Absolute Pitch in Williams Syndrome

Abstract

Absolute pitch is reported to occur in 1 out of 10,000 persons, usually those trained in music before age 6. We demonstrate that the five individuals we tested, who have Williams syndrome, a condition caused by a microdeletion of about 20 genes in the q11.23 region of one of their two chromosomes number seven, possess near ceiling levels of absolute pitch despite their limited cognitive abilities. With these individuals, we also describe our preliminary findings on relative pitch, transposition, and retention. We discuss the possibilities that (1) the incidence of absolute pitch among individuals with Williams syndrome is higher than that found in the general population and (2) the normal early childhood critical period of absolute pitch acquisition may be extended in individuals with Williams syndrome.

Developmental trajectories of pitch-related music skills in children with Williams syndrome

“…This lack of relationship is a marker of atypical development . It also constitutes further evidence against the view that pitch-related music skills in WS are preserved and represent an area of strength in absolute terms (Lenhoff et al, 2001a(Lenhoff et al, , 2001bLevitin, 2005). Only for the chord discrimination task was there a significant relationship with CA in WS.…”

“…The first reports on the topic described individuals with WS as having preserved and exceptional music skills (see Lenhoff, Perales, & Hickok, 2001a, 2001b, and Levitin & Bellugi, 1998, regarding absolute pitch and rhythm reproduction skills, respectively). From nativist accounts, the fact that individuals with WS seemed to show high music skills Development of pitch-related music skills in WS 5 despite their intellectual disability was interpreted as evidence that music represents an innate module independent of general cognition (Levitin & Bellugi, 1998;Lenhoff et al, 2001aLenhoff et al, , 2001b. Along the same lines but more recently, research on auditory processing in WS has led to claim that the syndrome offers evidence in favor of the idea that musical talent represents an innate predisposition (Wengenroth, Blatow, Bendszus, & Schneider, 2010).…”

“…Levitin (2005) asked individuals with WS (age range not reported) and highly musically trained TD Development of pitch-related music skills in WS 8 individuals to discriminate pairs of pitches and found no differences between the groups. Lenhoff et al (2001aLenhoff et al ( , 2001b studied absolute pitch, i.e., a rare skill defined as the ability to identify a musical note without a reference pitch (Takeuchi & Hulse, 1993). Five individuals with WS (13-43 years) were assessed on this skill and showed to possess it.…”

“…Despite its small sample size, this study has been very influential in the characterization of individuals with WS as having an exceptional musical talent (Martínez-Castilla, Sotillo, & Campos, 2013). From a nativist perspective, the fact that individuals with WS can posses absolute pitch in spite of their cognitive impairments has led to support views of innate modularity in music (Lenhoff et al, 2001a(Lenhoff et al, , 2001b.…”

“…In summary, from nativist accounts, it has been claimed that the pitch-related music skills of individuals with WS are preserved and function independently of their cognitive level being furthermore evidence of innate modularity (Lenhoff et al, 2001a(Lenhoff et al, , 2001bLevitin, 2005). However, from neuroconstructivist views, an increasing number of studies suggests that the pitch-related music skills of individuals with WS are not preserved but are affected by their cognitive impairments (Don et al, 1999;Martens et al, 2010).…”