Tone Deaf Test

Tone Deafness is a very misunderstood concept.

When we say somebody is tone deaf, what we normally mean is they can't tell notes apart. They have poor pitch discrimination, so they don't know when notes are right or wrong, and will make frequent mistakes if they try to sing or play an instrument.

Often this is treated like a diagnosis of a fundamental trait which that person cannot change. However the truth is that there are only a very small number of people who suffer from true amusia: a clinical cognitive impairment which means the brain cannot process musical sounds properly to make sense of them. Researchers have found that less than 5% of people suffer from this condition.

The vast majority of people who believe they are tone deaf in fact do have the basic pitch discrimination skills necessary to tell notes apart. They can enjoy music, recognize melodies, and have just as much musical potential as anybody. They simply lack musical training.

In particular, it is often an inability to sing in tune which leads people to think they might be tone deaf. Even musicians sometimes worry about being tone deaf for this reason. Fortunately this can be easily fixed with some simple singing practice to learn to match pitch with your voice.

To summarise, we can classify people who think they are 'tone deaf' into two groups:

1. People who suffer from the brain impairment amusia: a very small number of people
2. People who have basic pitch perception skills but lack musical training, or have trouble singing in tune

By testing your basic pitch perception skills (for example using ToneDeafTest.com) you can discover which of these two groups you belong to.

If you discover it is group 2 you can then train your ears and your voice and enjoy making music just as much as anybody else!

Most people who think they are tone deaf do in fact have the pitch discrimination abilities necessary to be great musicians. It is actually a lack of musical training which is to blame for their apparent difficulty judging notes.

This Tone Deaf Test is designed to measure your pitch sensitivity. This tests whether you have the fundamental abilities you need, which can then be developed and improved through ear training and singing practice.

The test is divided into three stages, each of which tests a different pitch judgement skill. Your overall score is used to determine the likelihood that you are truly tone deaf. If you pass the test you can be quite confident you have the fundamental pitch abilities required to become a good musician.

Please note that although the test has been designed by experienced music educators based on scientific research into tone deafness, it is not a clinical diagnosis. If you fail the test, this is not diagnosis of a cognitive impairment and it is possible you can still develop your ears for music.

If you have any questions or suggestions to improve the test please feel free to contact us.

Here are some of the questions which are frequently asked about tone deafness and this test. Have a question not covered here? Just let us know.

Questions about tone deafness

Q: What does it mean to be "tone deaf"?

It means you cannot distinguish differences in pitch by ear.

Q: Is that the same as not having "relative pitch"?

Not quite. Relative pitch is also about differences in pitch but it is a more advanced skill - you are trying to measure these distances by ear (for example, to identify an interval) rather than simply being aware of them. Even if you are not tone deaf you may still need to develop your sense of relative pitch to have a good musical ear.

→ Learn more about developing relative pitch.

Q: I think my friend is tone deaf. How can I get them to take the test?

If you're feeling brash, just send them a link! ToneDeafTest.com

If you want to be more diplomatic, how about taking the test yourself and then sharing your result with them via email or social media?

Questions about ToneDeafTest.com

Q: Who created this test?

ToneDeafTest.com is a project from the music education company Musical U.

Q: Why do we need a new test - weren't there already online tone deafness tests?

There are several others tests available online, but we felt they were answering slightly different questions (such as measuring your fine-grained pitch discrimination) or had other drawbacks like not working on mobile devices.

→ Learn more about other online tone deafness tests

Q: Why doesn't the test measure how precisely you can judge pitch distances?

That's a slightly different skill. It's important to musicians, but ToneDeafTest.com is designed simply to answer the question: are you tone deaf?

There is a test here which will measure your pitch discrimination skill in detail.

Q: In Stage A I can play both sounds at once - isn't that cheating?

We don't think so, no. If you were truly tone deaf you would struggle just as much with this as hearing the notes separately.

Q: Why is there a delay before playing the sounds?

Unfortunately it is not always possible to preload the sounds when the test loads, particularly on mobile devices. This can cause a short delay between pressing the button and playing the sound.

Q: How do you decide whether someone passes or fails?

It's based on your score and the probability of you achieving that score by guessing. If you "pass" the test you can be 95% confident that you are not tone deaf.

Q: I'm having a problem with the test! What can I do?

Please contact us at [email protected] and we'll do our best to help!

Q: I'm an expert on tone deafness and I'd like to talk to you about this test

We would love to hear from you! Please email us at [email protected].

Questions about next steps

Q: If I fail the test, what can I do?

Failing the test doesn't mean you are necessarily tone deaf, though it's a strong indicator you struggle with pitch discrimination. We recommend seeing an audiologist for a more thorough assessment.

Q: If I'm not tone deaf, why can't I sing?

There are many factors to being able to sing well, but if you feel (or have been told) you "can't sing", it's probably about being in tune. This skill of singing in tune is separate from being tone deaf. You cannot sing in tune if you are tone deaf, but if you are not tone deaf you may still need practice to learn to sing in tune.

For more information on learning to sing in tune please read this page or learn more about our next project which tackles this topic here.

Q: I'm not tone deaf! What now?

Excellent! There are two things we'd recommend:

1. Learn to sing in tune
   Get some tips on learning to sing in tune and read this guide: How to Sing in Tune.
2. Start exploring music
   We recommend learning more about musicality and ear training.

Oh, and take up the ukulele! It's great.