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“Tone Deaf” (Singing Teachers)
Surprised this topic hasn’t been created yet, so I thought, why not be the first!
So I have recently learnt that it’s extremely rare to be clinically tone deaf, and what tone deaf actually means. I think it describes those who literally can’t tell the difference between pitch moving up or down, even in the speaking voice! So when it’s put like that, it does sound very rare.
But it’s always chucked about, the “tone deaf” phrase, isn’t it. Mainly by beginner students, but admittedly by me as well, when talking about students who cannot sing in tune.
So I am no longer going to use the words “tone deaf” as it suggests a medical problem which doesn’t even exist, but also, a sense of absolutely no hope! And beginner students seem to come to lessons with this mindset as it is!
Definition aside, what are your experiences of students who just cannot sing in tune? We’ve discussed it in the Facebook group before, and I’ve said in the past that it always seem to help switching them to piano so that they can understand intervals and movement of pitch with a visual guide. But if I’m honest, I’ve always found it extremely difficult to fix and the student finds it tiring (as do I!) especially when it seems like they’ve got it one day and then completely lost it another day… I’ve seen improvement though, so it’s not been a total waste of time!
Discuss.
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4 Replies
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Ok, so in terms of understanding what “tone deafness” actually is, this recording totally changed my life:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/the-ballad-of-tin-ears-1.2633533?autoplay=trueSet aside an hour for it, it’s so worth it. It explains tone-deafness from a neurological perspective amongst other things and has heavily informed my process with helping these students.
cbc.ca
Many of us love to sing, but we're not all good at it. Some of us can't even carry a tune and are told not to sing. Tim Falconer dives into neuroscience, psychology -- and music itself -- to find … Continue reading
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Finally just listened – good stuff!
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yayyy:)
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