It isn’t easy, it is about as hard as learning a new language as an adult, it takes a lot of work and dedication, but it may be worth a try, depending on your goals. After meeting Jason Mraz and hearing how perfect his pitch was, I set a goal for myself: be able to sing any note out of the blue and identify instantly any note that is played. That’s perfect pitch. Some think it is impossible to acquire as an adult, but if you are going to try, learning perfect relative pitch may come first. Relative pitch is the ability to sing any note when given any other. Different musicians will be at different stages with this ability.
Absolute Pitch Exercises
Exercise 1: For guitar players who sing. After your guitar is in tune (use a tuner), play the open strings and sing along. First: E (low) A D G B E (high), and then back down: E (high) B G D A E (low). Next, sing the notes one at a time, singing first without the guitar and then check on your guitar. Repeat until you get them all correct 5 times in a row going both up and down.
Exercise 2: Exploring your voice pitch. Again a tuner, practice singing each note within your comfortable vocal range for one entire breath several times in a row. How much does the note jump around as you sing? Practice singing notes as solid as possible in both pitch and volume for each note in your range. Do not stretch or strain at all. Can you keep the tuner needle between +/- 25? How often can you hit 0? Are you able to make the needle stay still while still singing a note with volume above the left side of the curve. Play with this for an hour or so. You might try different vowels. If you do that you may notice that certain vowel sounds push the note sharp. Work on them until you can sing an “I” sound in tune just like an “O” sound. Another fun thing to do is sing a song you know very slowly, using this program to check your pitch.
Exercise 3: Write a one octave piano keyboard on a piece of paper and practice “playing” the notes on it by sining them. One trick is to get away from paying so much attention to the relationships when going from one note to the next and to detach the tones from what you just heard. In essence, you have to have a strong pitch memory, almost stronger than what you are hearing in the room.
Absolute Pitch Quiz
Now that you’ve spent time learning your open guitar strings in previous lessons, it is time to take a quiz. Visit this page https://playback.fm/perfect-pitch-test and see how you do. Have fun!
More Information
Acquiring absolute pitch, also known as perfect pitch, as an adult singer can be challenging but not impossible. Here are some methods that adult singers can use to develop absolute pitch:
1. Ear Training Exercises: Engage in regular ear training exercises to improve your ability to identify and reproduce specific pitches. Start by focusing on recognizing intervals, chords, and scales.
2. Singing with a Reference Pitch: Practice singing scales, melodies, and songs while using a reference pitch, such as a piano or tuner. This will help you develop a sense of relative pitch and gradually train your ear to pitch accurately.
3. Solfege System: Utilize the solfege system, such as the moveable “do” system or fixed “do” system, to internalize the relationship between pitches. Singing solfege syllables (e.g., do, re, mi) can help improve pitch recognition and accuracy.
4. Memorizing Pitch Frequencies: Memorize the frequencies of specific pitches and try to associate them with familiar sounds or songs. This will help you develop a deep understanding of pitch and improve your ability to identify them accurately.
5. Seek Professional Guidance: Work with a vocal instructor, music teacher, or vocal coach who has experience in training singers with absolute pitch. They can guide you through specific exercises and provide personalized feedback to enhance your pitch recognition skills.
6. Regular Practice: Consistent and dedicated practice is key to acquiring absolute pitch. Set aside regular practice sessions focused on pitch recognition and reproduction. Be patient, as developing this skill can take time and perseverance.
Remember that acquiring absolute pitch is a gradual process and may not come easily for everyone. Even if you don’t develop perfect pitch, continuing to improve your relative pitch will greatly benefit your overall musicianship.
Citations:
[1] https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/99682/what-is-the-best-method-in-acquiring-perfect-pitch
[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/perfectpitchgang/comments/z1b1h1/how_i_trained_absolute_pitch/
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6759182/
[4] https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13414-019-01869-3
[5] https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-is-perfect-pitch
[6] https://playback.fm/perfect-pitch-test
