Rick Beato’s Theory: Can All Babies Develop Perfect Pitch by Nine Months?

Explore Rick Beato’s intriguing theory that all babies can achieve perfect pitch up to nine months old, influenced by their early auditory experiences.

Introduction to Beato's Theory

Musician and YouTuber Rick Beato presents a fascinating theory: he believes that all babies can develop perfect pitch during their first nine months of life. This theory emerged after he viewed a TED talk by Patricia Kuhl, a renowned professor known for her groundbreaking research in early language acquisition.

In a recent discussion on Rick Rubin’s podcast, Tetragrammaton, Beato elaborated on Kuhl's study, which showcased how babies can effectively discern sounds in their formative years. Kuhl describes these infants as "geniuses" when it comes to recognizing languages, tapping into their impressive auditory capabilities.

Language Detection and Pitch Recognition

Beato suggests that a baby’s ability to detect language might also correlate with their capacity to perceive musical pitch. He shared his thoughts during the podcast:

"I saw a video on YouTube called *The Linguistic Genius of Babies*. There’s a woman, Patricia Kuhl, and she had this theory, it’s pretty much proven out, that babies have this ability in the first nine months of their lives – she calls them citizens of the world – where they can hear the sounds of all [over 7,000] languages on earth, so they have all the synapses available and their ears can detect these things."

He elaborates further, stating that after nine months, babies begin to lose this ability and transition into "culturally bound listeners." They can only hear the sounds prevalent in their household. However, if they are exposed to a language like Mandarin even a few times within that critical window, they retain the ability to hear those sounds for life.

Beato theorizes that:

"I have a theory that all babies can develop perfect pitch up to nine months of age if they have a certain threshold of this high information music played for them [where] they hear all 12 notes."

Beato’s Experience with Ear Training

Having previously worked as a college professor, Beato engaged with students on ear training. He noted that some students struggled to pick up on pitch, which fascinated him. He suggests an interesting perspective regarding older music recordings, which may not have had the technical polish we see today. He believes that these older renditions could positively influence how some people develop their relative pitch.

He explains:

"When I meet people with perfect pitch there are so many different levels of that, and relative pitch is far faster. So people that have good relative pitch aren’t confused if things are in tune or not, because so many old recordings are out of pitch."

Listen to the Full Podcast

You can check out the full discussion on this intriguing topic below:

Additionally, here’s the TED talk that inspired Beato's theory:

Conclusion

Rick Beato's insights shed new light on the relationship between early auditory experiences and the development of musical skills such as perfect pitch in infants. Do you believe that exposing babies to diverse sounds can enhance their musical abilities?

FAQs

• What is perfect pitch, and can everyone develop it? Perfect pitch, or absolute pitch, is the ability to identify or recreate a musical note without any reference tone. While some people may develop perfect pitch, others might find it more challenging, often influenced by early exposure to music.
• How does language acquisition relate to music perception? Research suggests that babies have a remarkable ability to discern sounds from multiple languages during their early months, which may parallel their capacity to detect musical pitches.
• Is it possible for adults to develop perfect pitch? While it is more common for individuals to develop relative pitch, some adults can cultivate perfect pitch through dedicated practice and exposure to music.
• What role does early exposure to music play in development? Early exposure to various musical styles and sounds can enhance children’s auditory skills, potentially leading to better pitch recognition and musicality.
• Can parents help their babies develop musical skills? Yes! Engaging babies with different musical genres, singing, and playing instruments can foster their musical abilities from a young age.

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