relative pitch

noun

Music.

1. the pitch of a tone as determined by its relationship to other tones in a scale.

2. the ability to identify or sing a tone by mentally determining the distance of its pitch from that of a tone already sounded.

Word History and Origins

Origin of relative pitch¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

However, most musicians can be trained to recognize relative pitch.

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Simply having an ear well-trained in "relative pitch" is extremely useful in many ways.

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Released jointly on the Relative Pitch label and on Berne’s Screwgun imprint, which also offers Belisle-Chi’s scores for sale, it’s a subtle stunner.

Read more on New York Times

When someone can identify a note only when it’s based on a reference note, that’s called relative pitch.

Read more on Scientific American

We haven’t found an animal yet that has relative pitch in the way we define it.

Read more on The Verge