Vocalist.org archive


From:  "Margaret L. Harrison"<peggyh@i...>
Date:  Thu Dec 19, 2002  2:41 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Re: tone-deaf?

On Wed, 18 Dec 2002 10:05:39 -0500 John Link <johnlink@n...> wrote:

> >Yes, he can do that... He can also recognize
> veeeeeery known tunes
> >like Happy Birthday,
>
> Then he _does have at least some ability to
> recognize pitches, and is therefore not tone-deaf, unless he is recognizing
them fromm the
> rhythm. CAn he recognize Happy Birthday if you
> sing each note as a quarter? (I.e., with distorted rhythm, without words,
but with the
> correct sequence of pitches.)

That can sometimes be a tough task for people who no problem with tone
differentiation. I remember when I was in college, one of my professors did
an experiment with her conducting class to make a point about the importance
of rhythm to music. She played us a sequence of pitches with no rhytmic
differentiation - let's say all eighth notes. None of us could identify the
"tune". It turned out to be the opening of the Bach 5th Brandenburg Concerto,
minus the repeated notes on the first four pitches, a work which was as
familiar to all of us instrumental music-majors as "Happy Birthday" is to the
general population.




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