The characteristic features of absolute hearing include:

• its low prevalence;
• finding it in childhood; ease and secrecy from observing the process of its formation and development;
• the existence of two types of absolute hearing: passive and active;
• the multiplicity and dispersion of the magnitude of errors in the recognition of sounds;
• short duration of the reaction of recognition of sounds;
• low sound-altitude sensitivity;
• the presence of 12 identification standards.

Part of the features of absolute pitch was explained by the innate nature of this ability. The other remained unexplained.
Let's analyze characteristics absolute pitch from the standpoint of its mono-tonal stepwise nature.
1. Low prevalence of absolute pitch
The first thing that is revealed by simple observation and noted by many researchers is the fact of the extremely low prevalence of absolute pitch.
So, questionnaires 495 musicians, conducted by W. Hecker and T. Ziegen, showed that only 35 of them consider themselves to have absolute pitch, which is 7% of the respondents (85). A. Wellek noted absolute pitch in 8.8% of the musicians he observed (106). G. Reves found it in 3.4% of those examined (101). B. M. Teplov, who observed about 250 musicians-teachers, found among them no more than 7% of the owners of absolute pitch (67). A. Rakovsky states that absolute pitch is inherent in 1% of musicians (99).
Our observations give 6.4% of teachers of three music schools Kursk region, with absolute pitch.
Despite some scatter of figures, it can be considered as established the fact of the low prevalence of absolute pitch among musicians, not exceeding 9%, and on average 6-7%. In relation to the entire population, the proportion of absolute pitch owners will be much smaller and is unlikely to exceed 1%.
The noted low prevalence of absolute pitch was explained by the innateness of this ability and the impossibility of developing it artificially. In fact, the low prevalence of absolute pitch is determined not by innate inclinations or features, but by the interval polytonal nature of the music surrounding us.
From birth, each of us hears and repeats melodies that sound in different modes and in different keys. Perception means of expression, in which the content of the music around us is shaped, requires an intonation-interval polyladotonal feeling and relative hearing. The modal feeling formed in the preschool age during the perception and reproduction of music, under conditions of constant tonal drift, cannot be anything other than polytonal, and therefore it determines the formation of a polyladotonal feeling and the relative path of musical ear development.
The circumstance that reduces the prevalence of absolute pitch is also the tradition of predominantly vocal performance. predominance vocal music with its intonation-interval nature and the very subordinate role of the instrumental, it creates a basis conducive to the development of relative hearing. “... Singing in its very essence is focused on intonation, and not on the absolute heights of individual tones. The singing voice does not have a fixed stepped keyboard, it must be created by ear on the basis of interval-mode representations, ”E. V. Nazaikinsky noted (53, 69).
How do some children manage to form a mono-tonal step feeling and absolute pitch in such a poly-tonal and intonation-interval musical environment?
The first step in music is monotonal for everyone. The determining factor is the increased emotional sensitivity, which is manifested in the distinction of the modal step qualities of the sounds of the melody, causing a very rapid formation of a step mono-tonal feeling in the sensitive period. “Musical experience in its essence is an emotional experience,” pointed out B. M. Teplov (67, 23). Exactly emotional form reflection as the simplest first of all appears in human ontogenesis. Therefore, in some children with increased emotional sensitivity to musical (modal) experience, absolute pitch is formed quickly, before the start of polytonal musical activity.
Apparently, a prerequisite is also the presence of a musical instrument with a fixed pitch and the ability for the child to select favorite melodies on it by ear. E. V. Nazaikinsky emphasized the role of instrumental music in the formation of absolute pitch. "Clavier, piano, organ fix pitches" (53, 69), while fixed stops "on individual tones<...>are material for absolute hearing” (53, 72). Descriptions of the first experiences of music-making by the future owners of absolute pitch are surprisingly similar. In all cases, it is indicated that there was a harpsichord, a piano, a grand piano in the house, and the child sat for hours at the instrument, picking up melodies. An example is the memory of B. V. Asafiev: “I learned to memorize marches<…>whistle and hum them, and then “pick up” on our old, old piano” (53, 70) or C. Saint-Saens: “When I was two and a half years old, I found myself in front of a small piano. Instead of knocking at random, as children usually do, I fingered one key after another and did not let go of it until its sound died away completely ”(67, 136). The emotional and modal expressiveness of the sounds of the selected melody is associated in the presentation with certain keys of the instrument, forming auditory-visual-motor stereotypes. Further experience in the selection of melodies, fixing, as a rule, in one key, forms mono-tonal step perceptions and representations of individual keys-sounds.
Great importance also have the physiological and psychological characteristics of the child and the conditions in which absolute pitch is formed. In addition to the emotional sensitivity and impressionability noted above, we will also point out the stable needs and interests of the child’s personality, imagery of thinking, typological features of higher nervous activity, the ability for creative upsurge and an excited state. nervous system at the moment of perception and reproduction of melodies, the force of charge nerve cells(9, 111), the strength and duration of the action of stimuli, the time interval between repetitions, the number of repeated exposures (57, 37), etc.
The main thing is still the speed of internalization of the mechanism of monoladotonal stepwise perception. The intonation-interval and polytonal atmosphere of the surrounding music pushes for the development of a relative ear, and you need to have time to quickly gain a foothold in one fret and key, emotionally experience and fix in perception the individual absolute step qualities of sounds. It is not at all necessary for a long time of exposure to monotonality and memorization of all 12 steps in it. It is enough for a child to experience in perception and to fix in the representation the absolute modal quality of one or two sounds, which already indicates the formation of a stepwise mono-tonal feeling, in order to be “infected” with the ability to catch and assimilate the individualizing absolute stepwise modal qualities of sounds in the future. The perception of the absolute step quality of other sounds and the formation of absolute pitch are already predetermined, and its further development is a matter of time and the child's normal musical abilities. From a certain point on, polytonal musical activity no longer prevents the formation of absolute hearing, but, on the contrary, contributes to the generalization of auditory representations of the absolute meanings of sounds.
In the list of evidence for the first manifestations of absolute pitch, the ability to recognize sounds of a “non-musical” origin is often mentioned. So, it is said about Ch. Gounod that he discovered absolute pitch when he determined that “a street vendor shouts at “do”” (67, 136). The boy described by M. Gebhardt at the age of three recognized the bell of a tram car, and then heard “do” in the horn of a car, “fa” - in the ringing of a bell, “do” - in the cry of his sister, “mi” - in the buzzing of a bee (67, 138 -139). The ability of W. A. ​​Mozart to recognize the sounds of clocks, bells, glass vessels and other objects is known. The subject of L. Weinert recalled that he first fixed “la” in his memory when he heard the sound of the oboe, according to which the orchestra was tuned (53). These and other similar testimonies gave B. M. Teplov reason to assume that “in children who subsequently discovered absolute pitch, the initial exercise consists in constant attempts to “recognize” all kinds of audible sounds (including non-musical ones).” (67, 140). Many modern researchers also believe that for the development of absolute pitch it is necessary to remember from the very beginning that such and such a sound is called the tone “do”, “la”, etc. (53). The same understanding of the essence and mechanism of the formation of absolute pitch lies in the so-called trigger concept of functioning proposed by M. V. Karaseva and the methodology of polymodal anchoring for its development (34, 114-118).
In reality, it is not absolute pitch and its basis - the mono-tonal feeling - that is derived and developed from attempts to recognize individual sounds, but, on the contrary, the ability to recognize individual sounds appears as the step-by-step mono-tonal feeling becomes and strengthens. The sound can be remembered and recognized under the condition of its adequate constant perception. Such perception is possible only as a result of referring it to an ordered system of sounds, which is musical mode, that is, when the sound is perceived as an element of the mode. The latter is possible only if there is a modal, or rather, mono-tonal feeling. This provision has not only theoretical, but also practical significance, as it indicates what to proceed from in the formation of absolute pitch, from unprepared and doomed to failure attempts to recognize sounds, or from the preparation of the ability to recognize them on the basis of a stepwise mono-tonal feeling.
2. Absolute pitch detection
It is widely believed among musicians that the formation of absolute pitch is the result of the development of relative pitch. This opinion is shared by a number of researchers (27).
However, there is no serious evidence of the development of absolute pitch naturally in adulthood, including in professional musicians, throughout their lives improving their relative ear for music.
Everything is authentic famous cases detection of absolute pitch belong to children's age. From the numerous evidences of absolute pitch detection, it follows that it is detected immediately after children get acquainted with the names of notes at preschool or primary school age and that the process of formation of absolute pitch in such children is easy, without special pedagogical intervention and hidden from adult supervision. An example is the report by S.M. He was then only five years old” (43, 103).
It is also believed that absolute pitch appears immediately in full measure in a final and perfect form, “as a finished nugget in a completely finished form” (44, 208), and does not require further development.
In fact, every future owner of absolute pitch accumulates recognizable sounds.
Here is M. Gebhardt's description of the process of formation and development of absolute pitch in a gifted boy. “At the age of three years, two months, the mother, having played the sound “do” on the piano, called him to the boy. The next day he recognized it in a series of different sounds and never again confused it with others.<...>At the age of three and a half, he already mastered all the sounds of the first octave.<...>Six months later, he also imperceptibly, while playing, learned all the sounds of other octaves of the middle register, and could already recognize “la” on the violin and “la”, “sol”, “re” on the cello<...>At five and a half years old<...>the boy recognized the sounds of the piano completely unmistakably” (82; 83).
The formation period can last from several months to several years. Improving absolute pitch, as well as relative pitch, is a lifelong process for professional musicians.
There are many examples of imperfect perfect pitch. One of such examples is the fact of the existence of the so-called passive absolute pitch, which B. M. Teplov described as “not fully developed absolute pitch” (67, 150).
The facts of the discovery of absolute pitch in childhood and the absence of evidence of its formation in adults are explained by its stepwise monotonal nature. Absolute pitch is formed only during the period of formation of modal feeling before the development of relative pitch. The modal feeling is formed in children and in almost all ends at preschool age. Many data indicate that the modal feeling is formed very early, already by the age of 3-4 years, and by the age of seven it is so developed that in the future no noticeable progress is visible and “tasks that directly appeal to it are among the most easily solved by the average child" (67, 167). The emerging modal feeling is always concrete and necessarily takes on one of two qualities: stepped or interval, mono-tonal or poly-tonal. The first, as we know, is the basis of absolute pitch, the second - relative. Most children fail to stay in mono-tonality for a sufficient time and they develop a poly-tonal feeling and relative hearing, which, as they develop, strengthens interval poly-tonal representations and makes it more and more difficult and even excludes in the future the possibility of the formation of absolute pitch in a natural way.
The graded essence of absolute pitch also explains the ease, speed and secrecy of its formation.
Solfegist teachers know how difficult it is to form interval representations and what a problem for most students is, for example, the task of determining intervals by ear. Without special directed pedagogical work and special exercises interval representations may not be formed (24, 37).
