Music Are you tonedeaf? - Page 2

**alnorth** · 10-03-2010, 12:06 AM

About 5% of all people are tonedeaf. Most of these people also have no idea, except maybe a lingering suspicion after friends or family gently tell them they cant sing worth a damn. Music apparently sounds different to them than to the rest of us. For these people, if a note is slightly off, due to a hearing defect, they simply cant tell. That is also why you get these hilariously bad singers on american idol who are convinced they can sing, because to their ears, they are repeating what they heard from the radio.

Here's a couple of tonedeafness tests I found, which also functions as a way to possibly tell if your sense of pitch is above average. If you are near the bottom of the bell curve, you might be tonedeaf. If you have a perfect score, you might (probably not) be one of the rare 1 in 10,000 people with perfect pitch. Where do you score?

Silock · 10-03-2010, 05:54 AM

That test was ****ing reeruned. I made it through 4 pairs and couldn't take it any more.

Shag · 10-03-2010, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNR

Oh, I know some games we can play if alcohol is involved. Set up 12 varieties of liquor or beer. Each variety corresponds to one of the 12 tones in a scale. Then you play some 12-tone stuff by Schoenberg, Boulez, or one of those guys. For every half step you miss on each of the notes, you take a drink of that particular substance. It was never a problem for me, but a lot of guys would get drunk pretty ****ing quickly if they screwed up one note and off-set the rest of the row.

I had a friend with perfect pitch in college, and for her, there was no screwing up of any notes because nothing was subjective. A note was concrete, like reading it on a page - there wasn't any "I think that's an Ab". She could listen to very complex musical passages and name every note perfectly - it was wild. That's my understanding of perfect pitch, and that if someone really has it, they won't be wrong. It's something they were born with, not something they learned.

People with really good relative pitch can almost fake having perfect pitch, but they aren't always right, and it takes a lot more effort than someone with true perfect pitch.

It's possible I have some misconceptions due to only knowing one person with perfect pitch, but your quote caught me as odd...

**Bob Dole** · 10-03-2010, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle DeLexus

They really should call that a memory/pitch test

This. While there is some pitch involved in some of the samples, it certainly is not all about pitch.

FAX · 10-03-2010, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNR

I have perfect pitch, actually. From a very early age, if somebody played a note on a piano without me looking I could tell them which note it was and in what octave.

Since I became trained in music, I could tell the difference between temperaments on early keyboard instruments versus regular equal temperament tuning on most pianos. I've gotten so people can sit on the piano and I can name all the notes from bottom to top that are being played. For mostly diatonic music (pop, rock, some jazz, anything that's in a main key or mode) I can name the key and tell you the modulations.

Let me tell you, chicks dig it.

I have tar pitch.

And I almost got run over once, too.

FAX

**Fire Me Boy!** · 10-03-2010, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shag

I had a friend with perfect pitch in college, and for her, there was no screwing up of any notes because nothing was subjective. A note was concrete, like reading it on a page - there wasn't any "I think that's an Ab". She could listen to very complex musical passages and name every note perfectly - it was wild. That's my understanding of perfect pitch, and that if someone really has it, they won't be wrong. It's something they were born with, not something they learned.

People with really good relative pitch can almost fake having perfect pitch, but they aren't always right, and it takes a lot more effort than someone with true perfect pitch.

It's possible I have some misconceptions due to only knowing one person with perfect pitch, but your quote caught me as odd...

Yep. I've also known two people with true perfect pitch back in my conservatory days. Frankly, I don't believe either one of these guys. I'd probably believe good or very good relative pitch, but perfect pitch... no, I just don't buy it. The two that I knew, you could name a note and they could sing it, no hesitation, and be dead on, every single time. There's no "half step" off, ever.

Rudy tossed tigger's salad · 10-03-2010, 10:27 AM

Dane doesn't lie

**RealSNR** · 10-03-2010, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Yep. I've also known two people with true perfect pitch back in my conservatory days. Frankly, I don't believe either one of these guys. I'd probably believe good or very good relative pitch, but perfect pitch... no, I just don't buy it. The two that I knew, you could name a note and they could sing it, no hesitation, and be dead on, every single time. There's no "half step" off, ever.

