Cross-cultural comparisons of absolute pitch and relative pitch in music students in different countries

Absolute pitch (AP) is commonly known to be an extremely rare and highly valuable musical ability. However, there are a few reports indicating that AP is relatively prevalent among musicians in East Asia (China and Japan) compared to the West (Deutsch et al., 2006, 2013; Miyazaki et al., 2012). More evidence is needed to shed more light on the prevalence of AP among different countries. On the other hand, the musical significance of AP is called into question by the evidence indicating that some music students having AP performed poorer in identifying or recognizing transposed musical intervals and melodies than those having no AP (Miyazaki, 1995; Miyazaki & Rakowski, 2002). AP is no more than an ability to identify isolated pitches without any context. When we consider the fact that essential elements of music (e.g., melody and harmony) are constructed on the basis of pitch relations independently of AP, far more important is the ability to perceive relative pitch (RP), and AP is almost irrelevant to every aspects of music activities.