List of people with absolute pitch

This is a list of notable people with absolute pitch, or "perfect pitch".

Note for pre-19th century composers

Owing to uncertainty in the historical record, it is often impossible to determine whether composers and musicians of the past had absolute pitch. Since absolute pitch is rare in European musical culture,[1] claims that any particular musician possessed it are difficult to evaluate. Among composers of the Baroque and Classical eras, evidence is available only for Mozart, who is documented to have demonstrated the ability at age 7.[1] Experts have only surmised that Beethoven had it, as indicated from some excerpts from his letters. By the 19th century, it became more common for the presence of absolute pitch to be recorded, such as in the case of Camille Saint-Saëns and John Philip Sousa.

List

Mariah Carey
Kirsten Flagstad
Jimi Hendrix
Whitney Houston
Michael Jackson
Yngwie Malmsteen
Persons with absolute pitch
Name Year of birth Year of death Description
Bill Bailey[2] 1965 (living) British comedian, musician and actor
Ludwig van Beethoven[3] 1770 1827 German composer and pianist
Joshua Bell[4] 1967 (living) American violinist and conductor
Nikolai Bernstein[5] 1896 1966 Russian scientist
Mariah Carey[3][6][7] 1969 (living) American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer
Ray Charles[4] 1930 2004 American musician
Frédéric Chopin[3] 1810 1849 Polish composer and pianist
Jacob Collier[8][9] 1994 (living) English singer, composer and producer
Dahyun[10] 1998 (living) South Korean singer and actress
Celine Dion[11] 1968 (living) Canadian singer
Ella Fitzgerald[12] 1917 1996 American jazz singer
Kirsten Flagstad[13] 1895 1962 Norwegian opera singer
David Foster[14] 1949 (living) Canadian musician, producer
Charly García[15][16] 1951 (living) Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer
Sidney Gish[17] 1997 (living) American singer-songwriter
Glenn Gould[18] 1932 1982 Canadian classical pianist
Jascha Heifetz[19] 1901 1987 Russian-American violinist
Whitney Houston[20] 1963 2012 American singer and actress
Michael Jackson[3] 1958 2009 American singer, songwriter and dancer
James P. Johnson[21] 1894 1955 American pianist and composer
Scott Joplin[22] 1868 1917 American composer and pianist
Danny Kaye[23] 1911 1987 American actor, comedian, and singer
Carole King[24] 1942 (living) American singer, songwriter, and musician
Dimash Kudaibergen[25] 1994 (living) Kazakh singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist
Yngwie Malmsteen[26] 1963 (living) Swedish-American guitarist
George Martin[27] 1926 2016 English producer, composer, conductor, and musician
Gary Moore[28] 1952 2011 Northern Irish musician
W. A. Mozart[29][3] 1756 1791 Austrian composer
Birgit Nilsson[30] 1918 2005 Swedish Soprano
Frederick Ouseley[31] 1825 1889 English musician, professor
Derek Paravicini[32] 1979 (living) British pianist, musical savant
Mike Patton[33] 1968 (living) American singer-songwriter
Itzhak Perlman[4] 1945 (living) Israeli-American violinist
Lucky Peterson[34] 1964 2020 American musician
Oscar Peterson[35] 1925 2007 Canadian jazz pianist
Charlie Puth[36][37] 1991 (living) American singer, songwriter, and record producer
Sviatoslav Richter[4] 1915 1997 Russian classical pianist
Arthur Rubinstein[4] 1887 1982 Polish-American pianist
Jordan Rudess[38] 1956 (living) American keyboardist for Dream Theater
Lea Salonga[39][40] 1971 (living) Filipino actress, singer, producer, and columnist
Sheryn Regis[39][40] 1979 (living) Filipina singer, actress, host
Camille Saint-Saëns[41] 1835 1921 French composer, organist, conductor and pianist
Artur Schnabel[42] 1882 1951 Austrian-American classical pianist
James Scott[43] 1885 1938 American ragtime composer
John Philip Sousa[44] 1854 1932 American composer and conductor
Art Tatum[4] 1909 1956 American jazz pianist
Arturo Toscanini[4] 1867 1957 Italian conductor
Brian Wilson[45] 1942 2025 American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and co-founder of the Beach Boys
Stevie Wonder[4] 1950 (living) American musician
Yo-Yo Ma[46] 1955 (living) American cellist
Josef Zawinul[47] 1932 2007 Austrian musician and composer
Jimi Hendrix[48][49] 1942 1970 American guitarist, singer, and songwriter