The situation is quite different with step representations. Step-by-step feeling and step-by-step representations are formed by themselves when a certain mode is perceived. For their formation, most children do not require special pedagogical work and special exercises (24, 35).
Interval representations appear on the basis of step representations. Step representations are primary, interval representations are secondary in the logic of musical ear development. Failure to comply with this logic in the practice of educating musical ear is a methodological error that leads to a violation of the basic principle of didactics: the consistency and accessibility of training.
The priority education of a graded feeling and the formation of graded ideas is therefore the most natural, simple, accessible and methodically correct step in the development of musical ear, both relative and absolute.
3. Types of absolute pitch
The studies of D. Chris (90), O. Abraham (76), W. Köhler (89), L. Weinert (105), B. M. Teplov (67) and others showed that the term "absolute pitch" actually means two abilities: the ability to recognize a single audible sound and the ability to sing or imagine the named sound. The first ability occurs without the second, the second does not occur without the first. The ability to recognize sounds by ear, but not to reproduce them at a given pitch, is called passive absolute pitch. The ability to both recognize by ear and reproduce sounds at a given pitch is called active absolute pitch.
O. Abraham found that of all the owners of absolute sound he examined, only 35% had active absolute pitch.
The owners of active hearing are not connected when recognizing by the timbre characteristics of sounds. They equally successfully recognize the sounds of any instruments, any registers, and even the sounds made by sounding objects.
The owners of passive absolute hearing, when recognizing sounds, depend on their timbre. The most easily recognizable are the sounds of the middle register of the piano. The most difficult to recognize are the sounds of tuning forks and voices, including one's own (90; 105).
In addition to the extreme cases that characterize the two types of absolute pitch, absolute pitch of the intermediate type is more common, in which difficulties in recognizing sounds are combined to varying degrees with the ability to imagine and sing some of them by name (67, 124).
It can also be considered proven that passive absolute pitch is the same true absolute pitch as active, and is First level its development. “Passive absolute pitch is, as it were, halfway to active: it is not fully developed absolute pitch. Therefore, the passive absolute pitch, developing, should approach the active one,” wrote B. M. Teplov (67, 150).
Based on his conclusion about the essence of absolute pitch as the ability to isolate musical pitch in the sensation of a single sound, B. M. Teplov saw the difference between passive absolute pitch and active pitch in the degree of such isolation. “... With passive absolute hearing, the isolation of musical pitch in isolated sound is less complete than in active,” he wrote (67, 150). By this, B. M. Teplov explains the inability of the owners of passive absolute hearing to recognize the sounds of unfamiliar timbres or to reproduce the pitch of sounds with a voice from memory.
Now we know that not isolating the actual pitch from the timbre in a separate sound is the essence of absolute pitch. This means that it is not the degree of isolation of pitch in sound that distinguishes the two types of absolute pitch. Those with passive absolute pitch are able to reproduce with their voice the pitch of any sound of an unfamiliar timbre, or arbitrarily sing a sound and thus isolate the actual pitch from the timbre, but remain unable to recognize it.
The existence of two types of absolute pitch is due to the existence of two components of musical hearing: modal feeling and musical auditory representations. Having singled out these two components in melodic hearing, B. M. Teplov characterized one of them as perceptual, or emotional, the other as reproductive, or auditory. The modal feeling, being a perceptual, emotional component, provides a full-fledged perception. Musical auditory representations, or the reproductive auditory component, underlie reproduction. The modal feeling, or the emotional component of melodic ear, fully explains the psychological nature of all those manifestations of musical ear, in which the reproduction of a melody is not required. As for the latter, it is directly dependent on another component of melodic hearing - on musical auditory representations, ”said B. M. Teplov (67, 185).
Absolute pitch also has two components: modal feeling and modal auditory representations. Just as with relative hearing, the recognition of melodies is based on the modal feeling, and their reproduction by voice or selection by ear is possible only if there are sufficiently vivid auditory representations of these melodies, with absolute hearing, the mono-tonal step feeling provides the ability to perceive and recognize individual sounds, and the auditory mono-tonal step performances - reproduce them in singing.
Recognition of melodies or individual sounds is carried out by emotional-sensory experience of interval or step modal qualities of sounds. It is impossible to reproduce an emotional experience with a voice in singing. The ability to sing a melody or individual sounds appears as the mechanism of perception is internalized and with the development of generalized auditory representations of this melody or these sounds.
As for the inability to recognize the sounds of unfamiliar timbres with passive hearing, it should be borne in mind that the initial stage of the formation of the ability to perceive and recognize individual sounds, based on primary auditory images, is characterized by experiencing the “external” nature of the sound while maintaining the original contextual ones, including timbre, characteristics of the perceived. The mono-tonal step quality in the perception of individual sounds at this stage is not sufficiently generalized, and therefore sounds are recognized only in the original timbre context. As auditory representations are internalized, auditory images are generalized, sounds of other registers, other musical instruments and even the sounds of sounding objects. At a certain level of development of musical and auditory representations, characterized by a high degree of their generalization and arbitrariness, the ability to recognize the sounds of any timbres and reproduce the pitch of sounds in singing from memory appears.
In addition, it is known that the nature of the timbre is determined by the number and volume ratio of audible overtones. An unusual combination of overtones can lead to a complication of the very ability to recognize sounds and to identification illusions.
4. Mistakes in sound recognition
In studies by L. Weinert (105), A. Vellek (106), and others, a plurality of second, third, and fourth shifts in recognitions and the absence of constancy in errors in the same persons were found. Such a multiplicity and dispersion of erroneous readings is explained by the multiplicity of reasons that cause these errors.
Some of them can be explained by the variability of constant and aconstant types of perception under conditions of tonal variability that occurs in combinations of presented sounds.
As we noted, along with the primary formation of absolute pitch, each of its possessors to some extent develops relative pitch as a result of the intonation-interval and polytonal nature of music. Thanks to this synthesis, each carrier of absolute pitch combines the ability of both constant and aconstant latotonal step perception, which means that he can hear in sounds not one, but two of its modal qualities: absolute, independent of the tonal tuning, and relative, characterizing the steps fret in new tonalities with all sorts of deviations and modulations.
The absolute quality of individual sounds is recognized on the basis of constant perception. But when a series of sounds is recognized, their random sequence can lead to more or less persistent modal tonal rearrangements and, consequently, to the actualization of aconstant perception, and hence to a split in the perception of the step modal function of sounds. Inattention to such a restructuring or inoperative, belated awareness of the fact of shifting the perspective of perception leads to uncontrollability of the change from absolute hearing to relative and errors in the designation of the absolute values ​​of musical sounds. Our experiment confirmed this. In a series of sounds presented for identification, persistent repetition of diatonic characteristic sounds of a certain key, causing tuning in it, leads to errors in recognizing the absolute values ​​of sounds while maintaining recognition of their modal, step qualities in a new mode of tone.
It is clear that the number of such errors is due to the level of development of absolute pitch, the degree of its combination with relative hearing, the number and persistence of random tonal rearrangements when the presented sounds are combined and simply elementary literacy and attentiveness to the subject, angle and tonal background of perception.
In addition, it is one thing to emotionally feel and perceive the step mono-tonal quality of sound, and another thing to pick up, remember its name. As we know, the ability to distinguish and recognize sounds by absolute pitch appears in children before the knowledge of notes and is not associated with their names. L. Weinert noted relatively long recognition reactions, in which the subject waits for the name of the sound to pop up in his mind (105). Recall of the name of the perceived sound may be delayed, confused with another name, perhaps not come at all. Everyone knows, and B. M. Teplov noted in experiments, that when recognizing intervals, professional musicians with relative pitch often find it difficult to answer or give incorrect answers (67, 167). The cause of errors can be fatigue, distraction of attention, the above-mentioned modal split in the perception of sounds, insufficient assimilation of its modal quality in new context conditions, etc.
Of a different nature may be small-second recognition errors, which, according to L. Weinert, make up three-quarters of all "absolute" errors. Absolute pitch, being formed as the ability to perceive and recognize the steps of the mode, first of all masters the diatonic steps that characterize the mode. Chromatic steps, which destroy the distinct experience of the mode in perception, are mastered in the second place and initially in emotional experience have not an independent, but only a derivative quality, only a shade of the quality of the diatonic step that it alters. As they are assimilated, the modal quality of altered sounds in perception acquires an autonomous meaning, but at the initial stages, which for some people can drag on for a long time, they are perceived and recognized as derivatives and are mixed with the main diatonic ones upon recognition.
Interesting data, which can also be attributed to the characteristic features of absolute pitch, are given by D. Baird. Most of his test subjects, who had absolute pitch, stated that the black keys had a special sound quality that was different from the sounds of the white keys. Some of them admitted that they recognized the white or black key before its name (67, 132). Some researchers, in particular, G. Helmholtz and O. Abraham, sought an explanation for this in design features piano (86, 502-504). Testing this ability in persons who do not have absolute pitch, B. M. Teplov did not confirm it and came to the conclusion that “experimental data speak against the ability to distinguish between the sounds of black and white keys by color” (67, 132). However, our surveys of absolute pitch owners confirmed the data of D. Baird. Indeed, the owners of perfect pitch recognize the "color" of the keys before their names.
What's the matter here? Why are persons without absolute pitch incapable, while those with absolute pitch are able to distinguish the quality of the sounds of black and white keys before determining their names?
The key to this feature lies in the stepped monotonal nature of absolute pitch. It is not the sounds of black and white keys that differ and are recognized, but the chromatic and diatonic steps of monotonality. The fact is that in most cases absolute pitch is formed on the basis of the perception of natural monotonality located on the white keys of the piano, due to their greater prevalence, convenience, accessibility, visibility. So, one of the owners of absolute pitch in the tests of L. Weinert testifies: “When I went to school, I knew only the white keys, but I recognized all of them by ear” (67, 135). G. Lubomirsky indirectly explained this feature of absolute pitch by highlighting the so-called “black-and-white” pitch, that is, the ability to distinguish between the sounds of black and white keys, which is formed as a result of mastering the natural C major and filling it with chromatic steps. Which of the owners of relative hearing does not distinguish between diatonic and chromatic sounds, and if the diatonic is located on white keys - the sounds of white keys from the sounds of black ones? The same happens when recognizing sounds by absolute hearing.
Thus, both small-second errors and the distinction between the sounds of black and white keys, which seem to be mutually exclusive manifestations of absolute pitch, nevertheless can be found even in one person and have one explanation - monotonal step nature.
The fact of octave errors in the recognition of sounds should also be attributed to the number of identification illusions of absolute pitch.
