Is Perfect Pitch All in the Genes?(e either really good at it or not good a...),Health

But the study's design hits a sour note with Diana Deutsch, a professor of psychology at the University of California, San Diego, who has done extensive research on perfect pitch. Her basic criticism is the lack of controls built into the study.

"There were no controls for dishonesty. A person who did the study could be sitting by a synthesizer," Deutsch said.

Also, "they [the researchers] didn't control for language," she said. "My articles have shown that language is important, particularly tonal languages such as Mandarin. Japanese also relies on pitch to alter meaning, as do certain dialects of Korean."

The genetic link is also suspect in Deutsch's eyes. "People who have a strong family background in music are more likely to acquire perfect pitch," she said. "Certainly, the matter of family background is important."

Whatever its cause, perfect pitch fascinates many people. Gitschier said, adding that she has been inundated with inquiries about the study.

More information

The study is continuing, and you can participate by going to the Web site of the University of California, San Francisco.

SOURCES: Jane Gitschier, Ph.D., professor of medicine, University of California, San Francisco; Diana Deutsch, Ph.D., professor of psychology, University of California, San Diego; Aug. 27-31, 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences