I doubt that there is such a thing as Perfect Pitch, much less being 'born with perfect pitch'. Some people who learn music can very quickly identify pitch, but what if the musicians are playing in 'old pitch' or not in equal temperament? I think it is just a thing that aunts like to say of their nieces and nephews - ("Well she has got perfect pitch, you know.") I think that the ability to name notes is through a mixture of practise and knack, but not some innate quality that some of us our born with and some not.

The same applies to "tone deafness". If you really were tone deaf, that is a medical condition and you would have problems understanding speech. By tone deafness, people mean an inability to sing in tune - well that is a skill that people can improve with practice and motivation.

I now await the barrage of wails from those who claim to have perfect pitch!

Tradsinger