The results of studies by O. Abraham (76), D. Baird (77) and our observations show that those with absolute pitch can correctly name a sound, but find it difficult to designate the octave to which this sound belongs. Octave identification errors are typical for all owners of absolute pitch. Quint errors are less common. According to our observations, they become more frequent when the sounds of extreme registers, especially the extreme upper ones, are recognized.
Octave identification illusions arising from absolute hearing cannot be explained otherwise than from the standpoint of its modal essence. Common mistakes in determining the octave of a recognizable sound is allowed by those who never err by a semitone or a tone. This is inexplicable in terms of timbre or proper pitch sensation of sound. In terms of timbre and frequency, neighboring sounds are more similar than sounds that are an octave apart. But the fact of octave illusions is quite understandable with modal perception of sound. Only from the point of view of modal quality, sounds that are a pure octave apart have a similarity, while neighboring sounds are characterized by a modal difference. When recognizing sounds according to the modal criterion, errors of half a tone or a tone are excluded, but octave errors are allowed. These second errors are not allowed by the owners of developed absolute pitch while maintaining octave illusions, thereby revealing its modal essence.
Octave and fifth illusions are also provoked by the overtone composition of the sound. The first three partial tones following the main, and the most audible, form in relation to it an octave, a duodecim and a quintdecim. The sound of, for example, the tone “to” of a small octave also includes the sound of the overtones “to” of the first octave, the “salt” of the first octave and “to” of the second octave.
Relative interval recognition, based on internal singing and conscious comparison of sounds, is based on the main tone during perception.
Absolute step recognition, which does not include singing, is based on the emotional experience of the modal function of sound and does not include conscious reliance on a certain tone. Such an emotional-modal experience can be caused by the perception of sound not only by the main, but also by partial tones. It can be seen from the overtone series that the octave illusion can be the most common, and the fifth illusion is less common.
The following overtones are less distinguishable and do not cause identification illusions in familiar timbres. But in unusual, unfamiliar timbres, they can be not only the cause of illusions, but also difficulties in recognizing sounds. So, the timbre of the oboe arises when the volume of the third harmonic prevails over the second, the second - over the first, the first - over all the others. The timbre of the clarinet is with the predominance of odd: the fifth, third, first overtones over the rest of the even ones. As a result of a different combination of the volume of overtones, other timbres of sounds also arise. Perception and unconscious emotional-modal experience of the most audible overtones can lead to illusions, confusion, difficulty and even impossibility of recognizing the absolute value of the fundamental tone.
Thus, identification illusions and difficulties in recognizing the sounds of unfamiliar timbres with passive absolute hearing can have one nature and one explanation. The reason for these illusions lies in the stepwise monotonal nature of absolute pitch and the emotional-sensory nature of the mechanism for recognizing individual sounds. Developed absolute pitch as a result of many years of identification experience and a consequence of the generalization of auditory representations is characterized by confident recognition of sounds of various timbres, the absence of fifths, seconds and other errors, while maintaining the most difficult to overcome octave illusions.
As can be seen from the above data, all owners of absolute pitch make mistakes in recognizing sounds. On the other hand, musicians with relative pitch can recognize individual musical sounds with some minimal accuracy. Absolute pitch is spoken of when this ability reaches certain certain degrees of accuracy.
Is there a limit of accuracy that separates those who have absolute pitch from those who do not have it when recognizing individual sounds? What minimum percentage correct answers give the owners of absolute hearing when recognizing sounds? What is the accuracy of absolute pitch?
D. Baird sets this limit at the level of 10%, considering that persons without absolute pitch recognize up to 10%, and with absolute pitch - over 10% of the presented sounds (77). A. Wellek believed that the owners of absolute pitch should give at least 60% of correct answers (106). S. G. Grebelnik considers 63% of correct recognitions to be such a limit (27).
However, D. Baird's subjects, who had absolute pitch, gave from 26% to 99% correct answers. L. Weinert received from 24% to 95% of the accuracy of the 22 owners of absolute pitch observed by him. L. Petran received a continuous series of accuracy indicators from 2% to 78% from the subjects both with absolute and without absolute pitch. In this series, only indicators close to the extreme ones can serve as evidence of the presence or absence of absolute pitch. The boundary of their separation cannot be established (98).
These facts make it possible to recognize that the accuracy of absolute pitch is not a constant and unambiguous value. It is individual for each owner of absolute pitch, characterizes the degree of its development, decreases in the upper and lower registers, is very small in the most extreme registers, in unusual timbres (67) and cannot be a criterion for the authenticity of absolute pitch.
The accuracy of absolute pitch increases as it develops. Possession of absolute pitch, strictly speaking, can be recognized already with the confident recognition of one sound. Recognition of more sounds is a matter of time and conditions of musical activity. But even a large percentage of recognition is not an indicator of the possession of genuine absolute pitch, since recognition can also be carried out with pseudo-absolute pitch.
No one will judge the possession of a melodic ear on the basis of the percentage of correct answers when recognizing melodies known to the subject. Even the unmistakable recognition of most or all of the presented melodies cannot indicate the presence of a modal feeling and ear for music, since the recognition itself can be carried out on the basis of other criteria, in particular, metro-rhythmic or timbre ones. Melodic ear is characterized by the very nature of the perception and experience of melodies.
Likewise, absolute pitch cannot be revealed by the number of correct recognitions of sounds. Multiple unmistakable recognition of only a few sounds, depending on the content, order and number of presentations, may give a greater or lesser percentage of accuracy, but the fact of possessing absolute pitch will not cause doubts. Just as errors in recognizing the same sounds with a high percentage of accuracy cannot but raise doubts about the presence of absolute pitch. From the earlier description by M. Gebhardt of the process of formation of absolute pitch in a gifted boy, it can be seen that the number of recognizable sounds in him gradually increased from one sound at 3 years and 2 months to all piano sounds at 5 and a half years. Did this boy have absolute pitch at 3 and a half years old, when he recognized only the sounds of the first octave, which make up no more than 14% of the sounds of the entire piano keyboard? Undoubtedly it was.
The accuracy of absolute pitch is not a criterion of authenticity, but an indicator of its development, while one of the criteria for the authenticity of absolute pitch is the duration of the sound recognition reaction.
5. Duration of sound recognition reaction
with absolute hearing
One of the most remarkable features of absolute pitch is the speed of the reaction of recognition of sounds.
M. Gebhardt, in describing the process of development of absolute hearing in a gifted boy, which we cited, notes the “astonishing” speed of sound recognition. In 30 seconds, a six-year-old owner of absolute pitch accurately named 37 sounds.
D. Baird determined the reaction time of recognition in one owner of absolute pitch. It averaged 0.754 s.
B. M. Teplov measured approximately with the help of a stopwatch the reaction time of recognizing and reproducing sounds according to absolute pitch. It never exceeded 2 s, and in most cases was less than 1 s.
O. Abraham determined the time from the sound to the subjects pressing the corresponding key. It ranged from 0.399 to 0.714 s. Then the same subjects were asked to press the keys of sounds called by the experimenter. Here the reaction time ranged from 0.394 to 0.605 s. Thus, it turned out that recognition itself takes a negligible time, from 0.005 to 0.109 s. Sounds are recognized almost instantly.
Persons who do not have absolute hearing, but who can recognize sounds with sufficient dexterity and accuracy, need much more time to perform the same task. The experiments of D. Baird, E. Gaug, G. Muhl showed that their reaction time ranges from 4 to 24 s, and is sometimes measured in minutes.
This difference between the owners of absolute pitch and those who do not have it in the duration of the recognition reaction is explained by the difference in the mechanism and the recognition process itself. Without absolute pitch, recognition is carried out by relating, comparing the recognizable sound with the standard (the upper or lower sound of one's own voice, the previous or subsequent sounds) and includes singing and understanding the sung. For those with absolute pitch, the recognition mechanism is not based on a sense of intervals, and the recognition process does not include singing and understanding its results. Sounds are recognized self-evidently, their names pop up in the mind without special efforts and without operations of comparison and inference.
The short duration of the sound recognition reaction is explained by the modal nature of absolute pitch. Sounds are recognized by their modal qualities. As has been repeatedly pointed out, the modal qualities of sounds are perceived and recognized on the basis of the emotional experience of their functional meaning, modal quality. Such recognition, in contrast to recognition by timbre criteria or a sense of interval, does not require singing and operations of comprehension, calculation, comparison. “Differentiation involves recognition without direct comparison. It refers to a function of the same kind that takes place in the so-called absolute pitch" (68, 62). Sounds are recognized almost instantly, by the shade of emotional experience. Recognition of sounds does not interfere with extraneous noises, distraction, etc., which is impossible with a timbre or interval recognition mechanism that requires concentration of attention, tension, singing, mental actions of comparison, comprehension, reasoning, etc.
In our experiments on the artificial formation of absolute pitch, it was found that not every quick recognition of individual sounds by their modal quality can be called absolute pitch in the accepted sense. There is a speed limit up to which the perception and recognition of sounds is still conditioned by the original monotonal context and is violated when the tonality changes, but after which the recognition of sounds does not interfere with tonal reorganizations. This limit has a quantitative expression. As you know, quantitative indicators are used to control the dynamics of the development of reading skills in primary school secondary school and are expressed as the number of words read per minute. With a reading speed of less than 100-120 words per minute, one cannot yet speak of an existing ability. The psychophysiological mechanisms of reading are not yet sufficiently automated and internalized. The meaning of what is read is perceived by the reader in fragments or is not perceived at all. Only a reading speed of more than 120 words per minute indicates sufficient internalization, the formation of a functional organ, the ability to read meaningfully and the possibility of its further independent development.
Absolute pitch also begins at an average recognition rate of at least 150-160 sounds per minute, that is, a reaction time of 0.4 s, since it is precisely this level of automation and internalization of the system of psychophysiological mechanisms of stepwise monotonal perception, as experiments have shown, that indicates sufficient inhibition and reduction of effector links and the translation of exteriorized actions into the mental plane.
Only with a simultaneous form of perception and such a duration of the recognition reaction do sounds acquire an absolute quality, individual portrait and "a well-defined physiognomy", freed from the original mono-tonal attraction.
It can also be confidently assumed that the further improvement of absolute pitch, which ultimately ensures its extra-timbre and reproductive levels, is directly due to the continued reduction in the duration of the recognition reaction to 0.005-0.109 s noted by O. Abraham.
Thus, absolute pitch is an internalized ability of monotonal stepwise perception of sounds, and that is why it must be characterized by a short recognition reaction time, otherwise it will not be absolute. The duration of the recognition reaction is the most important indicator of the degree of internalization of the psychological mechanisms of mono-tonal step-by-step perception and provides the levels of absolute hearing, from the initial passive to the highly developed active.

