Q: how quickly can you tell what note is being sung? are you calculating it's interval from a reference note you know very well in your head or do you just know exactly what the note is the moment you hear it?
A: my relative skills vastly overshadow the absolute. i was not trained to care about the absolute from a young age, but as a result of learning everything in C, i do actually have C built in. it is a strange paradox, and in the last several years i have started to feel entitled to having the absolute, knowing that it must be possible due to the overwhelming reality of accurate song and sound memory. so i have over the years strengthened the framework to the point where overall i can pretty much claim to have the absolute, at least as well as anyone else who makes that claim. and the relative remains lightening fast, and is further strengthened by some of the absolute strategies i have. it is important to remember that the absolute is not an important musical skill