Perfect pitch is a phenomenon, which is surrounded by some very odd notions. This article describes some of these. There is much that is not known about the ability and some of the disputed ideas on the subject are quite reasonable from either side of the argument. These exist when it comes to uncertainties like whether it can be learned, for example. If it is possible to learn it, how should one go about such an endeavor? On the other hand some ideas show an amazing lack of sense or reason. This essay is about the later.

A common misunderstanding is that there is no fundamental difference between relative pitch and perfect pitch. It is not the case. A person with the most highly trained relative pitch ability will always need a reference note to know which absolute notes he is hearing. A high degree of relative pitch ability is important, some would say much more important than perfect pitch. This does not, however, develop perfect pitch. The skills are totally different.

There is a second strange theory about perfect pitch, that it is common-place in Asia. This idea is explained by the fact that some Asian languages are tonal. There are some who are mistaken into thinking that words in these languages have different meanings depending on the pitch. This is not true and is not how tonal languages work. Words in many Asian languages including Chinese, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Thai, have different meanings depending on their tonal inflection. The tone of the vowel can rise like a question, or fall. Cantonese has five inflections, including fall-then-rise and rise-then-fall. Perfect pitch has nothing to do with the meaning of a word. Results from rather futile studies into perfect pitch in Asians have shown the results, which one would expect. Sometimes, people repeat words in the same pitch from one day to the next and sometimes they do not. Statistics may be created to try to show something significant here but there is no real indication that perfect pitch is present.

Another theory is that perfect pitch is all about recognizing and memorizing familiar sounds. For example, the pitch of the beeper on a microwave. Hence, the pitch of the microwave is used as a reference when he cooks his tomato soup, until the next known pitch, such as the doorbell. The doorbell re-enforces his feeling for concert pitch until the phone rings and so on. There is no benefit to living your life like this and it is not perfect pitch. Every musician has short term tonal memory. Perfect pitch does not go away without references to re-enforce it.

Short term tonal memory cannot be relied upon, which leads to another theory. The notion that perfect pitch awareness is changed by sickness. Of course, there will be some illnesses, which would impair the brain and ears to such an extent that perfect pitch would be wiped out. However, if someone claims to have perfect pitch and is having an "off day" due to a cold, this should not affect their ability to recognize the notes. Mozart was sick for most of his life. When training the ear and learning perfect pitch, of course it is better to be in good health, but that is another case.

The final odd theory to be addressed is that there is a perfect pitch gene. This is not a completely wacky idea like the others, however, there is not a strong case for a perfect pitch gene. Perfect pitch is not known to be passed on to children. Musicians who do not have perfect pitch often find that their child does. Why? Because the child has grown up in a musical environment. Genetics certainly plays a part in who we are in every aspect. However, there are other, bigger influences in some cases.