6. Threshold of distinguishing the pitch of sounds
by absolute pitch

We noted that the smallest threshold of distinctive sensitivity, that is, the minimum possible difference in height between two sounds in humans, is 2 cents.
According to P. Pear, V. Straub, L. V. Blagonadezhina, B. M. Teplov, noticeable deviations, that is, the value of the thresholds for distinguishing two sounding pitches in the middle octaves, for most people are in the range from 6 to 40 cents.
To determine the threshold for distinguishing pitch by absolute pitch, the subjects were asked to compare the pitch of the real sound with the pitch of the imagined sound. O. Abraham and N. A. Garbuzov found that musicians with absolute pitch notice a deviation from the pitch standard if it is at least 32-80 cents. This means that the threshold for distinguishing pitch by absolute pitch is 2-5 times higher than the threshold for distinguishing two real sounds. In other words, the pitch sensitivity according to absolute pitch is at least 2 times lower than the sensitivity to real sounds. This is on average. In the same individuals, the difference can be even greater. So, in O. Abraham, the sensitivity of absolute pitch is 8 times less than his own sensitivity to two real sounds.
Physical sound-frequency hearing in all people, from the point of view of the receptor concept of G. Helmholtz, is absolute. The lack of absolute ear for music in many people was explained by the high threshold of their sound-altitude distinctive sensitivity, that is, insufficient hearing acuity.
The unexpected fact of the extremely low pitch sensitivity of absolute pitch forced N. A. Garbuzov to admit that the very term "absolute pitch" did not correspond to reality. B. M. Teplov formulated the following conclusion: “It is clear that the accuracy of absolute pitch<...>lies within other limits than the accuracy of pitch discrimination” (68, 66).
If we assume that the recognition of sounds by absolute hearing is based on the sensory reflection of a sound point in the pitch scale, then with discrimination thresholds of 32-80 cents, there can be no question not only of ease and speed, but also of the very possibility of recognition. Just like relative pitch, absolute pitch has a zone nature. It is not sound points that differ and are recognized, but quality zones. “Absolute pitch as a “musical ability” is developed as the ability to recognize “zones” of a certain width in the pitch range, and not separate “points” of this series” (27). Distinguishing, memorizing and recognizing each of the 12 zones-steps of one tempered octave is possible only on the basis of modal feeling. Absolute pitch does not require special subtlety of pitch discrimination. He needs a special quality of perception of each of the 12 zones of the temperament scale. Such a special qualitative perception for the owners of absolute pitch is the mono-tonal step perception of 12 sounds of the octave scale.