Try me. When I was at Eastman and we had sight-singing exams, I got all the melodies, but I had trouble with singing in solfegg (do re mi fa sol) because a note wasn't a "do" or a "ti" but it was a B or an Eb. That's how I thought of each note, and going out of my way to make the conversion to solfegg was a complete drag.

The only time I've gotten pitches incorrect was when somebody played a random glob on the piano and I might have confused a D in one octave with another in the upper or lower octave. These were 20-note clusters, so the mistake is understandable.

Stanley Nickels · 10-03-2010, 12:51 PM

They need some sort of a meter for lyrics comprehension. Because, I can tell you, I'm wrong about lyrics about 90% of the time. I have no idea what it is, but I am the classic buffoon who gets the lyrics wrong to any given song. I wish I could remember a full compendium of the more hilarious mistakes I've made; one I CAN remember is a recent song from The White Stripes. After an argument and an ensuing Google search, I realized I was wrong. The lyrics are:
I've been waiting for the doorbell, when ya gonna ring it, (when ya gonna ring it?)

I thought it was-- and I'm completely serious about this-- I've been waiting for the gold, man, when ya gonna bring it (When ya gonna bring it?)

**Fire Me Boy!** · 10-04-2010, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNR

Try me. When I was at Eastman and we had sight-singing exams, I got all the melodies, but I had trouble with singing in solfegg (do re mi fa sol) because a note wasn't a "do" or a "ti" but it was a B or an Eb. That's how I thought of each note, and going out of my way to make the conversion to solfegg was a complete drag.

The only time I've gotten pitches incorrect was when somebody played a random glob on the piano and I might have confused a D in one octave with another in the upper or lower octave. These were 20-note clusters, so the mistake is understandable.

Well, I do NOT have perfect pitch, and I got 9 out 10 sight-singing exams, and probably 8 out of 10 solfège (which is a complete drag; on that, we agree

).

Ultra Peanut · 10-04-2010, 08:56 AM

28/30, 28/30 vOv

Always thought I was decentish at um, whatever this is measuring. But yeah, I barely even realize there are lyrics sometimes.

This is so fascinating.

Amnorix · 10-04-2010, 11:09 AM

I have little musical aptitude, but I certainly know that my singing absolutely sucks. I hear the song, try to repeat it, and go "wow, dude, I suck." So I think I'm good on the tonedeaf thing.

It's also what shocks me when I watch people suck it up on American Idol. I mean, I'm terrible, but i KNOW I'm terrible. These people genuinely seem to have no clue how bad they are. WTF?

-King- · 10-04-2010, 11:22 AM

Oh **** that. I did part 1...and now I have to do 30 more tones? **** THAT!

mcan · 10-04-2010, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KcChiefsKing

Oh **** that. I did part 1...and now I have to do 30 more tones? **** THAT!

No kidding.

I exited, with prejudice. And to that note (pun intended) I also think that this test isn't testing perfect pitch, nor relative pitch. It's a short term memory test. And mine is horrible, especially when the notes are a-tonal and seemingly random.

I have decent relative pitch. But I can't just pick out a note and tell you what it is. Not really anyway. What I CAN do, is imagine a song I know well, like "Hotel California" and imagine the color of the top b in the first chord and then derive whatever note I hear based on the interval from that note. It's weird. But that's pretty much the only I can do it.

Like, as I was typing this, I was hearing the bass line to "Ain't No Sunshine" in my head. A---E-G-A-------. I can "hear" those notes, but only if they're in context with the song. Maybe I just never worked on it. Weird. I also hear them in the octaves of the guitar much easier, since that's my instrument.

Pants · 10-04-2010, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KcChiefsKing

Oh **** that. I did part 1...and now I have to do 30 more tones? **** THAT!

Yeah, same here... eff that noise.

