Harvard research indicates epilepsy treatment might allow adults to reach 'absolute pitch'

Living in New York City, we know many who've come here to break it big on Broadway and are willing to do almost anything to get that big break...including unhealthy behaviors. We're not sure this announcement is going to help, but a Harvard professor has declared that taking pills meant to treat epilepsy can help perfect the human singing voice.

Takao Hensch, in his defense, is not crazy and has scientific research to back him up. The molecular and cellular biology specialist gave test subjects Valproate, had them conduct internet tasks to train their ears, and then tested them on their ability to discriminate tones. The results suggest it worked.

"It's quite remarkable since there are no known reports of adults acquiring absolute pitch," he said, suggesting the research could assist quicker language learning as well. "I think we're getting closer to this day, because we are able to understand in greater cellular detail how the brain develops throughout development."

Absolute pitch, a term used to describe the ability to identify and re-create musical notes without reference tones, is a skill that was possessed by some of the greatest vocalists of all time, such as Michael Jackson and Ella Fitzgerald. Hensch believes the ability is less natural talent than being trained well at an early age. As he mentioned, adults have never been able to develop absolute pitch later in life, but Valproate returned their mind to a "childlike" state (sounds like a bad thing to us) and allowed them to improve their abilities.

But look: This is all experimental. Don't go out and buy black market epilepsy treatment in an attempt to gain absolute pitch. Just keep practicing.