Early Musicality

My mom is fond of telling the story of my kindergarten teacher being convinced I had perfect pitch. I could actually carry a tune at circle time. Mom always conveniently forgets to mention that as it turns out I only have decent relative pitch, and that even though she was encouraged to nurture my musical talents at a tender age I had to wait until I was 16 before she’d agree to let me study an instrument (but I digress).

Anyway, it seems my son, aged 2.5, might be similarly afflicted. I’ve caught him singing along to Elliott Smith in the car, singing along at pitch to certain phrases in tunes like “In the Lost and Found” and “Memory Lane.” I thought maybe he was being helped along by repetition (we’re in the car every day taking his older sister to school, and I’m notoriously slow to change the CDs in the car), until we were in a store this past weekend. They were playing a Coldplay, either one of the first two I think, and he was up on my shoulders so I could tell he was digging it. He’s never heard them before, to the best of my knowledge, and I spend pretty much all my time with him. So on the second tune, he totally blows me away by humming along with the second chorus in tune having only heard it the first time through. He’s just starting to talk, so he’s not saying the words, but he’s nailing everything else.

So, how abnormal is this. I know lots of kids that couldn’t carry a tune if their lives depended on it, but how often does a child develop a decent sense of pitch before 3? And, more importantly, do I have to worry about him growing up to be a maladjusted malcontent just like his old man?