Does perfect (absolute) pitch ever go out of tune?
When someone has perfect pitch, can it get "out of tune"? I've heard of musicians who had perfect pitch but as they got older they didn't have perfect pitch any more, or maybe it just got "de-tuned": so that if you played middle C, the pitch produced wouldn't match their internal expectation of what middle C should sound like.
Can that really happen?
(2)2 Comments
Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best
Perfect pitch does not always remain perfect. There are studies and anecdotal discussions observing this phenomenon. For example:
Effects of aging on the absolute pitch judgment and frequency following responses of electroencephalograms
Dichotomy and perceptual distortions in absolute pitch ability
Losing perfect pitch??? (discussion board)
Personally, I know two musicians whose perfect pitch has changed: one a working professional pianist in his 70s (as of this post); the other an amateur multi-instrumentalist in his 40s (again, as of this post). In both cases, they described difficulty playing, because the pitches coming out of their instruments no longer matched what their inner ear expected. (The instruments were in tune, of course.)
I have absolue pitch and yes: it is possible losing absolute pitch if you don't listen to tuned music for a long period or if you use drugs.
Terms of Use Privacy policy Contact About Cancellation policy © freshhoot.com2026 All Rights reserved.