7. Identification standards of absolute hearing

The identification standards of absolute pitch are the sounds of the chromatic scale of the temperamental system. There are 12 such standards, according to the number of sounds of a tempered octave.
O. Abraham indirectly pointed this out for the first time, proposing as a criterion for absolute pitch to consider the ability to name the steps of recognizable sounds. B. V. Asafiev (5) pointed directly to the connection of absolute pitch with the perception, memorization and recognition of the sounds of a tempered system. B. M. Teplov characterized absolute pitch as the ability to recognize sounds that are a tempered semitone apart and “recognize the height of all steps of the musical scale.” A. Rakovsky experimentally proved that the pitch standards for those with absolute pitch are the sounds of the 12-step tempered system (99). Moreover, as already mentioned, before the advent of the temperament scale, when the standards for tuning fork tuning of musical instruments had not yet been established and the names of notes were not tied to certain pitches, absolute pitch in modern understanding didn't exist. The emergence of absolute pitch as a musical ability is due historically to the establishment in musical practice of a 12-step equal-tempered scale (53).
The essence of absolute pitch, hidden from observation, is perhaps most clearly revealed in the identification standards. The musical practice reduced the infinite variety of frequency variants of sounds to 12 semantic units. Their musical meaning lies in the characteristic modal quality, which, when perceived, causes a certain emotional-sensual experience. To understand the musical meaning of each of the 12 sounds means, on the basis of a modal feeling, to experience the modal quality characteristic of each of them, individualizing them. How can one learn to unmistakably and unmistakably perceive and recognize the absolute individualizing quality of each of the 12 sounds, all the time appearing in different "faces"? There is only one way: to remember, consolidate and preserve in the representation of one sound only one of its modal qualities. And this is possible only under those conditions under which the sounds do not change their modal portrait, under the conditions of one mode and one key, that is, monotonality.
Identification standards not only reveal the musical conditionality of absolute pitch, but also reveal its modal essence.
So, the analysis of the material presented in this chapter shows that the characteristic features of absolute pitch are explained only from the standpoint of its mono-tonal gradation nature and its mono-tonal gradation essence is revealed.

8. Absolute pitch and musicality

As noted above, the prevalence of absolute pitch among musicians is low and amounts to 6-7%. At the same time, there is a significant increase in the proportion of absolute pitch holders among outstanding musicians. It is also known that almost all great composers, conductors, performers had perfect pitch. These facts indicate that absolute pitch is not a factor that is indifferent to the development of musical and auditory abilities, musicality in general, and to achieve high creative results in the art of music.
K. Stumpf, the first researcher of absolute pitch, directly associated this ability with an outstanding musical talent. N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov also believed that the highest auditory abilities "usually, or at least very often coincide" ... "with absolute pitch" (62, 40-59).
However, negative assessments of the importance of absolute pitch for musical activity and professional prospects are more often expressed. music education its owners. A number of authors recognize the manifestations of absolute hearing as an obstacle and a brake musical development, a hindrance to a full-fledged emotional experience of music. An analysis of their arguments shows that such assessments are based on the understanding of absolute pitch as the ability to fix and memorize the frequency or timbre characteristics of sounds, in which "sound with all its spectral components - harmonics and non-harmonic overtones - is firmly remembered precisely in these specific frequency characteristics" (53, 78-79). Absolute pitch is characterized by them as “pointillistic”, “dodecaphonic”, “abstract-timbre”, “non-intonation” pitch, as “tuner's pitch”. Indeed, such hearing, which reflects the physical properties of sounds, can be an obstacle, a brake, and a disservice to the musician. But absolute pitch is not physical frequency or abstract timbre, but modal pitch, just like relative pitch. And with such an understanding, the question of its value and significance for musicality can only be resolved positively.
A scientific solution to the question of the relationship between absolute pitch and musicality was given by BM Teplov (67, 151-159). Absolute pitch allows you to directly hear the musical quality of individual sounds and the nature of keys. This facilitates the awareness of modulations, contributes to the development of harmonic hearing. Absolute pitch facilitates the learning of musical notation, increases the amount of musical memory, greatly facilitates the recording of musical dictations and sight-singing, and qualitatively improves musical performances.
“The main thing that absolute pitch gives,” noted B. M. Teplov, “is the possibility of a more analytical perception of music” (67, 157). “Absolute pitch facilitates any general analysis of music” (67, 159). At the same time, absolute hearing not only leads to “the emergence of other characteristics of musical sensations, musical perception, musical performances and musical memory, but also contributes to the deepening of musical experience” (27, 19).
All this indicates that absolute pitch is widely used in musical activity, facilitates music learning and solving complex professional problems, contributes to work productivity and the achievement of high creative results.
Musical ear includes intonation, melodic, harmonic components. Let us consider in what relation absolute pitch is to them.
Intonation hearing, which manifests itself in sensitivity to the accuracy and purity of musical intonation, is based on the modal sense as the ability to have a subtle emotional experience and distinguish between the modal functions of sounds. There is no reason to agree with the statements about the intonational deafness of the owners of absolute pitch, just because the emotional experience of the modal qualities of sounds, which made it possible to distinguish, remember and recognize them, is in no way weaker than the modal sense of the owners of relative pitch. The brightness and strength of the emotional experience of the modal qualities of sounds is the main condition for the natural formation of absolute pitch and the most important basis for intonational pitch.
Melodic ear is manifested in the ability to perceive and experience the expressive content of the melody, to recognize and reproduce it. The basis of the development of melodic hearing, as shown by the studies of B. M. Teplov, is not an interval feeling, which itself develops on the basis of melodic hearing, but a modal, that is, a step feeling. "Melodic ear has<...>two bases - modal feeling and musical auditory representations ”(67, 182).
A well-developed modal sense and the ability for auditory representation, leading to the distinction, memorization, recognition and reproduction of individual sounds, exclude the recognition of objective prerequisites that impede the development of melodic hearing in absolute pitch owners. On the contrary, absolute pitch provides an additional advantage that is extremely useful in many sports. academic work, - to hear the absolute tonal quality of both the individual sounds that make up the melody, and the tonality of the perceived melody. True, the development of the ability of interval perception and experience of the expressive content of melodies in those with absolute pitch may be delayed due to its replacement by the ability of discrete perception of a melody as a series of sounds. “Absolute ear can delay the development of other aspects of musical ear insofar as it replaces them and removes the practical need for them,” wrote B. M. Teplov (67, 153). However, there is no reason to attribute this shortcoming directly to absolute pitch. Underdevelopment of melodic ear is noted regardless of the presence or absence of absolute pitch. Absolute pitch contributes rather than hinders the development of melodic hearing, since its carriers have an increased emotional sensitivity to the modal qualities of sounds and, in the auditory representation, when playing melodies, are not bound by the need to rely on previous sounds.
Polyphonic, harmonic and functional components of musical ear are combined under general concept"harmonic hearing".
Polyphonic hearing is manifested in the ability to recognize and reproduce several simultaneously sounding melodic horizontal lines, as well as perceive the expressive content of each of them separately, as well as the qualitative originality of their combination.
Harmonic hearing is the ability of analytical auditory perception and reproduction in a separate consonance of the sounds that make it up vertically and experiencing the qualitative originality of their combination.
Functional hearing is the ability to perceive and experience the modal qualities of consonances.
Studies have shown that harmonic hearing is a manifestation of melodic hearing in relation to consonances and, in general, to any polyphonic music. Harmonic hearing has the same foundations as melodic hearing: modal feeling and musical auditory representations. It develops under the condition of a well-developed melodic ear and represents the next, higher stage in the development of musical ear. “This stage is associated with a qualitative restructuring of those basic abilities that underlie musical ear.<...>but it does not require any fundamentally different abilities” (67, 223).
The development of harmonic hearing is directly related to the task of auditory pitch analysis. Auditory analysis of consonances, especially individual, taken outside musical movement, is greatly facilitated by the possession of absolute pitch. Thus, together with B. M. Teplov, we can admit that “the development of harmonic ear to a greater extent than the development of melodic ear is facilitated by the presence of absolute pitch” (67, 224).
At the beginning, we noted that both relative and absolute pitch have a modal feeling as their source. We can also say that the improvement of both relative and absolute pitch is closely connected with the development of strength, brightness, liveliness, arbitrariness and mobility of musical and auditory representations. And the owners of absolute pitch have obvious advantages in this, since the ability to arbitrarily operate with musical images is obviously facilitated by the presence of absolute pitch, which, as noted, is not bound by the need to rely on the previous sound.
IN in a certain sense it can be said that absolute pitch is both a consequence of the child's early musical inclinations and a factor in the success of their development. It has already been pointed out that absolute pitch is not sufficient for the true perception and reproduction of music. Only in combination with relative absolute pitch provides a high development of musical-analytical ability, which also requires sufficient theoretical knowledge and developed musical-theoretical thinking. For other types of musical activity, for example, performing, a whole range of abilities is also needed, such as performing technique, performing will, the ability to creatively interpret the composer's intention, as well as the so-called general abilities noted by B. M. Teplov: the strength, richness and initiative of the imagination , concentration of attention, intellectual and emotional content of the personality, etc.
Having perfect pitch does not mean having perfect pitch. Just as having relative hearing does not mean having bad hearing. Absolute or relative hearing indicate the special psychophysiological mechanisms of perception and reproduction of individual sounds that distinguish them, and not the levels of hearing development. The level of development of hearing, both absolute and relative, is determined by two main musical and auditory abilities: modal feeling and auditory representations, and the ability to recognize and reproduce a single sound is only a factor conducive to the development of musical ear and, in general, musicality.
Possession of absolute pitch does not in itself guarantee high level musical development and, of course, it is not exhausted. Known examples of achievement high degrees musicality by persons without absolute pitch. But in combination with other special and general abilities, the owner of absolute pitch, all other things being equal, has a significant advantage in musical development and in musical creativity. And the fact that great musicians have almost 100% perfect pitch confirms this. The same fact confirms that only absolute or only relative pitch by themselves are not sufficient for successful professional musical activity. A good professional musical ear can only be called such an ear that combines its absolute and relative components.

