Perfect pitch 'not at all absolute'

A new study suggests that people who think they have perfect pitch may not be as in tune as they think.

According to the University of Chicago study, people failed to notice a gradual change in pitch while listening to music.

When tested afterward, people with perfect, or absolute pitch, thought notes made out of tune at the end of a song were in tune, while notes that were in tune at the beginning sounded out of tune.

About one out of 10,000 people has absolute pitch, which means they can accurately identify a note by hearing it.

They are frequently able, for instance, to replicate a song on a piano by simply hearing it.

Absolute pitch has been "idealized in popular culture as a rare and desirable musical endowment, partly because several well-known composers, such as Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Handel, have been assumed to possess absolute pitch," the researchers wrote.

The study showed that exposure to music influences how people identify notes from their sound, rather than having a rare, absolute ability at an early age.

The research also demonstrates the malleability of the brain-that abilities thought to be stable late in life can change with even a small amount of experience and learning.

The findings are published in the journal Psychological Science.