References

  1. 1 2 Deutsch, D (2006). "The enigma of absolute pitch" (PDF). Acoustics Today. 2 (4): 11–19. doi:10.1121/1.2961141. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Perfect Pitch: 'I knew the hoover was playing B flat' | BBC". BBC Radio Wales. April 5, 2006.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "What actually is perfect pitch – and how do I get it?". Classic FM. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Deutsch, Diana (2019). Musical illusions and phantom words: how music and speech unlock mysteries of the brain. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 82, 101. ISBN 978-0-19-020683-3.
  5. ↑ Latash, Mark L. (2020). Bernstein's Construction of Movements: The Original Text and Commentaries. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-21386-7.
  6. ↑ "Perfect Pitch and How It Works". Signia Hearing Aids. September 30, 2019. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  7. ↑ "The Mysteries of Perfect Pitch | Psychology Today". www.psychologytoday.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Millennial Mozart: The boundless creative genius of Jacob Collier". New Atlas. July 16, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  9. ↑ Killian, Anais. "The Genius of Jacob Collier". The Register Forum. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  10. ↑ "[V Report Plus] Twice's Dahyun boasts perfect pitch". Kpop Herald. April 6, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  11. ↑ "The Mysteries of Perfect Pitch | Psychology Today". www.psychologytoday.com.
  12. ↑ "Ella Fitzgerald: America's First Lady Of Song". NPR.org. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  13. ↑ Wilson, Glenn Daniel (1994). Psychology for Performing Artists: Butterflies and Bouquets. London and Bristol, Pennsylvania: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. p. 161. ISBN 1-85302-166-0. When soprano Kirsten Flagstad suffered a serious ear ailment that rendered her virtually deaf, for over a year she was able to carry on singing major Wagnerian roles at the Metropolitan Opera using only her own absolute pitch and visual contact with the conductor.
  14. ↑ Foster, David (2009). Hitman: Forty Years Making Music, Topping the Charts, and Winning Grammys. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-6665-9.
  15. ↑ Moreira, Vanessa (November 3, 2020). "Charly García y su gran don: el oído absoluto" [Charly García and his great gift: absolute pitch]. 970 Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  16. ↑ Jofre, Alejandro (October 23, 2017). "Carlitos antes de Charly: el oído absoluto de García" [Carlitos before Charly: García's perfect pitch]. La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  17. ↑ Corcoran, Nina. "Sidney Gish: No Dogs Allowed". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  18. ↑ Ostwald, Peter F. (1997). Glenn Gould: The Ecstasy and Tragedy of Genius. New York: W. W. Norton. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-393-04077-7.
  19. ↑ Kopytova, Galina (2013). Jascha Heifetz: Early Years in Russia. Indiana University Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-253-01089-6.
  20. ↑ "Whitney Houston Has The Perfect Pitch, But That's Not All She's Remembered For". May 12, 2020. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  21. ↑ Gates (Jr.), Henry Louis; Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks (2009). Harlem Renaissance Lives from the African American National Biography. Oxford University Press. p. 295. ISBN 978-0-19-538795-7.
  22. ↑ Frew, Tim (1996). Scott Joplin & the Age of Ragtime. The Life, Times & Music Series. New York: Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. p. 35. ISBN 1-56799-304-4. Born with perfect pitch, Scott quickly picked up songs on his family's old, battered reed organ.
