Ear Training and Tone Deafness

Quite a few people think that their main obstacle to developing musical skills is tone deafness. This catch-all phrase is often used to describe a general inability to sing, play an instrument, or even match musical pitches, but the truth is that most of these people aren’t actually tone deaf; they just haven’t acquired the necessary ear training skills yet!

The solution is to follow a properly developed ear training method, with an emphasis on “properly developed”. Not all ear training methods are created equal; in fact, many of them provide sub-par results, or no results at all. With a great ear training method, though, anyone can overcome their so-called tone deafness, and even become advanced musicians.

What is tone deafness?

If you’re talking about the definition that most people use, being “tone deaf” mostly involves a general lack of musicality – the phrase “can’t carry a tune in a bucket” comes to mind. If someone says they’re tone deaf, they probably mean that they can’t sing along to their favorite songs, or they can’t pick out a simple tune on a keyboard.

However, this isn’t true tone deafness; this is just a lack of basic musical skills. This being the case, what is tone deafness? Unless loss of hearing is keeping you from recognizing music in the first place, tone deafness actually comes from a congenital condition (or damage to a specific part of the brain) that prevents you from perceiving or reproducing musical tones; it’s commonly associated with other significant developmental issues. To someone with this condition, all music just sounds like disorganized, random noises. In other words, we can confidently say that if you enjoy listening to music, you’re definitely not tone deaf.

How to know if you’re tone deaf

Is tone deafness real? It is, but in a much more limited sense than you might realize. If you’ve always considered yourself to be tone deaf, how can you tell whether it’s a simple lack of musical skill, or a matter of abnormal brain function? It’s important to keep in mind that true tone deafness is quite rare, and if you’re reading this, chances are that you can develop great musical skills with the right ear training method.

Many people are curious to know if a tone deaf person can learn how to sing. Since being “tone deaf” really just means that your musical skills are underdeveloped, all you have to do is start developing those skills, and watch your supposed tone deafness disappear!

Symptoms of tone deafness

What would make someone describe themselves as being “tone deaf”? In most cases, they’re actually describing a lack of skills such as pitch matching or musical memory. These are usually taken as symptoms of tone deafness, when in reality they’re just symptoms of lacking basic musical skills. And guess what this means for the average “tone deaf” person? It means that being tone deaf is temporary, and it’ll only last until they start developing their ear training skills.

Tone deafness test

If you really want to know how to tell if you are tone deaf, here’s a clue: if you’re unsure enough about it to be searching for answers, you very likely aren’t. Unfortunately, many online resources may tell you otherwise. Tone deafness tests are readily available online, but they can’t actually test for tone deafness. They only test your pitch matching skills, or ask you to identify whether pitches are lower or higher than the previous ones. These types of tests may seem like they’re identifying symptoms of tone deafness, but they’re really just taking advantage of unsuspecting people who are trying to get their questions answered, so they get more clicks and higher rankings on google to make more money.

To put it more simply, no online test can identify whether or not you’re tone deaf. If you’ve taken one of these tests and been told that you’re tone deaf, there’s a 99,99% chance that you can still develop ear training skills and overcome your supposed “tone deafness”. Unless you suffer from severe loss of hearing, it’s extremely unlikely that you’re actually tone deaf. You just need to develop your musicality, and this supposed affliction will immediately start to disappear - we’ve seen this happening with hundreds of students already.

If you’re going to develop your ear training skills, though, you’ll have to make sure that you’re using the right method. Most ear training is done using ineffective methodologies, such as interval-based exercises or the trial-and-error approach. These methods could leave you more convinced than ever that you’re tone deaf; they consistently fail to produce results, but you’d be more likely to blame yourself than the approach you are following. There are plenty of scientific studies showing why these ear training methods are ineffective. Instead, you should choose an ear training course with a proven track record of helping students, no matter their age or skill level.

What causes tone deafness?

The answer is simple: tone deafness is caused by lack of musical training. Even if you’ve been helplessly tone deaf your entire life, the right ear training courses can start turning this around almost immediately. Regardless of what an online test may have told you – or even what friends and family tell you! – developing your musicality is just as accessible to you as it is to anyone else, provided you use an effective ear training course.

What percentage of the world is tone deaf?

The exact percentage varies depending on what study you’re looking at, but the occurrence of congenital amusia (a tone deaf synonym) is lower than 0.5%. Actually, only a minority of people with amusia are “music lovers”; most people with amusia are indifferent to, or even irritated by music. So, as mentioned before, if you love music it’s very unlikely that you’re affected by amusia.

Moreover, there are recent studies showing doubts regarding the effectiveness of the tests currently used to diagnose amusia. This means that the real percentage of people affected by amusia could be lower than 0.5% (as reported above).

Lastly, we’re still not sure that all people diagnosed with congenital amusia can’t overcome this disorder. Amusia has been recently differentiated in multiple sub-types (pitch amusia, rhythm amusia, etc.) and it’s definitely a subject that still needs a lot of scientific investigation before it can be fully understood.

Is tone deafness genetic?

