Absolute Pitch
Absolute pitch (AP) is of interest in the study of human information processing for a variety of reasons. For one, some claim that the ability violates Miller's (1956) 7±2 rule, because AP possessors can typically identify up to 100 distinct pitches, absolutely. The acquisition and demonstration of AP also brings up central issues in the nature of memory (whether it is relational or absolute), categorization, and the mental codes humans use to process sensory stimuli.
Our laboratory's work on AP includes the following papers:
Levitin, D. J. (1994). Absolute memory for musical pitch: Evidence from the production of learned melodies. Perception & Psychophysics. 56, 414-423.
Levitin, D. J. (1999). Absolute pitch: Self-reference and human memory. International Journal of Computing Anticipatory System, 4, 255-266.
Levitin, D. J. (1999). Memory for musical attributes. In P.R. Cook [Ed.], Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound: An Introduction to Psychoacoustic. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 209-227.
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Levitin, D. J. (2000). In search of the musical mind. Cerebrum, 2(4), 1 - 24.
Levitin, D. J. (2003). Absolute pitch: Précis to an integrated review. Bulletin of Psychology and the Arts, 4(1), 17-19.
Levitin, D. J. (2004). L'Oreille Absolue. L'Année Psychologique, 104, 103-120.
Levitin, D. J. (2006). Em busca da mente musical. B. S. Ilari [Ed.], Em busca da mente musical: Ensaios sobre os processos cognitivos em música - da percepção à produção, pp. 23-44. Curitaba, Brazil: Editora UFPR.
Levitin, D. J. (2008). Absolute pitch: Both a curse and a blessing. Music Meets Medicine, Proceedings of the Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation, Helsinki, Finland.
Levitin, D. J. (in press). Absolute pitch. In E. B. Goldstein (Ed.), Sage Encyclopedia of Perception.
Levitin, D. J., & Rogers, S. E. (2005). Absolute pitch: Perception, coding, and controversies. Trends in Cognitive Science, 9(1), 26-33.
Levitin, D. J., & Zatorre, R. J. (2003). On the nature of early music training and absolute pitch: A reply to Brown, Sachs, Cammuso, and Folstein. Music Perception, 21(1), 105-110.
Parncutt, R. & Levitin, D. J. (2001). Absolute pitch. In S. Sadie [Ed.], New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. New York: St. Martins Press, 37-39.  |