  23. ↑ Falconer-Barfield, Zacchary (October 15, 2014). "Danny Kaye – Gentleman Icon". The Perfect Gentleman. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Carole King Biography and Interview". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Бабушка и дедушка Димаша дали эксклюзивное интервью" (in Russian). NUR Kazakhstan. May 25, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  26. ↑ Lalaina, Joe (September 25, 2013). "Yngwie Malmsteen Discusses his Roots, His Rep and his Latest Album in this 1986 Guitar World Interview". Guitar World. Future US, Inc. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  27. ↑ Womack, Kenneth (2017). Maximum Volume: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin (The Early Years, 1926–1966). Chicago: Chicago Review Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-61373-189-5.
  28. ↑ Shapiro, Harry (February 6, 2022). "How Gary Moore reignited the British blues scene with the help of a famous guitar". Classic Rock. Future plc. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Social Sciences". ucsdnews.ucsd.edu. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Magazine Opera" (PDF). Tidskriften Opera. 2018.
  31. ↑ Sacks, Oliver (2008). Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. Knopf Doubleday. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-4000-3353-9.
  32. ↑ "Meet the blind, autistic piano genius, who can play any piece after hearing it once". Classic FM. March 3, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  33. ↑ Bennett, J (March 2013). "Smooth Operator". Decibel. No. 101.
  34. ↑ Gunther, Marty (June 28, 2019). "Featured Interview – Lucky Peterson". Blues Blast Magazine. Retrieved December 14, 2023. I had perfect pitch, so I didn't have a problem knowin' where they were.
  35. ↑ Batten, Jack (2012). Oscar Peterson: The Man and His Jazz. Tundra. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-77049-362-9.
  36. ↑ Jupp, Emily (January 29, 2016). "Charlie Puth interview: Being bullied for pitch perfect talent and Selena Gomez's advice on dealing with negativity". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  37. ↑ Roberts, Maddy Shaw (December 3, 2020). "Yes, Charlie Puth has perfect pitch. He's also a piano major, Rachmaninov stan and jazz improvisor". Classic FM. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  38. ↑ Rogerson, Ben (October 17, 2023). ""Not what I expected at all": here's what happened when Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess was asked to play along to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' Empire State of Mind, a song he'd never heard before". MusicRadar. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  39. 1 2 "What Regine Velasquez refuses to do in singing talent search show". PEP.ph. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  40. 1 2 Staff, Messenger (March 20, 2020). "Broadway Legend Lea Salonga Performs at Pepperdine in April". M'Online. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  41. ↑ Schonberg, Harold C. (1975). The Lives of the Great Composers. Vol. 2. London: Futura. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-86007-723-7.
  42. ↑ Saerchinger, Cesar (2013). Artur Schnabel: A Biography. Read Books. ISBN 978-1-4474-9551-2.
  43. ↑ Christensen, Lawrence O.; Foley, William E.; Kremer, Gary (1999). Dictionary of Missouri Biography. University of Missouri Press. p. 681. ISBN 978-0-8262-6016-1.
  44. ↑ Bierley, Paul E. (2001). John Philip Sousa: American Phenomenon. Alfred Music. p. 28. ISBN 9780757906121.
  45. ↑ Lambert, Philip (2007). Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: the Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius. Continuum. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8264-1876-0. Archived from the original on May 15, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  46. ↑ "Singing the praises of perfect pitch". Chicago Tribune. April 27, 2006. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  47. ↑ Bianchi, Curt (2021). Elegant People: A History of the Band Weather Report (1st ed.). Blue Ridge Summit: Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-4930-5999-7.
  48. ↑ "Yale Alumni Magazine: perfect pitch (Sept/Oct 2003)". archives.yalealumnimagazine.com. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  49. ↑ "How Can You Tell If You Have Perfect Pitch?". Scientific American. April 4, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
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