4.6M views · Dec 16, 2015 · 1:27 · 0 HN recommenders · 5 mentions · discussed 2016–2026
Rick Beato tests his 8-year-old son Dylan's perfect pitch on single notes, note pairs and complex polychords.
Why Hacker News points people here: Used as the canonical example of striking absolute pitch in children in discussions on how perfect pitch is acquired.
“Rick Beato has at least one child with absolute pitch with stunning ability to name chords and the discrete notes in them.”HN comment, 2026
“I think this likely also works for perfect pitch -”
Child with perfect pitch as example of early learning
agree 100%. And can't recommend her (Betty Edwards') book enough. link I think this likely also works for perfect pitch - this video . Neuroplasticity is very different for kids, but there are probably techniques that can enable learning like this with adults - just takes longer.
“this[1] music producer's kid developed perfect pitch despite the lack of any training.”
Child developed perfect pitch from exposure to music
Another example, this[1] music producer's kid developed perfect pitch despite the lack of any training. He was exposed to a rich variety of complex music right from the start. When the dad discovered his son's ability, he found out that the kid had his own names for the notes. IIRC, based on which song begins with that note. I think it's quite likely that if the dad had spent all his days composing music, the son would have been doing that from an early age as well. [1] this video
“Rick Beato's channel on Youtube was pretty much launched from the viral video where his son Dylan demonstrates”
Viral video that launched Beato's channel
Rick Beato's channel on Youtube was pretty much launched from the viral video where his son Dylan demonstrates his apparently unerring ability to identify individual pitches in note clusters with very high accuracy. this video For some musical jobs having perfect pitch can really make a difference. For example singers, musicians playing bowed stringed instruments or a trombone benefit from perfect pitch. Also, conductors frequently have perfect pitch, probably because a strong musical memory and being able to sight sing on pitch from a score are valuable and depend to a certain extent on perfect pitch. See here for a lot more. link Perfect pitch is also apparently more common in people who speak tonal languages like Mandarin.
“Show me an adult that trained to this level.”
Example of perfect pitch that adults supposedly cannot match
> The perception of perfect pitch as this magical, unattainable thing always seemed odd to me Because it is really magical and unattainable this video Show me an adult that trained to this level.
“Rick Beato has at least one child with absolute pitch with stunning ability to name chords and the discrete notes in them.”
Child naming chords and notes by ear
Rick Beato has at least one child with absolute pitch with stunning ability to name chords and the discrete notes in them. Here's the short video: this video I'm not a musician, but I'm told the kid's way of naming the chords is particularly adept from a musician's point of view, and that's because the dad (a very accomplished musician) helped teach the kid. I am sure Rick has made more videos about what he did.
