The Condition of Tone Deafness

Not very many of us have singing voices worthy of a professional; in fact carrying a tune is difficult for some people. Most of us will only sing in the shower or in an automobile with the windows rolled up. We might think we are tone deaf, and we are definitely not alone. There are about one in seven people that believe they are tone deaf.

There is a misconception that tone deaf is simply an inability to sing, though most people who call themselves tone deaf are quite capable of hearing and enjoying the full scale of a song. When the actual meaning of tone deaf is used, which is just for those who are not able to understand music, the number of people who are actually tone deaf is decreased. In fact, via the use of specialized tests, only one out of every twenty people would be classified as being tone deaf. People who are tone deaf lack the ability to hear the different tone levels, such as high and low notes, which makes it difficult to follow the simplest melody, if they are able to at all.

Those who are severely tone deaf are referred to as having "amusia" amongst medical professionals. Some people become more tone deaf as they grow older, but others are born with the disability, which is then referred to as congenital amusia. The Montreal Battery for the Evaluation of Amusia allows physicians and researchers to determine which pitches a truly tone deaf person is unable to distinguish. Specific imaging examinations are allowing analysts to look at the brains of people who are musically inclined and those of people who are not.

Most researchers will tell you that they conduct these studies out of simple curiosity and a desire to understand how the brain perceives music. The condition of tone deafness is not something that is anticipated to be curable in the near future. However, analysts who are conducting these studies indicate that amusia could provide an application for other brain ailments. If they are able to understand amusia, they could possibly begin to understand other problems that affect the brain.

Western music utilizes half steps, or semitones. Examples of these are the note called F and the note called F-sharp, or the note called C and C-flat. Typically, even musically untalented folks can still discern the difference between half steps. The bulk of us can tell the difference between notes that only a fraction of semitones apart. People with amusia, on the other hand, require quite a bigger separation before they are able to hear a difference correctly.

People who are tone deaf have a hard time isolating individual pitches, and they can't tell when pitches are going up or down the scale, or the various contours of pitch. It is the variations in pitch contour which creates the melody of all types of songs. Research results indicate that someone who is truly tone deaf is often unable to identify pitch changes, particularly those that occur in music.

In addition to their difficulty recognizing pitch and melody, people who are tone deaf also have no feel for rhythm. However, experiments have revealed that if music is played monotone, amusics have a better sense of the rhythm than if the music is multi-tonal. It's likely that the pitch changes that occur in modern music will confuse an amusic, interfering not only with their ability to appreciate the music but to pick up the rhythm as well.

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