Conceptual coherence but methodological mayhem: A systematic review of absolute pitch phenotyping.

ABSTRACT: Despite extensive research on absolute pitch (AP), there remains no gold-standard task to measure its presence or extent. This systematic review investigated the methods of pitch-naming tasks for the classification of individuals with AP and examined how our understanding of the AP phenotype is affected by variability in the tasks used to measure it. Data extracted from 160 studies (N = 23,221 participants) included (i) the definition of AP, (ii) task characteristics, (iii) scoring method, and (iv) participant scores. While there was near-universal agreement (99%) in the conceptual definition of AP, task characteristics such as stimulus range and timbre varied greatly. Ninety-five studies (59%) specified a pitch-naming accuracy threshold for AP classification, which ranged from 20 to 100%

SUBMITTER: Bairnsfather JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11750914 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature