Absolute pitch (AP), widely referred to as perfect pitch, is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of an external reference.

Absolute pitch (AP), or perfect pitch, is the ability to name or reproduce a tone without reference to an external standard. Correct identification of the pitch need not be expressed linguistically; AP can also be demonstrated in auditory imagery or sensorimotor responses, for example by reproducing on an instrument a tone that has been heard (without "hunting" for the correct pitch).

Possessors of absolute pitch have it in varying degrees. Generally, absolute pitch implies some or all of the following abilities. in the absence an external standard:

People have absolute pitch ability and relative pitch ability in varying degrees. Relative and absolute pitch work together in actual musical listening and practice, but strategies in using each skill vary.

Scientific study of absolute pitch appears to have commenced in the 19th century, focusing on the phenomenon of musical pitch and methods of measuring it. While the term absolute pitch, or absolute ear, was in use by the late 19th century by both British and German researchers, its application was not universal; other terms such as musical ear,absolute tone consciousness, or positive pitch were also used to refer to the ability. The skill is not exclusively musical, or limited to human perception; absolute pitch has been demonstrated in animals such as bats, wolves, gerbils, and birds, for whom specific pitches facilitate identification of mates or meals.