Other Definitions
tone deaf (dict)
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Tone Deaf talk:|talk page]].}} Tone deaf describes a person who is unable to accurately reproduce a musical note, either vocally (singing) or on a musical instrument. They are unable to "carry a tune". In most cases, this is a result of a lack of musical training and disappears with practice. However, a small percentage of persons have this inability throughout their life and are unable to perform music even when highly motivated and well coached. Their singing or playing is notably out of pitch, not just out of key, and is often painful or annoying to listeners with a normal appreciation of pitch. Such persons are unable to even detect a change in pitch obvious to most other people. It appears that this deficiency only applies to music and not to reproducing and understanding human speech. However, tone deaf persons often lack a sense of musical esthetics, and, much like a color blind person would not appreciate subtle shading in a painting, they cannot appreciate music. Recent research has shown that such a deficiency may be rooted in a genetic cause. Tone deafness is only one musical disability. One of the others is lack of rhythm, or the inability to sing or play a musical instrument in time with a regular or syncopated beat. The tone deaf seem to be the polar opposite of persons with perfect pitch, the rare ability to name a musical note when played or sung. External link * NPR: Test for tone deafness
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