Ear Training Hack #1. To get an accurate account of absolute pitch, it is important to measure the results of a pitch recognition test.
Accuracy is necessary to demonstrate absolute pitch. But before you demonstrate absolute pitch, relative improvements of pitch recognition can be demonstrated–but only if they are measured.
If you test at 10% pitch recognition, you might say to yourself, “I have a long way to go.” But if you test at 80% pitch recognition, you’ll probably say to yourself, “I’m almost there.” Which leads us to Ear Training Hack #2.
Ear Training Hack #2. Absolute pitch is intertwined with an “enabling belief” that can also be measured.
In Ear Training Hack #1, you followed the internal dialogue of a musician at 10% pitch accuracy and a musician at 80% accuracy. Both musicians don’t have absolute pitch, but their internal beliefs are different. And you can see which musician–and which belief–is closer to the goal of possessing absolute pitch.
There’s a natural order to pitch recognition improvement, not only at the skill level, but also at the belief level.
Let’s say that you don’t test yourself and you think that you have a long way to go before you will have absolute pitch. But–if you were to test–you would actually test at 45% accuracy. If you knew this, then your belief would probably change to something like, “I’m almost at the half-way point.” How does your experience change when you say to yourself, “I’m almost half-way there” instead of “I’ve got a long way to go.” One belief is a 10% accurate belief while the other is a 45% accurate belief.
Take away:
You can probably see how hacking your beliefs can improve your ear training now. And the fastest way to change your beliefs about absolute pitch is with regular testing. 🙂