Are you TONE DEAF?
Posted: 03 Jun 2022 23:49
Are you TONE DEAF?
Well, if you are a Member of this Forum then the answer must be "No". You would hardly be playing music on a keyboard if you couldn't distinguish one note from another. Even when playing a song you know well from sheet music, I'm sure you would 'hear' if some of the melody notes you were playing were the wrong ones. And then what about the harmony of the piece you are playing? Would you play Glen Miller's Moonlight Serenade with just the chords of C, F and G and think it sounded right?
I have come across this little test on YouTube, and the first part of it (determining if one note is higher or lower than the next one) brought back memories of when I was a student up in Dundee, Scotland. An American company had come over and set up some equipment in our vast hall and asked 200 students if they would take part in a little experiment they were doing .. which was testing just that. After the first round I reckon about 4 students dropped out. They couldn't determine the pitch of one note as compared with another, even when the notes were played far apart. Gradually, they reduced the frequency between the two notes they played until there was barely any difference between them. And why do I remember all this? Because out of 200 students, I was the last one left in! Couldn't do that now (I don't think) as I wear hearing aids, and without my hearing aids I don't hear the topmost frequencies at all. I have noticed this particularly on my AR80 organ when I have a 1' drawbar set up and play notes far over to the right. The keys 'clunk' .. but no sound comes from the organ at all. Until I put my hearing aids back in!
But this YouTube TEST isn't just about frequencies. There are other thing to do with recognising music. This is one of the comments from under the video:
ARE YOU TONE DEAF OR MUSICALLY GIFTED? (A simple test for non-musicians)
Hope you find this as fascinating as I did!
Hugh
Well, if you are a Member of this Forum then the answer must be "No". You would hardly be playing music on a keyboard if you couldn't distinguish one note from another. Even when playing a song you know well from sheet music, I'm sure you would 'hear' if some of the melody notes you were playing were the wrong ones. And then what about the harmony of the piece you are playing? Would you play Glen Miller's Moonlight Serenade with just the chords of C, F and G and think it sounded right?
I have come across this little test on YouTube, and the first part of it (determining if one note is higher or lower than the next one) brought back memories of when I was a student up in Dundee, Scotland. An American company had come over and set up some equipment in our vast hall and asked 200 students if they would take part in a little experiment they were doing .. which was testing just that. After the first round I reckon about 4 students dropped out. They couldn't determine the pitch of one note as compared with another, even when the notes were played far apart. Gradually, they reduced the frequency between the two notes they played until there was barely any difference between them. And why do I remember all this? Because out of 200 students, I was the last one left in! Couldn't do that now (I don't think) as I wear hearing aids, and without my hearing aids I don't hear the topmost frequencies at all. I have noticed this particularly on my AR80 organ when I have a 1' drawbar set up and play notes far over to the right. The keys 'clunk' .. but no sound comes from the organ at all. Until I put my hearing aids back in!
But this YouTube TEST isn't just about frequencies. There are other thing to do with recognising music. This is one of the comments from under the video:
10/10. I listen to music everyday and sing in a band. If I were not so interested in music then I might not have done so well. This says to me that the results are based on a person's ability to listen in detail to music and "deconstruct" what they're hearing, which is something that most people won't do intentionally .. but I think we actually do pick up these differences subconsciously.
ARE YOU TONE DEAF OR MUSICALLY GIFTED? (A simple test for non-musicians)
- When the advert appears, click the X in the top right hand corner of the rectangle to get rid of it.
Hope you find this as fascinating as I did!
Hugh