Studies have confirmed that REAL tone deafness (congenital amusia) is indeed genetic. If you’ve been wondering “is tone deafness genetic?”, then the answer is definitely yes, if you are referring to "congenital amusia", but keep in mind that "tone deafness" is more commonly used to indicate a simple lack in musical skills which is not related at all to "congenital amusia" and can be solved by practicing ear training following an effective method.

Why can’t I match pitch if I’m not tone deaf?

Pitch matching skills are often taken for granted by those who already have them; they probably picked up this ability during their childhoods, as they hummed along to songs or engaged in sing-alongs. What about the people who can’t match pitches? They often assume that if they haven’t developed this skill by the time they’re adults, there’s just something wrong with them.

The good news is that there’s no correlation between a lack of pitch matching skills and tone deafness. If you want to learn how to stop being tone deaf, the first thing to know is that you aren’t actually tone deaf! You just lack key musical skills, which you can start developing anytime you want with the right training method. We’ve seen hundreds of students going from not even being able to match pitch, to developing significant ear training skills and even becoming proficient singers.

Can tone deafness be cured?

True tone deafness, or amusia, is an established genetic condition that currently seems not to have a known cure. However it’s worth mentioning that the way in which amusia is diagnosed today is still under serious scientific discussion; there are significant doubts regarding the belief that all people diagnosed with amusia can’t actually overcome this apparent disorder with a proper practice protocol.

In our experience, we’ve had multiple students who wouldn’t have passed the official “amusia test” who are now able to accomplish musical tasks (i.e. singing, recognizing melodies by ear, etc.) that are considered out-of-reach for people affected by amusia. There are also videos showing their progress on our testimonial page.

In any case, as said before, it’s very unlikely you are actually affected by amusia. Assuming you’re using the colloquial definition of tone deafness (which is really just a lack of musical skills), then it can absolutely be “cured” with the proper training.

If you’re going to embark on your own ear training journey, here are a few things to consider when choosing an ear training method.

• Avoid ineffective methodologies. Some of the most popular ear training courses adopt the interval method, which consistently fails to help students develop their musicality. The trial-and-error approach is also pretty much useless, but definitely the most commonly used among beginner musicians. If you want to figure out how to fix being tone deaf, you’ll never reach your goals with one of these ineffective ear training methods.

• Use a step-by-step approach. If your musical skills are so limited that you call yourself tone deaf, it’s especially important to follow a step-by-step approach. This will allow you to start with the basics (like pitch matching), and work your way up from there. Without this type of approach you’d probably be given exercises that were far too advanced, which would just lead to frustration, wasted time and no progress at all.

• Look for courses with proven track records. Many ear training courses owe their success to good marketing, rather than a methodology that actually works. Even if they claim to have thousands of students and widespread name recognition, none of that matters if they aren’t actually effective. To avoid this type of course, it might help to see what the testimonials say. If you find one testimonial after another saying that this ear training method worked where all the others failed, you’re probably on the right track.

Can a tone deaf person learn how to sing?

Yes, they absolutely can learn how to sing with a good ear training method. However, they should be prepared to spend some time and effort on developing more foundational ear training skills before they become proficient at singing. They’ll have to start at the very beginning, and then work their way up to intermediate and advanced skills.

How ear training can help you

With a structured, step-by-step approach to ear training, you can not only overcome your “tone deafness”, but also build a formidable set of musical skills that can be used in a variety of situations. From enjoying singing karaoke to writing your own songs, from starting to learn a musical instrument to improvising on the fly as you sing or play.

One reason why so many people remain (incorrectly) convinced that they’re tone deaf is because they used the wrong ear training method. However, after extensive testing and research, we were able to develop an ear training method that helps students efficiently get past common roadblocks, that traditional ear training courses often present, and develop an intuitive connection with the musical language.

Our Free Use Your Ear Workshop will give you a better understanding of why and how our ear training method works. Plus, you’ll get some exclusive ear training exercises that are appropriate to your current skill level - even if you can’t match pitches yet! And best of all, it’s FREE!

The Use Your Ear Relative Pitch Video Course is our most popular course; it’s the only science-based, step-by-step approach to ear training. It guides you through a carefully formulated strategy that is tailored to your current level. Whether you just want to be able to sing along to simple tunes, or you’re eager to progress to more advanced musical skills, this course can take you to where you want to go. In this course, you’ll learn to recognize melodies and chords by ear (without using any musical instruments), and you’ll develop your intonation as well as your overall musicality. This will, in turn, skyrocket your abilities in any musical activity like sight-singing, improvisation, songwriting, composition, etc.

For budding musicians who prefer to get personalized attention and feedback from a tutor, our one-on-one lessons are another great option to get started with our ear training method. Whatever your requirements happen to be, we’ve got you covered!

Conclusion

Tone deafness is something that many people think they have, but only a very small percentage of them actually experience. In the vast majority of cases, they just need a bit of extra help in developing their musical skills. So – what is tone deafness? Clearly, it’s more of a misnomer than anything else. This can be confusing, but it should also be encouraging to anyone who wants to develop their musicality. Even if they always thought they were tone deaf, it turns out that they’re just as capable of becoming proficient musicians as anyone else!

The Use Your Ear method is the only science-based ear training method currently available, offering step-by-step courses designed to ensure that you cultivate an intuitive sense of musicality - regardless of your age or current level of musical skills.