Absolute Pitch Training: Challenges and Findings from an Online Study

An online study aimed to improve absolute pitch (AP) ability recruited Cantonese and non-Cantonese speakers with musical backgrounds. Due to participant dropout and slower-than-expected training progress during the pandemic, the study deviated from its pre-registration, ultimately including only 12 participants in the analyses. Results showed significant improvement in AP ability even with reduced training time, and this improvement generalized to untrained timbre. The study also compared learning progress between completed and incomplete training participants, showing minimal impact of excluding some participants on the final results.