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absolute pitch

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

absolute pitch the position of a tone in the musical scale determined according to its number of vibrations per second, irrespective of other tones. The term also denotes the capacity to identify any tone upon hearing it sounded alone or to sing any specified tone. Experiments have shown that this ability, a form of memory, can be acquired through practice, but in some individuals it appears to be inborn.


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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press

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Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

absolute pitch (sense of)
absolute pitch (sense of). That sense which some people possess of the actual...pitch may readily be acquired by practice, but the sense of absolute pitch much less easily. Absolute pitch is really an innate form of memory: the possessor retains... Read more
absolute pitch
absolute pitch n. The ability to identify the pitch of a musical tone, or to produce a specified tone at its correct pitch, without reference to another tone. See also perfect pitch . Compare relative pitch . Read more
absolute pitch
absolute pitch the ability to recognize the pitch of a note or produce any given note; also called perfect pitch. Read more
perfect pitch
perfect pitch n. Another name for absolute pitch , but a term that is avoided in careful usage. Absolute pitch could never be exact, because the frequency (1) of a sound wave is a continuous variable, and differences in frequency can be arbitrarily small. Read more
perfect pitch
perfect pitch. See absolute pitch . Read more

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