9. Criteria for the authenticity of absolute pitch

The problem of the authenticity of absolute pitch, which was solved long ago in practice, remains open in the theory of musical abilities. Such ambiguity is explained, on the one hand, by the obviousness of the practical manifestation of absolute pitch, and on the other, by its hidden essence and nature.
As already mentioned, as the main, and more often the only criterion for the authenticity of absolute pitch in its detection and experimental formation, its accuracy was recognized, expressed as a percentage of correct recognitions to total number presented sounds. However, the percentage of sound recognition accuracy does not allow one to separate absolute pitch from pseudoabsolute and other manifestations of false absolute pitch.
BM Teplov already defined the outlines of the criteria for absolute pitch. Analyzing the results of previous studies, B. M. Teplov comes to the conclusion that “the accuracy of recognition, obviously, cannot serve as a criterion for absolute pitch,” and that “first of all, a sharp difference in the duration of the recognition reaction is striking. In persons with absolute pitch, the reaction time of recognition is very short" (67, 127), and "the process of recognition of sounds, as a rule, is not based on a sense of intervals and does not include "inner singing" (67, 128). BM Teplov notes one more feature of absolute pitch. “True absolute pitch develops and is maintained in the course of ordinary musical activity, without requiring any special extra-musical exercises” (67, 147). The latter requires clarification. Indeed, having reached a certain degree of internalization and a level of development in monotonal activity, absolute pitch is further maintained and preserved in ordinary musical conditions, without requiring any extramusical exercises. And this is evidence of the musical conditioning of absolute pitch. But its further development can be slowed down or stopped in an interval-polytonal musical environment. The usual intonation-interval and polytonal nature of the music surrounding us only maintains the achieved level of absolute pitch and develops relative pitch. And this is precisely what explains the numerous examples of the existence of not fully developed absolute pitch, noted by many researchers, for example, A Wellek (13, 19), M. V. Karaseva (34, 113), B. I. Utkin, who wrote: “Absolute Hearing occurs at different levels<…>Among the “absolutes” there are students with the usual shortcomings: they do not hear intervals, chords, the lower voice in two-voice dictations, confuse the timbres of instruments, impure intonation, etc., etc. ” (70, 15).
With this clarification, the conclusions of B. M. Teplov are fully consistent with the position we are defending about the monotonal gradation essence of absolute pitch and completely exhaust the list of criteria for its authenticity. The conclusions of B. M. Teplov are also consistent with musical and pedagogical practice, which has long decided on the choice of criterion and unmistakably uses it in diagnosing and assessing the prospects for the auditory development of absolute pitch owners.
Thus, the criteria for the authenticity of absolute pitch are:

• short reaction time for recognition of sounds;
• the immediate and irrelevant nature of their recognition;
• preservation of absolute pitch in ordinary musical activity.

The musical encyclopedia gives the following definition of absolute pitch. “Absolute pitch is a special kind of long-term memory for the pitch and timbre of a sound: the ability to recognize and determine, using the names of notes, the pitch of individual sounds of a melody, chord, even non-musical sounds, reproduce in a voice or on an instrument with a non-fixed pitch sounds of a given pitch, without comparing them with others, the pitch of which is known ”(60, 103).
The above formulation only describes the manifestations of absolute pitch and is not meaningful enough for the following reasons.
First, absolute pitch is not a "special kind of memory." It is not just a kind of memory either. Absolute pitch, as shown, only manifests itself in the properties of memory, but its essence remains the special quality of perception of individual sounds.
Secondly, a useful sign in recognizing sounds by absolute pitch is not the height, understood in acoustics as the frequency of vibrations, and not the timbre, but the modal quality of the sounds.
Thirdly, this formulation mixes indicators of authenticity (recognition of individual sounds) and the level of development (recognition of chord sounds, non-musical sounds) of absolute pitch.
Fourthly, the true absolute pitch in this formulation not only is not separated, but is even identified with the false absolute pitch, based on the recognition of sounds according to the timbre criterion.
Finally, the above formulation does not reveal the essence and does not contain criteria for the authenticity of absolute pitch.
Solving the problems of essence, psychological nature, genesis and criteria allows us to give scientific definition absolute hearing.
Absolute pitch is an internalized ability to perceive the monotonal step qualities of individual sounds, which manifests itself in a short reaction time and the irrelevant nature of their recognition and is supported under normal conditions of musical activity.

Surely many have heard the expression "absolute pitch". In everyday life, it is often attributed to people who are well versed in music, musical notation, and have outstanding vocal abilities. However, being a top musician does not automatically mean perfect pitch. Moreover, only a few percent of the world's population can boast of this gift.

Mysterious Phenomenon

Absolute ear for music is one of the rare phenomena, whose status is difficult even to determine. Is it the result of some natural factors Or a physiological (hereditary) feature? The result of the unique development of the individual or the consequence of the influence of the social environment (family, society)? Or a complex combination of all factors? This is a mystery, even after centuries of study, shrouded in twilight.

Presumably, most babies have this gift, but rather quickly it is “overlapped” by other skills that are more important for survival. The main question, due to which the element of mystery arises, is the following: why in the same upbringing environment, under the same conditions for musical development, one of the children develops absolute pitch, while the other does not?

Statistics

Over the years of deep research, scientists have accumulated rich statistical material. It turned out that absolute pitch is formed exclusively in childhood, moreover, precisely in preschool, during the period of dominance of involuntary mastering of skills. This fact is unanimously confirmed by all researchers of absolute pitch. At the same time, the formation of a rare skill requires, as mandatory condition the presence in the child's family of a musical instrument whose pitch is fixed. For example, keyboards, a number of wind instruments (bayan, accordion) and others. The reasons for this, presumably, lie not so much in the field of the psychology of human abilities, but in the psychology of individual differences (differential psychology).

An absolute ear for music steadily retains its status as a phenomenon as an outstanding, exceptional phenomenon in a certain respect. This is due to its relatively low prevalence. According to researchers, 6-7% of professional musicians and no more than 1% of all music listeners have absolute pitch.

Definition

Absolute pitch is the ability of people to determine "by ear" the absolute pitch of sounds. Musicians with this gift remember the absolute pitch scale of the 12-semitone octave scale. They are able to accurately determine the pitch of any sound without outside help. In turn, absolute pitch is divided into:

• Passive - the ability to match the pitch of an audible sound.
• Active - the ability to reproduce a given sound with a voice (the owners of "active hearing" are an absolute minority).

There is also the concept of relative hearing - not an innate, but a learned skill, when people are able to correctly determine the pitch with the help of "tips" (an object of comparison, such as a tuning fork).

The development of absolute pitch: pros and cons

For more than a century there has been a debate about whether this rare natural ability can be developed and trained. Theoretically, this is possible, because under the influence of some factors it is formed in children. However, critics of teaching methods argue that there is no mass “influx” of musicians trained in absolute musical pitch.

IN different time different people invented methods of artificial acquisition of absolute pitch, which were not widely used in practice for a very simple reason: they were not in demand among professional musicians. By general opinion, absolute pitch, although it greatly facilitates the implementation of musical activity, but does not guarantee its success, and sometimes even complicates it. In addition, numerous reliable facts indicating that not all famous musicians had absolute pitch confirm the thesis that this ability is not mandatory or decisive.

Moral aspect

And yet, the problem of absolute pitch claims to be eternal, since it consists in dividing all members of the musical community into two "camps": people who have a gift and those who do not. This confrontation cannot be avoided.

