors when I hear certain notes... and really, it's more single notes that inspire the colors than chords or whole pieces of music. Also, I can't say that I get sensory overload that often, though I am pretty sensitive to textures and sounds.
I notice as I get older, my ear is not quite as accurate as it once was. When I was very young, I could rattle off notes without thinking about it. Now that I'm middle aged, it's not nearly as easy as it used to be. As far as I know, no one else in my family has this little quirk, which is a fun party trick, but can be very annoying because it makes me crazy when something is not quite right.
My test scores from 2003...
Dear [knotty],
I am working with Dr. Jane Gitschier to recruit individuals for participation in the UC Genetics of Absolute Pitch Study. Thank you for your participation in the University of California Genetics of Absolute Pitch Study!
Your scores on the acoustical test meet the stringent criteria we have established for absolute pitch ability. Specifically, your score on the pure tone test of 28 exceeds our cutoff of 24.5 points and your score on the piano tone test score of 29 exceeds our cutoff of 27.8.
In addition, you indicate you are unsure if you have a relative with this same ability. Since the goal of this study is to discovery the gene or genes that are responsible for absolute pitch, it is imperative to identify families with at least two absolute pitch possessors. Would you be willing to ask your mother to take our auditory tone test? I would be happy to send her a CD version of the test if you think she might be more comfortable with this format.
Possibly you may discover that you do have other family members or friends who could also have this ability. If this is the case, would you please ask him or her to take our on-line test at http://perfectpitch.ucsf.edu?
It would also be helpful if you would provide us with a more detailed family history (see attached questionnaire). This should not require more than an additional 10-15 minutes of your time.
Many thanks again for your interest and participation in the study!
Sincerely,
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