Modern research consistently shows that perfect pitch, the ability to identify or produce a note without a reference, once thought to be an innate gift for a lucky few, can be learned. The list of people sharing success stories with ear-training apps like HarmoniQ continues to grow. Yet, a curious divide exists between learners and debates challenge whether learned perfect pitch "counts" as perfect pitch. Two methods dominate: the "chroma" approach and the "memorization" approach. As we explore them, we'll see why memorization faces so much criticism and how these methods aren't as different as people assume.
The Chroma Method
Imagine every note has a distinct personality, just like a color, texture, or flavor that makes it unique. Just as you can distinguish a strawberry from chocolate, you can learn to hear C and know it isn't E. That's the chroma method at its core: recognizing pitches by their unique attributes. With tools like HarmoniQ, you can train your brain to hear a note and instantly know whether it's A without comparing it to something else. It becomes instinctive, a sensation you just know. Most people would have trouble explaining how a strawberry tastes differently from chocolate, but there's still no question which is which.
But do you have to learn the chroma for every note? Consider a guitar player who plays in E standard and has internalized that low E. They hear it ring out, and it's more than a sound; it's a vibe they can name without thinking. They've mastered E's chroma. What if they stopped there? Do they have perfect pitch, or is it incomplete? If their relative pitch is strong and intuitive, they might be able to hear any note, relate it to E, and name it instantly. If their goal is to identify notes effortlessly, then voilà. They might not even notice they're blending chroma with relative pitch, because it can work so seamlessly and automatically. There's no universal rule that says you need to learn all the chroma if all you want to do is identify notes when you hear them. This is the essence of the memorization method.
The Memorization Method
This is the method so many people seem to love to hate. It's simple: you associate a pitch with something familiar, maybe a song like the opening D♭ of "Sweet Child O' Mine", or even just a note you've drilled into your skull through repetition. Over time, you hear that pitch in the wild and know it, no reference required. Sounds like perfect pitch, right? Yet countless musicians and educators (check r/musicians or r/MusicEd) insist this is "not real perfect pitch." Why?
- It's External, Not Internal
Detractors argue that learning E from a song or an app is a memorized external reference and not perfect pitch. Using a song by the way, adds emotional context, engaging your intuitive brain to internalize the chroma. Once internalized, you know E without needing to hum "Seven Nation Army", you just know. The once "external" reference has become irrelevant. - Using Relative Pitch Is Cheating
Here's the heart of the hate: people often blend memorization with relative pitch, and purists cry foul. Say you've memorized E's chroma. Your relative pitch is so sharp that when someone plays a G, you instantly know it's a minor third up from your internal E. In fact, you can name every note instantly. To an outsider, that's perfect pitch. A critic might cry, "That doesn't count because you're using E as a reference and you don't know G directly!" In fact, if you learned perfect pitch, most people assume you're doing this even if you aren't. Either way, if they can't tell the difference, why wouldn't it be perfect pitch?
This is where the argument unravels and chroma and memorization merge. It comes down to this: people expect perfect pitch to be effortless. Those without it often think recalling a memorized pitch sounds like work, when really, it's as automatic as naming colors or tastes. The same goes for relative pitch: many see calculating intervals as a lot of effort, yet for someone with a honed sense of relative pitch, it's instant and natural. Plenty of people don't memorize all the notes, though without razor-sharp relative pitch most would need more than one to recognize pitches quickly. If you want to, you can even memorize all 12 chroma. What's the difference?
Goals Define the Journey
If you're that guitarist with killer relative pitch walking around tuned to E, then mastering one chroma might be enough. You walk around, hear a note, and name it, goal achieved. Why slog through 11 more chroma if you're already set? But if your aim is to experience each note's unique color, then one isn't enough. Even with the best relative pitch, you'd still push to learn every chroma.
So, is perfect pitch learnable? Yes, whether you call it chroma or memorization. The guitar player who stops at E proves it's possible, the purist requiring all 12 just has a different finish line, and some go way further than that! People saying "learned perfect pitch isn't perfect pitch" often just mistakenly believe using it is more effort than it really is. You're internalizing sound, making it intuitive, and bending it to your purpose, wherever your finish line happens to be. Download HarmoniQ and find your finish line today.