In other words, the possession of absolute pitch is not the subject of a conscious choice, but a kind of "blessing from above." At first glance, people who have a relative ear seem to be disadvantaged: in comparison with the “absolutes”, they need the help of a tuning fork or any other source of sound standards. In addition, when performing one or another operation related to determining the pitch of sounds, the “absolutes” demonstrate unconditional superiority, which cannot but affect the self-esteem of the owners of relative hearing.

The most striking consequence of this situation is the formation of a kind of professional inferiority complex in persons with relative hearing. This happens despite the widespread assertion that a highly developed relative ear is quite consistent, and sometimes even more effective in the implementation of musical activity.

Scientific approach

Musical ear today is considered differentially in the following gradation of levels: melodic, harmonic, tonal, polytonal, modal, internal, orchestral, polyphonic, rhythmic, physical (natural), singing-intonation, subtle, sharp, absolute, choral, opera, ballet, drama , stylistic, polystylistic, poetic, ethnic and polyethnic (absolute pitch).

Composers, conductors, folklorists, the first violinist of the orchestra, arrangers, piano and organ tuners have it. Many researchers agree that absolute ear for music is a product that has concentrated on the basis of versatile natural phenomena, human genetics. It should be developed by capturing the voices of nature, the singing of birds, the cries of animals, and even man-made (industrial) sounds.

How to develop absolute pitch

Whether it is possible to develop 100% hearing by training is a moot point. Usually people who achieve good results are called the owners of pseudo-absolute pitch. It is advisable to develop talent in preschoolers if they are capable of music. It has been proven that for a full-fledged perception of music, the most favorable time is childhood, when the basics are perceived in the family from parents musical culture, the ability to perceive, understand, feel, experience musical images is brought up.

Models of the development of absolute pitch

Several development models are practiced in Russia. They are based on two principles of controlling intonation and hearing:

• oral (according to the text);
• associative (according to notes).

The mastering process boils down to the fact that at each lesson the whole scale with words is sung, then each student sings it at recess, on the way home, after doing homework, at leisure. He has it in his head all the time. When basically the text of the model is fixed in memory, which is not difficult by analogy with poetic texts songs, the text is sung in breakdown in the most various options. In the future, the key should be changed and try to sing the text in a new key, as a result of which the student begins to operate, modulate in any keys.

Regular chanting exercises develop an inner ear for music. The student begins to hear and determine what sound is emitted - mi, sol, fa, la, etc. By analogy with what composers, folklorists, ethnographers, conductors with absolute pitch are taught.

History lessons

What is a person with absolute pitch capable of? In history, there is a case that happened to the great L. Beethoven. It so happened that his physical hearing disappeared while conducting a work at a concert, but an absolute, inner ear for music helped, which helped the composer to be able to conduct a symphony orchestra (310 musicians).

Physical deafness did not prevent another opera composer - N. S. Dagirov (operas "Aigazi", "Irchi-Cossack", in collaboration with G. A. Gasanov "Khochbar", ballet "Partu Patima"), who did not hear the productions of his monumental works, but who felt and perceives them with internal absolute hearing. With the loss of the physical, inner hearing does not disappear. A person with absolute pitch will be able to syntonate accurately enough, display, beat the rhythm as close as possible to what he heard.

Conclusion

Seeing, memorizing, writing down, learning to catch and hear the music living around is the goal and task of the absolute pitch development model, first in preschool, then in school education and education. The development of musical ear into absolute leads to a differentiated perception of timbres-voices of folk, symphonic, jazz and other groups. After all, the main goal human society on Earth is the study and improvement of the surrounding life in space and time on a new round of the spiral of evolution.

Online game "Absolute Rumor"

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The first 33 questions from this list. The entire list of 55 questions (from 34 to 55 tokens with a musical staff) is presented in the full version of this game, which is included in the program.

Alexey Ustinov, 2011-12-30

Game updated 2013-11-30

Teacher's comment

Absolute musical ear - the ability to determine the pitch, regardless of other tones, i.e. without comparing sounds with each other and, as a result, assigning a note name to this sound. The nature of this phenomenon has not been sufficiently studied in the circles of musicologists and, apparently, therefore, it is represented by different points of view. But it is even less familiar to practitioners. At the same time, the skill of "absolute musical ear" constantly remains in the focus of both interest and controversy among almost all musicians. It is generally accepted that all string players (violinists, cellists) have such an ear, but this is not so! On the contrary, it seems that the pianist does not need it at all - however, those who have this skill say that it helps a lot, for example, when reading scores ... Another often discussed question is whether it can be developed, or is it something is it inborn?

What to do with a child who easily picks up any melody and does not want to look at the musical text at all? How to develop ear for a student who knows musical symbols well, but can play false notes, memorizes them and the teacher cannot help him by any means?

One day my second-grade student asked me to play for him Gennady Sasko's piece "Blues", which is quite complex in rhythm, with a passage at the end. Played it three times... and in the next lesson he played the Blues without notes and at the same tempo as the piece sounded. The case with this boy was for me an example of my incompetence in working with a gifted student with absolute pitch... There were not many children with absolute pitch in my teaching practice. And most often these children did not graduate from music school. From the very beginning, they could memorize and play pieces by hand, "by ear", but reading a complex text caused them resistance and, as a result, they lost interest in learning.

In other words, the skill of "absolute pitch" is not something separate in the learning process, unambiguously positive or negative. Both the presence and absence of it require additional attention from the teacher and a special approach to the student. And yet, this skill is highly desirable!

In order to help my students, and not to repeat the mistakes of my youth myself, now I use the method of Maltsev S.M. - the author of a comprehensive methodology for teaching piano playing, as well as solfegging, synchronous with piano playing. This method helps me to identify already in the first year of education children with good developed hearing and constantly work with them by reading music from a sheet.

Most students and those who want to master the wisdom of music, easily learn and play their favorite melodies on the piano or guitar, still need to develop their ear. And the game "Absolute pitch" is an excellent tool for this. It is suitable for all ages.

Small children, who cannot even read, will guess the right answer from the pictures. (Only they need help - first play the game NOTES - PICTURES so that the child gets to know the notes hidden in simple words: HOUSE, TURP. In the same place, he will get acquainted with the sound of notes.).

Older kids and adults will discover when they play that they HAVE perfect pitch and that this skill is developing - tested!

Of course, someone might say that there are no semitones (more precisely, a full chromatic scale) in the game. Yes, the game only includes white piano keys, i.e. in fact, we are in a major (DO) or minor (LA) fret ... Someone may note that the steps of the fret and intervals play a role here ... Absolutely right! But, start with simple tasks, achieve confident recognition of these notes, and you will take a big step in improving your musical ear. Believe me, you will get great pleasure when you find out that you identify the name of the note by ear!

Krivopalova L.N.
Piano teacher, Palace of Creativity for Children and Youth, Tomsk
01.05.2011

The Virartek team expresses its gratitude to Lyubov Nikolaevna Krivopalova, who took an active part in the creation of this game and in its testing. THANK YOU! Good luck to you and your students!

22.01.2015 20:56

is the ability to accurately identify the pitch of any sound without resorting to comparison with sounds of known pitch.

Composer Camille Saint-Saens grew up as a child prodigy. At the age of two and a half, he found himself in front of the piano. Instead of pounding at random, he pressed one key after another and did not release it until the sound died down. Grandmother taught him the names of notes, and then decided to put the instrument in order. During the work of the tuner, little Saint-Saens was able to name all the notes, hearing them from the next room. These people are said to have absolute pitch.

Such descriptions make us perceive this skill as something unattainable and magical... Our review of facts and research calls for abandoning such pathos.

Absolute pitch research

The history of absolute pitch began in the 17th century, when an equal-tempered musical scale with 12 steps and a fixed tuning fork (pitch standard) were introduced into circulation. Its first documented owner in the 18th century was W. A. ​​Mozart, whose hearing was described as "true", "excellent". The term " absolute pitch"was introduced in the second half of the 19th century, and closer to the 20th century, scientists began to closely study the phenomenon itself. To date, many interesting patterns, connections and effects associated with absolute pitch have been discovered, however, in scientific world there is no consensus on the exact nature of this phenomenon.

In his work "Zonal nature of pitch hearing" (1948), N. Garbuzov, on the basis of his experiments, suggested that absolute musicians perceive audio frequencies clusters, correlating frequency bands with a 12-step tempered scale. They do not need a special subtlety of hearing to differentiate frequencies within these clusters, only a special quality of perception of each of these zones. The width of the zones, according to Garbuzov, depends on the height of the register, timbre, sound volume, individual characteristics and mental state of a person.

