Testing for perfect pitch

[PinotAndPlaydough]

Does anyone/anywhere that does testing for perfect pitch.
DDs violin teacher believes she has it but because she’s never come across a child with it before she doesn’t know if testing for it even exists, if it’s worth even testing if it does exist and where she could get tested if it’s worth testing for!

Any advice or experience welcome. Is it even that useful a skill to have? It’s quite an abstract concept to me!

The only note I know if it’s in tune or not is A. For tuning. And I can sing an A. Apart from that it’s relative pitch - so I can hear if a note is sharp or flat to what has preceded, if one of my kids is playing violin I have been known to shout from another room for example - ‘that F# is a smidgen flat - move your finger up a millimetre ! ‘

DS1 has something like it, we found out when he was about 3 and he got grumpy because someone was singing Let It Go in the wrong key. We aren't sure if it's absolute pitch or just very good relative pitch, we don't often ask him to sing notes in isolation to be honest. He's 11 now, and it's useful to him as he plays violin, but there aren't any formal tests for it that we know of, it just means he's got a good musical ear. A friend who plays viola says he may find he can switch to viola later as you need a good ear for playing the countermelodies. He gets it from me; I have very good relative pitch but I can't sing a Bb in isolation, for example. I can tell if things aren't in the key they're meant to be, though I can't do that unless I've heard what it's supposed to sound like first. It's hard to describe!

I've only ever known one pupil with true absolute/perfect pitch, he's amazing, it's like a magic trick! He can't help it, and he gets very frustrated when sounds don't feel right. He can literally tell you what pitch the phone rings at.

This is all so interesting. The way she embraces learning music and the joy she gets out of it blows my mind. It’s like another language for me and I find it really hard to understand.

I've never heard of any formal testing for perfect pitch, it sort of becomes blinking obvious as things go on. As a singer perfect pitch can be excruciating for many reasons. If your DD is enjoying music so much, and clearly had an amazing ear can I recommend Kodaly training? That plus an inspirational violin teacher and she will fly high. My children are doing Kodaly rather than abrsm theory alongside their instruments (will walk g5 theory when needed) and I mightily wish I'd had that visceral understanding of music and finely honed ears they're getting.

Her teacher actually uses the Kodaly method (I made a whole other thread about it because again I didn’t have a bloody clue what it was 😂).

Hi @PinotAndPlaydough.

That’s great that your dc’s teacher uses Kodaly.

I’m a professional violinist and I have perfect pitch,it’s useful when playing contemporary music and for pitching high notes but that’s about it 😀.

It can be a disadvantage though.... many years ago I did a recital (when I was a teen) and when the pianist and I turned up to rehearse the piano was a semi tone flat. It was a disaster for me,I got through it (badly I think) but it was very difficult. Luckily that’s the only negative experience.