Is Absolute Pitch Enough?

People with absolute pitch (also called perfect pitch) will not be able to understand how others without it 'hear' sounds but cannot identify the pitch. Likewise, the latter also cannot comprehend how those with perfect pitch can identify any pitch without the need of a reference note.

Right now we need to assume that you have either one or the other, but not yet both. If you have relative pitch, you will automatically recognize the chord progressions and hence be able to decude the relationship between the different chords in a song, but you cannot identify the song key and chord names. On the other hand, if you have absolute pitch you will be able to identify the song key and chord names, but in order to figure out the chord progressions, you will have to do so mathematically and not by ear.

It is extremely difficult to acquire absolute pitch if one does not already have it. Relative pitch on the other hand can be acquired easily. But this does not mean that absolute pitch is always superior to relative pitch. To those who are already blessed with absolute pitch, the challenge is to acquire relative pitch on top of your absolute pitch.

Getting both of them to work together is the most difficult bit, but when you have mastered both, you will no longer screw-up you perfect pitch when trying to transpose a harmony by any interval (or by deciding to start on another specific key). Moreover, just by listening to any song, not only will be able to figure out the exact chords, you can even do an impromptu transposition since you also know the harmonic pattern - all without having to obtain the score!

Remember, absolute pitch alone is not enough. If you don't already have relative pitch too, start training for it today and you'll realize how good it feels to be able to 'visualize' both the exact harmony of a song and its harmonic pattern, thus having a more profound appreciation of the music.

Here are some related pages about absolute pitch:

Absolute Pitch Distinctions
Absolute Pitch Test
Born With Perfect Pitch?