alt Hacker NewsI've played guitar for over 30 years, some of them professionally. I have always struggled, still do, recognizing notes. Once I have some "anchor", no problem. But if someone whistles a random tone, and asks what key it is - I'm of no use. My absolute pitch is garbage, but my relative pitch is excellent.
if it helps...absolute pitch is _mostly_ a natural innate ability and cannot be trained.("Mostly" because recent studies have shown that you can train kids at an early age.) So you don't need to worry about not having absolute pitch, like you shouldnt worry about not having mensa level iq. What's more important though, is relative pitch, which most people can train for and is really valuable as a musician.