**Fire Me Boy!** · 10-04-2010, 12:13 PM

I'm pretty sure my best friend in college was tone deaf. It really blew my mind how he could be singing along in the car and the singer would go up and his pitch would go down...... he had no idea how off he was.

10-03-2010, 12:06 AM
alnorth . Join Date: Dec 2002 Casino cash: $57156239	Are you tonedeaf? About 5% of all people are tonedeaf. Most of these people also have no idea, except maybe a lingering suspicion after friends or family gently tell them they cant sing worth a damn. Music apparently sounds different to them than to the rest of us. For these people, if a note is slightly off, due to a hearing defect, they simply cant tell. That is also why you get these hilariously bad singers on american idol who are convinced they can sing, because to their ears, they are repeating what they heard from the radio. Here's a couple of tonedeafness tests I found, which also functions as a way to possibly tell if your sense of pitch is above average. If you are near the bottom of the bell curve, you might be tonedeaf. If you have a perfect score, you might (probably not) be one of the rare 1 in 10,000 people with perfect pitch. Where do you score?
Posts: 36,130

10-03-2010, 05:54 AM	#16
Silock MVP Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Overland Park Casino cash: $10020882	That test was ****ing reeruned. I made it through 4 pairs and couldn't take it any more.
Posts: 19,908

10-03-2010, 10:27 AM	#21
Rudy tossed tigger's salad Better than Nelson Join Date: Mar 2003 Casino cash: $10000400	Dane doesn't lie
Posts: 17,356

10-03-2010, 12:51 PM	#23
Stanley Nickels [null] Join Date: Sep 2008 Casino cash: $1632893	They need some sort of a meter for lyrics comprehension. Because, I can tell you, I'm wrong about lyrics about 90% of the time. I have no idea what it is, but I am the classic buffoon who gets the lyrics wrong to any given song. I wish I could remember a full compendium of the more hilarious mistakes I've made; one I CAN remember is a recent song from The White Stripes. After an argument and an ensuing Google search, I realized I was wrong. The lyrics are: I've been waiting for the doorbell, when ya gonna ring it, (when ya gonna ring it?) I thought it was-- and I'm completely serious about this-- I've been waiting for the gold, man, when ya gonna bring it (When ya gonna bring it?) __________________ Bacon-wrapped shrimp: My first-favorite food wrapped around my third-favorite food. I'd go to a banquet in honor of those Somali pirates if they served bacon-wrapped shrimp.
Posts: 6,657

10-04-2010, 08:56 AM	#25
Ultra Peanut v^V^v^V^v^V^ Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Holland* Casino cash: $10005177	28/30, 28/30 vOv Always thought I was decentish at um, whatever this is measuring. But yeah, I barely even realize there are lyrics sometimes. This is so fascinating. __________________ Last edited by Ultra Peanut; 10-04-2010 at 09:01 AM..
Posts: 39,518

10-04-2010, 11:09 AM	#26
Amnorix In BB I trust Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, Mass. Casino cash: $10029808	I have little musical aptitude, but I certainly know that my singing absolutely sucks. I hear the song, try to repeat it, and go "wow, dude, I suck." So I think I'm good on the tonedeaf thing. It's also what shocks me when I watch people suck it up on American Idol. I mean, I'm terrible, but i KNOW I'm terrible. These people genuinely seem to have no clue how bad they are. WTF?
Posts: 43,125

10-04-2010, 11:22 AM	#27
-King- ▓▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓▓ Join Date: Jan 2009 Casino cash: $-1454257	Oh ** that. I did part 1...and now I have to do 30 more tones? ** THAT! __________________ 🏁
Posts: 65,481

10-04-2010, 12:13 PM	#30
Fire Me Boy! Cast Iron Jedi Join Date: Nov 2004 Casino cash: $9999900 VARSITY	I'm pretty sure my best friend in college was tone deaf. It really blew my mind how he could be singing along in the car and the singer would go up and his pitch would go down...... he had no idea how off he was.
Posts: 35,253