If You’re Tone Deaf, Science Might Be Able to Help

December 30, 2013 Alan Cross 0 Comments Medical News, Tone Deaf

All through elementary school, I inevitably ended up to the same guy for assemblies that required the singing of “O Canada” and “God Save the Queen.” While many of us just mouthed the words, he belted them out like Celine Dion. And he was completely, utterly tone-deaf. We called him on it, of course, but he didn’t understand what he was talking about. He thought his singing was just fine. We just learned to put up with it.

If this were today, though, science might be able to come to the rescue. New research indicates that it might be possible to fix the part of the brain that involves understanding music. The key is a class of drugs called HDAC inhibitors, a drug that can help stabilize mood and make life easier for epileptics. For some reason, it helps certain people identify tones and pitches that they otherwise couldn’t.

This doesn’t mean a drug can give you perfect pitch, but it could make those school assemblies a little more bearable.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 30+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Chasing a Dream – Kevin Porter in Conversation with TBP Podcast EP 036 October 11, 2021
Many of us – at one time or another – dream of being professional athletes. Most of us realize in high school that we won’t be making it to the big leagues – unfortunately. The lucky among us flirt with the minor leagues in hopes of that big break. But what happens when that big […]
Andrew Dick
Being your Authentic Self – Richard Crouse in conversation with TBP Podcast EP 035 July 2, 2021
You would be given a free pass if you forgot that before the rise of the social media influencer there were already pundits and personalities on TV, radio and print. There’s just been that much exponential change in the media business over the last 15 years. Yet today, those who were formerly the audience are […]
Mark Silver
The Business of Radio – Elliott Hurst in conversation with TBP Podcast EP 034 June 21, 2021
The commercialization of streaming audio is not a new phenomenon. Going back 100 years, it was simply known by another name, broadcasting. With the launch, rise and now transition to digital and apps, the business models of audio-preneurs have generally been the same, mostly because of the challenge of measurement, a problem audio’s cousin television […]
Mark Silver