The term “perfect pitch,” in a musical sense, might seem familiar. This specific phenomenon is referred to as the ability to recognize the pitch of a note or produce any given tone. Perfect pitch, as a talent rather than a learned or taught skill, is extremely rare among musicians, taking up only 0.01% of the global population.
Aiden Carlile, a senior at Central Kitsap High School, was discovered to have perfect pitch in his sixth-grade orchestra class by his teacher while playing cello. Now, six years later, he continues to use this power to help his fellow classmates.
“I’m kind of like the tuning fork [in choir] if we’re starting an a cappella,” Carlile said. “We need to go on stage and just go without a reference pitch. I’m kind of the person people turn to. They’re like, ‘Hey, what’s my note?’”
Carlile, alongside Micah Kaczynski, a fellow senior who also has perfect pitch, has become a key student in leading ensembles.
“If it’s an a cappella piece and it doesn’t have [a] rhythm section playing for them to start with, they’ll just hum the pitch, and every single time they have it,” choir teacher Alicia Rodenko said. “You can start a piece of music without having to have an instrument available, and then my ensemble really benefits.”
Perfect pitch on its own has extreme benefits not only for the individual with it, but also for other musicians they perform with.
“We were able to do bigger, bolder music because they have that kind of musicianship that allows for moving quickly,” Rodenko said. “When I first started this year, I had a small group and thought, ‘Oh, maybe we’ll do some easier music,’ but we’ve been able to do an amazing range and get into really intricate harmonies because of their perfect pitch.”
For some people, it could take years for them to realize they even have perfect pitch. Kaczynski was only a sophomore when he identified his ability.
“I would just play random notes and close my eyes and kind of guess what the pitch was,” Kaczynski said. “I was able to correctly identify them, and I realized that wasn’t normal with people around me.”
However, not all students with perfect pitch are often noticed or even adapted to in their learning.
“Personally, teachers have not recognized me for my perfect pitch,” Kaczynski said. “Being able to have perfect pitch, it gives me a lot of advantages, and I would say a quicker learning curve for ear training. We do a lot of sight reading training, but we’re given that starting pitch again. I think [it] would be really helpful as a musician to further advance my musicianship.”
While perfect pitch may not always be immediately recognized in the classroom, its impact is undeniable. For Carlile and Kaczynski, their talent steps up the performance of their ensembles, pushing the boundaries of what they can achieve together.
As Carlile and Kaczynski continue to share their gift, it’s clear that perfect pitch is more than just a skill—it’s a unique contribution to the musical world that elevates the entire community.
