Q: i never really tried to comprehend music as a kid so i developed absolute pitch and relied solely on that and now i still have bad relative pitch. for example in choir if the sheet music is in a different key from what we're actually singing in, i get really slow at reading the music. how can i stop thinking about absolute pitch to get more fluent at relative pitch which i know is the actually important one? also i hate when people think having absolute pitch equals talent, but then i'm still happy that i get to annoy my friends by naming the pitch of the microwave or the car honk or something,
A: i've never been in your exact situation, but i think there's good news here. absolute pitch is just about impossible to develop after age 6. relative pitch, however, does not seem to have this hard limitation. so at least you don't have to worry that you missed the bus entirely on this. here's a clever suggestion: what if you somehow sabotage all the absolute notions of the note letters. for example, just transpose your keyboard or something. here's an even better idea actually, ...... hold your left hand on the pitch bend wheel and move it back and forth in a very small range slowly, while playing things with your right hand. maybe linger around just one or 2 notes, and mash the pitch around, tenderly, as if trying to scratch an itch. follow what makes you feel good. this may unlock some doors for you