Perfect pitch test
Hear a note with no reference, name it. Twelve notes, then your score compared with what guessing gives.
A perfect pitch test plays single notes with no reference note and asks you to name them. Guessing gives about 1 right out of 12; people with absolute (perfect) pitch name almost all of them. Absolute pitch is rare and mostly linked to early childhood music lessons, so a score near chance is normal and says nothing about your musical ear.
How it works
- You hear one note (any octave). Name it with the buttons, or with the keyboard: C D E F G A B, plus Shift for a sharp.
- Between notes you hear a quick jumble of random notes, so the last note can't be used as a reference.
- You can replay a note as often as you like. Don't sing, hum or use an instrument.
- After 12 notes: your score, the odds of getting it by guessing, and what it means.
Turn your sound on. On iPhone, the silent switch also mutes this page.
Name the note
Listen…
Your score
Every note
What does my score mean?
| Score (out of 12) | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| 0 to 3 | Guessing level. This is what almost everyone scores, musicians included. |
| 4 | A little better than guessing, but it can be luck: retake it. |
| 5 to 9 | Clearly above chance: good pitch memory for some notes. Not the same as absolute pitch. |
| 10 to 12 | Consistent with absolute pitch, if it holds on another day and another device. |
Odds of scoring by guessing: 3 or more out of 12 happens about 7% of the time, 5 or more about 0.2%. One-semitone mistakes are counted separately, because even people with absolute pitch make them, especially with synthetic tones.
How the test is built
- Notes are drawn at random from C3 to B5 (three octaves), never the same note name twice in a row, so neither height nor order gives the answer away.
- A burst of six random notes before each question clears the previous one from your short-term memory.
- Every sound is synthesised in your browser at standard tuning (A4 = 440 Hz), so the note played is exactly the note scored.
- Your score is compared with a binomial model of guessing (1 chance in 12 per note).
Is it worth trying to learn perfect pitch?
For most adults, no: the research shows limited gains for most people, and nothing a musician needs depends on it. Relative pitch (hearing intervals, chords and the notes of a key) is what lets you play by ear, sing in tune and transcribe songs, and it improves with a few minutes of practice a day. Read the evidence on the perfect pitch page and what relative pitch is.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if I have perfect pitch?
People with perfect (absolute) pitch name a note instantly, with no reference note, and do so reliably day after day, often on any instrument. Scoring 10 or more out of 12 here, and again on another day, is consistent with it. A short online test can suggest it, not prove it.
How rare is perfect pitch?
It is rare: a figure of about 1 in 10,000 people is often quoted for Western populations, though estimates vary. It is much more common among people who started music lessons in early childhood, and among speakers of tone languages such as Mandarin.
Can adults learn perfect pitch?
Mostly not to the level of people who grew up with it. A 2019 study found that a few adults reached high accuracy after weeks of intensive training, but most improved only partly. Relative pitch, which every musician uses, is the skill adults can reliably build.
What is a normal score on this test?
About 1 out of 12, which is what guessing gives. Most people, including very good musicians, score near chance: absolute pitch is not a measure of musical talent.
Why do I hear random notes between questions?
To clear your memory of the previous note. Otherwise you could use it as a reference and work out the next one by its distance, which is relative pitch, not absolute pitch.
Is perfect pitch the same as relative pitch?
No. Perfect pitch names a note on its own; relative pitch hears the distance between notes (intervals, chords, melodies). Relative pitch is what lets musicians play by ear, and it can be trained at any age.
Sources
- Van Hedger, Heald & Nusbaum (2019), Absolute pitch can be learned by some adults, PLOS ONE 14(9)
- Deutsch (2013), Absolute pitch, in The Psychology of Music (3rd ed.)
- Takeuchi & Hulse (1993), Absolute pitch, Psychological Bulletin 113(2)
- Deutsch et al. (2006), Absolute pitch among American and Chinese conservatory students, JASA 119(2)