Aspergers and Perfect (or absolute) Pitch

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This is my first post to this site. I have perfect pitch and Aspergers. I find it very interesting, especially since I studied music at conservatory and university (piano). I find it useful in atonal or pantonal music, which I enjoy very much. I have many different fields of interest, especially music of course, and it is something special which I'm good at (having perfect pitch - which probably doesn't account for much, but I feel special having it, because I don't really have a lot going for me right now, on disability.

I do apparently, I did a test with my piano teacher. But I had to count up or down from C in my head to work it out. One of my guesses was E sharp, even though such a note doesn't exist. It was actually F. I found that funny.

That sounds more like relative pitch than perfect or absolute pitch. I had a guitar teacher who had middle C fixed in his mind, and could tell what any note was because he could tell how far away it was from middle C.

And there is an E#. For example, in the key of F# Major: F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D#, E#.

The notes are just what you call the pitches. Similar to one of my favorite t-shirts:

If you tell me to hum a note without giving me any auditory prompt, I can do it. I'd thought that counted as perfect pitch. In fact, with practise I could probably memorise most notes, at least in the C scale.

I used to have perfect pitch; I do believe it deteriorates once you get out of practice (I was in a choir from the age of three to ten and practiced up to three hours per week).

I don´t think I have it. I hate to sing around people, I´m kind of embarrased about my voice. I´ve been bullied about my pitch and sound since I was little. I´ll try to upload a clip of me singing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es2-NEQp56U[/youtube]

When speaking or singing? I can't imagine what complaints anyone would have about your singing voice.

For comparison, listen to the first man in this video. He knows when pitch should go up or down, but has no idea how far.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4eNshMvrsA[/youtube]

Both.. At school the teacher told me to pleas not participate when the rest of the class were singing. But I believe I have tuned my voice since back then. But people still tell me I have a weird voice when I talk, and that it is hard to hear the words I say.

Is that really you singing? Wow! What did you use to record it?

A crappy labtec headphone with a mic on it.

Sounded great to me!

Thank you.

I can remember I was a very good singer in elementary school, I got critizised for it by the teacher, as for you, i could listen to your voice all day

Funny thing about pitch. As a little girl I could barely pick up a tune. It wasn't because I had bad ears---it's just that my sense of pitch didn't develop as quickly as other kids. At the time, it seemed impossible that I could ever be a musician.


Well, I've got a great ear now. But for me, it took a lot of ear training. I'm a singer and I can pull most notes out of thin air, but that has more to do with practice---where I feel certain notes in my voice and where I hear them in other people's voices.

Last edited by Silverweed on 09 Nov 2009, 5:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I only know three people with absolute pitch and none of them are AS.