Phenomenon absolute pitch psychologist Diane Deutsch has been studying in detail for more than 30 years. At the 138th meeting of the American Acoustic Society in 1999, together with colleagues, she presented the results of a study of the dependence of absolute pitch on the presence of tonality in the native language (Deutsch, Henthorn, Dolson, 1999). Most of The peoples of Southeast Asia, Africa, and the indigenous peoples of the Americas speak languages ​​in which the meaning of a word depends on the height of the pronunciation of syllables. These languages ​​are called tonal or tone languages. From infancy, native speakers of such languages ​​develop sensitivity to pitch, which is necessary for understanding and reproducing their native speech. As a result of the experiment, native speakers of Vietnamese and Chinese reproduced words from their native language with amazing accuracy on the same note in which they spoke them a few days ago. The deviation did not exceed 0.5-1.1 tone for the Vietnamese and 0.25-0.5 tone for the Chinese! Deutsch considers this proof that absolute pitch is not innate, but acquired.

Some statistics from a study among students of two conservatories, in the USA and China (Deutsch, Henthorn, Marvin, Xu, 2005). The students, divided into three groups, took online testing, where they were asked to correctly identify about 20 sounded notes. Chinese students showed a significant lead over American students who speak only non-tonal languages. According to the test criteria, in the group of students who started studying music at 4-5 years old, about 60% of Chinese and 14% of American students had absolute pitch; in the group of those who started at 6-7 years old - 55% of Chinese and only 6% of Americans; in the group who started at 8-9 years old - 42% of Chinese and none of the US. Importantly, this study showed a direct correlation having absolute pitch from an early age of learning music.

A Canadian study (Bidelman, Hutka, Moreno, 2013), comparing musicians and non-musicians with their native tonal language, proved the influence of language on musical ability, confirming their two-way close relationship. Items on pitch accuracy, musical perception, and general cognitive abilities (eg, fluid intelligence, working memory). Cantonese speakers Chinese people showed results comparable to those of musicians, in contrast to English-speaking people who did not study music.

The auditory system of absolutists functionally and physically does not differ from non-absolutists. The difference is in a different algorithm for processing sound information cerebral cortex (Gregsen, 1998): precise definition pitch requires a base of frequencies in the human memory, as well as establishing correspondences between sound ranges and note names, because one note corresponds to an interval of frequencies, albeit a small one. Thus, absolute pitch can be a direct analogue of our ability to recognize colors, speech sounds, or other artificially discrete perceptual systems. In the same way that most of us have learned to recognize and name visible light with a wavelength of 450-495 nm "blue", people who were introduced to the notes and their names in early childhood are likely to be able to identify, for example, the note C (Takeuchi, Hulse, 1993).

According to the results of a three-year study in 2002-2005, aimed at finding genes associated with the presence of absolute hearing, Dr. Jane Gitscher (Jane Gitschier) from the University of California, having recorded a high probability of possessing such hearing in relatives, suggested that such genes do exist. . Although, perhaps, this is a universal human ability, which largely determines its development by the level and type of musical influence that people experience in a particular culture. The collected data showed that the phenomenon of absolute pitch turned out to be an excellent illustration plasticity of our auditory system, as well as a model for studying the interaction of genes and nurture in the developing brain.

Is it possible to develop absolute pitch?

So far, there has not been a single confirmed case of an adult achieving true absolute pitch. As we have already mentioned, the period of early musical development in childhood is critical. But don't give up.

If you want to hear melodies as sequences of notes, then you need to regularly and steadily develop all the components of musical ear. When you learn to hear the difference between sounds, at least up to a semitone, and remember the name of a sound of any pitch, then you can safely claim that you have developed pseudo-absolute pitch. There are many people who have achieved this result. There is no miracle here, but only hard work to acquire the desired skill.

You may need pseudo-absolute pitch in the following cases:

• start singing in the desired key without prompting and not "slide" when singing a capella;
• determine if your instrument is tuned correctly (the tuning can be shifted higher or lower);
• check whether you take notes correctly when playing instruments with a non-fixed system (strings, brass-winds).

However, each of these situations can be handled by a person with well-developed relative hearing.

Is absolute pitch important for a musician?

Fact of presence absolute pitch mistakenly perceived as a guarantee of developed musicality. However, it is found in mediocre musicians, in tuners of musical instruments and in people who are not interested in music at all. Thus, this ability is not exclusively musical. Many animals and birds have absolute pitch, for which the ability to distinguish pitch is necessary for life.

According to the way of perception, the pitch of musical ear is divided into:

• absolute(perception by individual notes);
• relative(perception through the distance between sounds).

It is appropriate to recall what kind of praise people shout, inspired by the excellent performance of music? If we generalize the enthusiasm, then we will understand that the outstanding musician skillfully uses ALL of his abilities. Even with remarkable relative hearing and a sense of rhythm, a person does not become a talented musician. These aspects of the musical ear only allow us to divide the fabric of the work into components for a deeper understanding of it. They do NOT compensate for the lack of artistic imagination, artistry, the ability to work with your voice or instrument, and other important qualities!

It is difficult to imagine a good athlete without strong muscles and excellent physical fitness, good speaker without the ability to speak beautifully and speak freely in front of the public. So a good musician is inconceivable without a developed musical ear, which includes a whole range of abilities necessary for successful composition, expressive performance and active perception of music.

Depending on the musical characteristics There are different types of musical hearing. For example, pitch, timbre, modal, internal, harmonic, melodic, interval, rhythmic, etc. But one of the most inexplicable is still absolute pitch. Let's see what this mysterious phenomenon is.

The name of this variety comes from Latin word absolutus, which in translation means "unconditional, independent, unlimited, perfect". Perfect pitch refers to "the ability to determine the exact pitch of a sound without relating it to another sound whose pitch is known" (Grove's Dictionary). That is, absolute pitch allows, without tuning, without comparison with any “standard” of pitch, to instantly, and most importantly, accurately recognize and name the pitch of audible sounds.

Interestingly, the concept of absolute pitch appeared only in the second half of the 19th century. And since that time, scientific minds have been trying to find the answer to the question: “where does a person get such a unique ability?”. Researchers put forward a variety of hypotheses about the origin of absolute pitch. However, there is still no clear answer to this question. Some scientists consider it to be an innate (and also inherited) acoustic-physiological ability, which depends on the anatomical features of the hearing aid (more precisely, the structure of the inner ear). Others associate absolute pitch with special mechanisms of the brain, in the cortex of which there are special formant detectors. Still others suggest that absolute pitch is formed due to strong sound impressions in very early childhood and well-developed "photographic" figurative-auditory memory, especially in childhood.

Absolute pitch is a rather rare phenomenon even among professional musicians, not to mention ordinary connoisseurs of musical art, who may not even know that nature has awarded them this rare gift. Determining whether you have absolute pitch or not is quite simple. To "diagnose" this ability, experts use the piano, on which you will be asked to identify and name a particular sound. But in order to cope with this task, you must at least know the names of the notes themselves and how they sound. Therefore, as a rule, absolute pitch is detected in early childhood: in children at about 3-5 years of age, usually after getting acquainted with the names of musical sounds.

Absolute pitch is especially important for such musical professions as a conductor, composer, performer on instruments with a non-fixed tuning (for example, stringed instruments), since it allows you to more subtly perceive the pitch, more accurately control the tuning. Yes, and for an amateur musician, the presence of absolute pitch will not harm: the selection of chords to familiar melodies, of course, is much easier for owners of absolute pitch.

But along with undeniable advantages (primarily for professional musicians), this unique ability also has its disadvantages. In certain cases, absolute pitch can become a real test, especially for those who are familiar with the basics. musical literacy. You sit, for example, in a restaurant during a romantic date. And instead of enjoying the conversation or the scent delicious meals under the quiet background of the sounding music, cherished notes periodically “swim” in your mind: “la, fa, mi, re, mi, salt, do…”. Not everyone in such a situation is able to “turn off” and focus their attention on the interlocutor.

In addition, it is difficult to find a worse torture for an absolutist than listening to an inspired performance of a work by those who are “absolutely deaf”. Indeed, with such abilities, a person not only hears the exact pitch of the sound, but also absolutely accurately determines falseness, the slightest deviations from the correct standard sound. One can only sincerely sympathize with the absolute during the concert sounding of the joint playing of poorly tuned instruments (especially strings) or uncoordinated "dirty" ensemble singing.

By by and large it doesn't really matter if you have absolute pitch or not. But if you decide to devote yourself to music, and maybe even become a first-class professional musician, then a good ear for music is vital for you. Its development should henceforth become a purposeful and regular action for you. Classes in a special discipline - solfeggio - can help in this difficult matter. But musical ear develops especially actively in the process of musical activity: during singing, playing an instrument, selection by ear, improvisation, composing music.

And most importantly, friends, learn to listen and understand music! With love and reverence, listen to every sound, sincerely enjoy the beauty of each consonance, in order to continue to give happiness and joy from communicating with music to your grateful listeners!!!