1) Studies have found a link between playing music and math/science test scores. There is a theory that the linear natue of music teaches kids skills that can translate to math and science. So it’s not necessarily suprising that Asian kids who study music may indeed do better in math and science.

2) There is actually no such thing as tone deaf. If you were truly tone deaf, you would constantly be changing pitch every time you speak – I doubt you do that. Tone deaf people are typically individuals who have a smaller tonal zone of comfort. Lets say the average person is comfortable with a tonal range of 10 notes in a scale, people who are “tone deaf” may only have a range of 3 notes. This is usually not a problem b/c most people speak using only one or two notes – the problem only arises when you sing and you are unconsciously unable to break out of your limited range. You then end up continuously modulating inorder to find a harmonic that works within the song. That’s why it sounds like you’re always changing keys. Tone deaf people can train themselves to expand their range of comfort – but it takes time.

3) Chinese music traditionally uses a different set of tonal ranges than the US. While western music is based in the Do-Re-Mi scale, chinese music uses a different scale with different intervals between notes. That’s why chinese music sounds so atonal to many westerners. When you’re trained to hear music through a different scale, you may well struggle to adapt to more western tonal scales.

Can you tell that I was a music minor?

1) Studies have found a link between playing music and math/science test scores. There is a theory that the linear natue of music teaches kids skills that can translate to math and science. So it’s not necessarily suprising that Asian kids who study music may indeed do better in math and science.

2) There is actually no such thing as tone deaf. If you were truly tone deaf, you would constantly be changing pitch every time you speak – I doubt you do that. Tone deaf people are typically individuals who have a smaller tonal zone of comfort. Lets say the average person is comfortable with a tonal range of 10 notes in a scale, people who are “tone deaf” may only have a range of 3 notes. This is usually not a problem b/c most people speak using only one or two notes – the problem only arises when you sing and you are unconsciously unable to break out of your limited range. You then end up continuously modulating inorder to find a harmonic that works within the song. That’s why it sounds like you’re always changing keys. Tone deaf people can train themselves to expand their range of comfort – but it takes time.

3) Chinese music traditionally uses a different set of tonal ranges than the US. While western music is based in the Do-Re-Mi scale, chinese music uses a different scale with different intervals between notes. That’s why chinese music sounds so atonal to many westerners. When you’re trained to hear music through a different scale, you may well struggle to adapt to more western tonal scales.

Can you tell that I was a music minor?