Absolute and relative pitch: Global versus local processing of chords

Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or produce notes without anyreference note. An ongoing debate exists regarding the benefits or disadvantagesof AP in processing music. One of the main issues in this context is whether thecategorical perception of pitch in AP possessors may interfere in processingtasks requiring relative pitch (RP). Previous studies, focusing mainly onmelodic and interval perception, have obtained inconsistent results. The aim ofthe present study was to examine the effect of AP and RP separately, usingisolated chords. Seventy-three musicians were categorized into four groups ofhigh and low AP and RP, and were tested on two tasks: identifying chord types(Task 1), and identifying a single note within a chord (Task 2). A main effectof RP on Task 1 and an interaction between AP and RP in reaction times werefound. On Task 2 main effects of AP and RP, and an interaction were found, withhighest performance in participants with both high AP and RP. Results suggestthat AP and RP should be regarded as two different abilities, and that AP mayslow down reaction times for tasks requiring global processing.