A Lil Pitchy Dawg...

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It must have been a slow news day.

One gene may be key to coveted perfect pitch

By Julie Steenhuysen
Mon Aug 27, 5:23 PM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Musicians and singers work for years to
develop their sense of pitch but few can name a musical note without a reference tone. U.S. researchers on Monday said one gene may be the key to that coveted ability.

Only 1 in 10,000 people have perfect or absolute pitch, the uncanny ability to name the note of just about any sound without the help of a reference tone.

"One guy said,'I can name the pitch of anything -- even farts,"' said Dr. Jane Gitschier of the University of California, San Francisco, whose study appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Wow. Even farts? Now, I realize that my untrained ears tended to to classify my trumpeting at a pretty consistent "A flat", with the occassional trilling into the higher octaves whenever I consumed bean products, but the ability to detect the actual notes in my solos is something I am very interested in.

My kids are definately getting piano lessons now.