A developmental study of latent absolute pitch memory

ABSTRACT

The ability to recall the absolute pitch level of familiar music (latent absolute pitch memory) is widespread in adults, in contrast to the rare ability to label single pitches without a reference tone (overt absolute pitch memory). The present research investigated the developmental profile of latent absolute pitch (AP) memory and explored individual differences related to this ability. In two experiments, 288 children from 4 to12 years of age performed significantly above chance at recognizing the absolute pitch level of familiar melodies. No age-related improvement or decline, nor effects of musical training, gender, or familiarity with the stimuli were found in regard to latent AP task performance. These findings suggest that latent AP memory is a stable ability that is developed from as early as age 4 and persists into adulthood.

KEYWORDS:

• Musical memory
• Development
• Absolute pitch

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Klaus Frieler, who designed the computer interface used for testing in both experiments. Thank you to Annick Odom and Michelle Dickinson who helped in testing participants. We thank the Science Museum, London for the opportunity to conduct this research within the museum as part of a Live Science residency in 2013.

Notes

¹However, see Trainor (2005) for an extensive critique of the stimuli and analysis used by Saffran and Griepentrog (2001) to compare relative versus absolute pitch judgments.