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Researcher Jake Mandell has created an online test which measures pitch perception as well as musical memory. The test plays two brief passages of very similar music back-to-back, and you press a button to indicate whether you think the tunes are the same or different. (Often the differences are subtle — maddeningly subtle.) At the end of the test you can fill out an optional survey about race, sex, and age; data is collected anonymously and periodically analyzed.
The test is hard — my professional musician friend got a 66%. You can take the test here, or read analysis of over 100,000 test results. Also interesting: Wikipedia on tone deafness. So: how’d you do?
Comments (28)
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88.9; but it was surprisingly difficult…
posted by Ed on 6-14-2007 at 9:09 am
83% with all the ambient noise at work. Not bad for an old lady
posted by JaneM on 6-14-2007 at 9:17 am
77.8% Not so bad.
posted by Martha on 6-14-2007 at 9:26 am
I’ve often wondered what The Art of Noise has been up to lately. Now I know!
80.6%
posted by Johnny Cat on 6-14-2007 at 9:52 am
Full disclosure: I got 80.6%!
posted by Higgins on 6-14-2007 at 10:17 am
I wear hearing aids but took the test without them. 72.2% – normal. I’m pleased.
I think I’ll try later with earphones.
I’m impressed with Ed – almost 90%!
posted by GoingLikeSixty on 6-14-2007 at 10:27 am
92.7% (but I have a BM, remember)
The problem with the quiz is if you hit the button as soon as you hear the different tone, it immediately starts playing the next example. the dovetailing screwed me up a couple times. but fun! good find, higgins!
posted by David on 6-14-2007 at 10:45 am
66.7% I thought I did better, but that’s not too bad…
posted by Sara on 6-14-2007 at 11:47 am
77.8% I went back on my blog and checked, because I’m NOT taking that test again!
posted by Miss Cellania on 6-14-2007 at 1:16 pm
75% – and considering I can only carry a tune when singing drunk karaoke, I’m surprised. I stank at piano lessons.
posted by muffy on 6-14-2007 at 2:07 pm
92.7%, and thats with no formal music training (then again, i have won 2 awards for composition) oh yeah i’m 19.
posted by steve on 6-14-2007 at 2:33 pm
97%
posted by belle on 6-14-2007 at 5:39 pm
66.7%..better than being tone-deaf.
posted by jenni on 6-14-2007 at 9:31 pm
Interesting site! I didn’t know this was out there.
If this is interesting to you, you might want to check out the work of Edwin Gordon. He has published the Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced Measures of Music Audiation standardized tests. This “tone deafness” test is very similar to them. The primary focus of Gordon’s Music Learning Theory is the development of audiation, which is the ability to hear and comprehend music that may or may not be physically present (in memory, while listening, reading a score, etc.)–in other words, the ability to think in music. PMMA, IMMA, and AMMA (the audiation tests) don’t measure music skills, but aptitude.
(I’m a doctoral student doing research on the development of the term “audiation” and its implications for the music education profession.)
posted by Kristen on 6-14-2007 at 9:45 pm
88.9%
Hurrah!
posted by Julia on 6-15-2007 at 3:33 am
83.3% last night with earphones on and closing my eyes! (earlier w/o earphones was 72.2%
posted by GoingLikeSixty on 6-15-2007 at 10:45 am
80.6, with my dad blaring Neil Young in the background.
posted by Alison on 6-15-2007 at 2:29 pm
I got 77.8 — this was an astonishingly hard test. I took voice and violin, which require a great deal of tone perception, I thought I’d do better. I also took the pitch perception test, and scored average. I have a bone to pick about that one — three music teachers all suggested I have perfect pitch (as does my father, his brother, and four cousins) We can tune to a near perfect “A” without a pipe or fork. Now I’m wondering if I didn’t learn it from Dad rather than inherit it. (though one of my neurologist suggests that it may be from brain damage. Nice trade off!)
posted by Allison on 6-15-2007 at 4:00 pm
80.6 but I was distracted by some IMs.
posted by AD on 6-15-2007 at 5:33 pm
The test for tonedeafness won’t load for me, but I took the other two, and I have to agree with Allison about the pitch perception test. I have been playing the flute for 12 years, and have had numerous teachers tell me that I have perfect pitch, but I scored average on the test. I’ve been able to tune instruments (or tell if they are out of tune) for years, without anyone ever teaching me. If it’s out of tune, it just sounds wrong to me. I don’t think that that test tests for perfect pitch, and I don’t know that it was supposed to.
posted by greenstrawberries on 6-15-2007 at 9:13 pm
wow cool! i got an 83% without my adderall & never had any music lessons in my life.
posted by Linda Steuer on 6-16-2007 at 4:08 pm
77.8% I’ve only taken a few Theory classes in high school.
posted by greg on 6-17-2007 at 6:56 pm
86.1%, but I suspect that I incorrectly identified a few as different because I was actively trying to pick out the differences. I found it fairly easy overall, and it seems like they could make it harder by subtly changing the chords instead of individual notes- Em7 instead of Em, throw in some inverted chords, that sort of thing.
posted by Andrew on 6-18-2007 at 11:14 am
91.7%. I have no formal training in music, but I am a soundguy. I’m with Andrew – testing perception of chord changes, especially subtle ones, would be very interesting.
posted by sfs on 6-18-2007 at 4:56 pm
72.2%, and 2.25 on the pitch thing.
I feel below average now, having seen the above scores. :(
posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 6-18-2007 at 5:15 pm
I have had no musical training and I got 91.7% correct.
posted by Lori on 6-20-2007 at 4:54 am
wow I’m really terrible! 58.3%
posted by sporkk on 6-20-2007 at 9:09 am
Most of the people here posted 80+ percent. Since I’m a musician, I got 95% with no headphones!!! w00t!
posted by Spenser on 9-16-2007 at 9:04 pm