Basic hearing abilities and characteristics of musical pitch perception in absolute pitch possessors

Two studies examined the basic hearing abilities and characteristics of musical pitch perception in absolute pitch possessors. First, we investigated whether absolute pitch capabilities have any influence on basic hearing abilities with respect to frequency, temporal, and spatial resolution. The overall results showed that there were no significant differences among groups with different absolute pitch capability in terms of resolutions of the auditory system. Second, we explored whether differences from non-absolute pitch exist in the mechanisms directly related to musical pitch perception. Pitch perception is determined by both place and temporal cues. The results indicated that absolute pitch possessors could utilize temporal cues more effectively when they identify musical chroma. With regard to the judgment of height, it was found that the place cues play an important role for both absolute and non-absolute pitch possessors.