Tone Deaf

[JIMRPT@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 9/06/2000 12:16:19 AM, Martin wrote:

<<But what's even more inconceivable to me is being  tone-deaf.
 How is this possible?>>

Martin;
 Think color blindness. Being "tone deaf" is not unlike being color blind in 
that the mechanism which allows us to hear either is not able to 
differentiate between discrete tones or........ it does and our 'processing' 
of these tones does not perceive the differences. "Color Blind" persons vary 
as to the degree of color blindness and the colors they are "blind" to and 
"tone deaf" persons also vary in their degree of "deafness" and the 
frequencies that are affected.  As in being "color blind" some persons have 
total lack of color recognition, some persons recognize certain colors and 
not others and some see only in shades of gray, so there are varying degrees 
of "tone deafness" also. 
  Tone recognition is a 'learnable' skill, for most of us, that we take for 
granted but we also must realize that there are those of us who are 
"different abilitied" and can no more recognize, or carry, a tone than the 
proverbial "teaching a donkey to fly" thingee.
My thoughts.
Jim Bryant (FL)