Perfect Pitch in ASD

 

Some studies show that people with ASD tend to show absolute pitch or perfect pitch, this is also true of savants which I will look at later. Absolute pitch is the ability to produce a perfect tone or name a tone without any external reference. People with perfect pitch can correctly identify notes and chords aurally. One study showed,

” Absolute pitch (AP), the ability to name or produce a musical tone without the use of a reference tone, is a common special ability in professional musicians with a proportion of up to 7–25% but less than 1% in the general population. AP is an excellent model for the investigation of a joint influence of genetic and environmental factors on the brain and on human cognitive abilities. Even if the ability is relatively rare, various studies suggest that the ability might be distributed more gradually than expected. Partial AP ability seems to be common in professional musicians, who might in conjunction with good relative pitch strategies (interval judgements) yield moderate to good results in absolute pitch tests. An influence of age of onset of musical training, ethnicity, and type of musical education (label to fixed pitch vs. label to interval, unfixed to pitch) techniques) suggest environmental aspects in the acquisition of AP. In contrast, AP often clusters in families, genetically overlaps with other familial aggregated abilities (e.g., synesthesia), and has a higher proportion in autistic people and in Williams syndrome, both strongly genetic conditions.” Wenhart, T. Baron-Cohen, S. et al

 

Another study used the Autism Quotient Test to ascertain the prevalence of Autism in people with absolute pitch. 

 “AP is often considered to reflect musical giftedness, but it has also been associated with certain disabilities due to increased prevalence of AP in individuals with sensory and developmental disorders. Here, we determine whether individual autistic traits are present in people with AP. We quantified subclinical levels of autism traits using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) in three matched groups of subjects: 16 musicians with AP (APs), 18 musicians without AP (non-APs), and 16 non-musicians. In addition, we measured AP ability by a pitch identification test with sine wave tones and piano tones. We found a significantly higher degree of autism traits in APs than in non-APs and non-musicians, and autism scores were significantly correlated with pitch identification scores (r = .46, p = .003)”Dohn, A et al.

 

 

“Current findings do show that children with ASD perform better at certain musical skills than typical children.  For example, their memory recall of music is quick, especially when coupled with lyrics.  Some can recite or sing a song after only one or a few listening experiences”. Esther Thane

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What are Found Sounds?

  This process can be referred to as sampling, but this can be an umbrella term for many different processes. I am interested in found sound; a 'non-musical' sound used creatively in a piece of music . These sounds in the environment c an be captured using a recording device such as a field recorder. Acousmatic music, Acousmatic- Referring to a sound that has no visually identifiable cause. Referring to Pythagorean disciples who for years listened to his lectures from behind a curtain, unable to see him. Acousmatic music often makes use of found sounds – environmental sounds or objects used in the recording studio. The sound object is created when numerous sounds are place consecutively in the piece of music, giving the piece a sense of movement.  
Read more

Comorbid Clashes Between Both Conditions

  Here are some comorbid symtoms that can be conflicting in the neurodiverse mind. Comorbidity is when two or more psychological (or other health symtoms,) show in the same person. ASD-   •       E xtreme interest in one topic             Need for routine       Everything in its place            Obsessive with current special interest            Thinking outside the box H yper focus                     ADHD-   H aving a short attention span and being easily distracted   M aking careless mistakes B eing unable to stick to tasks that are tedious or time-consuming C onstantly changing activity or task     H aving difficulty organising tasks     It seems that ASD traits such as interests in one subject or current s...
Read more

Introduction

  What struggles and positive aspects of living with a Neurodevelopmental condition bring to researching in the field of electronic music? To shed some light on this, I have been undertaking various reading and listening of electronic musical material and most of my work has been composing electronic music, I am going to contextualize my music into the body of works. I have decided to combine my research with two Neurodiverse conditions I live with. I have extended my reading and research to include this field. Neurodiverse people tend to be drawn towards the creative arts and I felt this would be a good research question to pursue. I have found that some traits of Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder can hinder me not only in daily life but with my research. I will address these problems here with a look at the conditions alongside my methodology for recording music and trying to express these conditions in the music.  The Compositions ...
Read more