This is a list of notable people with absolute pitch, or "perfect pitch".
Owing to uncertainty in the historical record, it is often impossible to determine whether composers and musicians of the past had absolute pitch. Since absolute pitch is rare in European musical culture,[1] claims that any particular musician possessed it are difficult to evaluate. Among composers of the Baroque and Classical eras, evidence is available only for Mozart, who is documented to have demonstrated the ability at age 7.[1] Experts have only surmised that Beethoven had it, as indicated from some excerpts from his letters. By the 19th century, it became more common for the presence of absolute pitch to be recorded, such as in the case of Camille Saint-Saëns and John Philip Sousa.
| Name | Year of birth | Year of death | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Bailey[2] | 1965 | (living) | British comedian, musician and actor |
| Ludwig van Beethoven[3] | 1770 | 1827 | German composer and pianist |
| Joshua Bell[4] | 1967 | (living) | American violinist and conductor |
| Nikolai Bernstein[5] | 1896 | 1966 | Russian scientist |
| Mariah Carey[3][6][7] | 1969 | (living) | American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer |
| Ray Charles[4] | 1930 | 2004 | American musician |
| Frédéric Chopin[3] | 1810 | 1849 | Polish composer and pianist |
| Jacob Collier[8][9] | 1994 | (living) | English singer, composer and producer |
| Celine Dion[10] | 1968 | (living) | Canadian singer |
| Ella Fitzgerald[11] | 1917 | 1996 | American jazz singer |
| David Foster[12] | 1949 | (living) | Canadian musician, producer |
| Charly García[13][14] | 1951 | (living) | Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer |
| Glenn Gould[15] | 1932 | 1982 | Canadian classical pianist |
| Jascha Heifetz[16] | 1901 | 1987 | Russian-American violinist |
| Whitney Houston[17] | 1963 | 2012 | American singer and actress |
| Michael Jackson[3] | 1958 | 2009 | American singer, songwriter and dancer |
| James P. Johnson[18] | 1894 | 1955 | American pianist and composer |
| Dimash Kudaibergen[19] | 1994 | (living) | Kazakh singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist |
| W. A. Mozart[20][3] | 1756 | 1791 | Austrian composer |
| Frederick Ouseley[21] | 1825 | 1889 | English musician, professor |
| Derek Paravicini[22] | 1979 | (living) | British pianist, musical savant |
| Itzhak Perlman[4] | 1945 | (living) | Israeli-American violinist |
| Charlie Puth[23][24] | 1991 | (living) | American singer, songwriter, and record producer |
| Sviatoslav Richter[4] | 1915 | 1997 | Russian classical pianist |
| Arthur Rubinstein[4] | 1887 | 1982 | Polish-American pianist |
| Lea Salonga[25][26] | 1971 | (living) | Filipina singer, actress, producer, and columnist |
| Artur Schnabel[27] | 1882 | 1951 | Austrian-American classical pianist |
| Art Tatum[4] | 1909 | 1956 | American jazz pianist |
| Arturo Toscanini[4] | 1867 | 1957 | Italian conductor |
| Brian Wilson[28] | 1942 | (living) | American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and co-founder of the Beach Boys |
| Stevie Wonder[4] | 1950 | (living) | American musician |
| Yo-Yo Ma[29] | 1955 | (living) | American cellist |
