THE KANSAS UNIVERSITY 

 SCIENCE BULLETIN. 



Vol. V, No. 8] OCTOBER, 1909. [^o^rxv^Nrs 



A CASE OF ABSOLUTE TONE MEMORY. 



BY ARCHIBALD HOGG. 



EXTRAORDINARY forms of consciousness are necessarily 

 ' few, otherwise they would not be extraordinary. They 

 are usually worthy of study and report directly by reason of in- 

 herent interest and indirectly through the light they throw on 

 mental process in general. Among the exceptional forms of 

 memory activity we find in hearing what is called by musicians 

 "recollection of absolute pitch," by psychologists "absolute tone 

 memory." A striking instance of the possession of this faculty 

 led the writer, assisted by a friend ^ who is a skillful amateur 

 violinist, to make the two tests herewith reported. 



The subject^ is a boy thirteen years of age, a quiet, gentle 

 lad, imaginative, introspective, fond of his music and of long 

 walks, and is perhaps less vigorous than the average child of 

 the same age. 



He gave early evidence that he possessed unusual musical 

 gifts. One night when he was about four years old, and while 

 lying in bed, he listened to the playing of a wedding march at a 

 marriage ceremony in a neighbor's house. The next morning 

 he climbed on the piano stool at home and reproduced the 

 march — but in a simpler way. At the age of six his musical 

 education began with lessons on the piano, and it has continued 

 ever since except when interrupted by the vacations and ill- 

 nesses incident to childhood. His possession of absolute tone 



1. Mr. A. K. Hubbard, assistant professor of civil engineering in the University at the 

 time. 



2. The boy is the son of a professor in our University. Both parents are musical. One 

 older brother plays the cello, another plays violin. Two younger children cannot be char- 

 acterized with much certainty yet with respect to musical ability, 



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