# Test your musical ear... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445 "2006-11-22T18:11:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/61 "2006-11-24T18:32:17Z")
I just tried again and really concentrated this time and got 80.6%. I think I did better on the earlier questions. After about question 25 I started spacing again no matter how hard I tried to concentrate. I think I’d do pretty good if this test were half as long. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/62 "2006-11-24T18:35:15Z")
83.3% here. Some musical training–years of piano lessons (and years of avoiding practicing–as a result I’m not that good) and some singing, though never as much as I would have liked. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/63 "2006-11-25T01:02:27Z")
80.6% Not bad…though to my credit I have transcribed 5 Wes Montgomery solos near perfect. If I were to use this as a test for tone deafness with my Grade 6 students they would all fail…is it still a valid test? As a musician I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/64 "2006-11-25T01:06:50Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > So… pretty much everyone who is listing their results is way above average. I’m not sure if that’s strange or not. Or that the majority of Dopers aren’t tone deaf. I scored 80.6% which might have been higher if I hadn’t pushed the wrong button. Three times. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/65 "2006-11-25T01:20:51Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] So… pretty much everyone who is listing their results is way above average. I’m not sure if that’s strange or not. [/QUOTE] 72.2 – About avarage. But then again, I’m an old Uriah Heep fan, what can you do? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/66 "2006-11-25T02:23:59Z")
[QUOTE=nocturnal\_tick] Or that the majority of Dopers aren’t tone deaf. [/quote] It says experienced musicians rarely score above 80%. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/67 "2006-11-25T02:30:25Z")
From the website: > [@](#): > > The test is purposefully made very hard, so excellent musicians rarely score above 80% correct. My apologys. ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/68 "2006-11-25T02:32:04Z")
And that should be **apologies**. :smack: :checks for mistakes this time: :checks again: That should do it. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/69 "2006-11-25T02:44:26Z")
83.3 I said all of the ones I missed were different. When I listen to them again, I still think they sound different. I think my ears are broken. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/70 "2006-11-25T02:59:35Z")
[QUOTE=Dazzling White Diamonds] 86.1 here… I’m actually thrilled with that, because I’m losing my hearing! [/QUOTE] I think I’m losing my hearing as well, and we both scored the same. I used to be a professional musician, for those that are interested. ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/71 "2006-11-25T03:12:23Z")
Another 83.3-er and another vote for being able to play them again! It takes me awhile to be able to remember a new melody, so I wasn’t sure about a few of those longer ones. And chords add to the difficulty. ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/72 "2006-11-25T03:31:15Z")
I got 42% or something. But I’m also exhausted. I couldn’t concentrate but wanted to finish after I started it. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/73 "2006-11-25T09:16:49Z")
91.7% correct! 🆒 I got more wrong by saying they were the same when they were actually different, rather than the other way round. Some of those longer ones with chords were very sneaky, where they’d change a lower note about 2/3 of the way through. Serious amateur singer and exceptionally limited piano/guitar player ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/74 "2006-11-25T17:47:20Z")
83.3. Thought I did better but apparently I was listening too hard for differences. Lifelong violinist and have studied a wee bit of actual theory, so I really should have done better. (Though I haven’t actually touched my violin in months now…I miss my baby). ---
**Author:** ![aclubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@aclubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aclubs)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/75 "2006-11-25T19:58:11Z")
75%. Disappointing, because I’ve been a singer (baritone, even) since 6th grade. Looking at my results, I was saying things are different when they really weren’t. Out of my nine misses, eight were when I thought I heard a difference when there was none. Only one did I miss a difference. By the way, for anyone taking this test, don’t do what I did and try to listen for a slight change in a background note or on how long a note is held. The differences are usually in the melody. ---
**Author:** ![Sherwin\_Nuland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Sherwin\_Nuland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherwin_Nuland)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/76 "2006-11-25T20:25:10Z")
58.3 Do you think I should switch careers to music? I once took a music class and I had a hard time telling if a chord was major or minor. The major chord was supposed to sound happier and the minor chord sadder. I always thought they sounded the same. I have no ear. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/77 "2006-11-25T20:55:29Z")
93.3% Of course, I’m a full time musician, songwriter and arranger, so that probably helped. I definitely had the most difficulty with the more synth-y sounds - and no problems at all with the more pianistic, guitaristic or string- & wind-like sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/78 "2006-11-25T22:24:39Z")
75 percent and I was a professiona musican years ago. My hearing is going as I’m old, but I expected to do much better. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/79 "2006-11-26T03:22:37Z")
I have perfect pitch and I can play most, if not all, songs by ear. The reason I’m saying this, of course, is I’m too embarrassed to post my score here. :o ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445/80 "2006-11-26T05:59:36Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] I have perfect pitch and I can play most, if not all, songs by ear. The reason I’m saying this, of course, is I’m too embarrassed to post my score here. :o [/QUOTE] I don’t have perfect pitch, but I too can play most songs by ear. I was also a music major in college. …But I got a 69%!!! I was shocked. That’s when I took it last night, and, as a partial self-defense, a couple people early on in the thread said they thought they’d done poorly because they were listening _too_ carefully, for _too_ subtle differences. So I took the opposite approach, and just listened for major stuff, and ignored what I thought were very slight pitch differences. (Or did I make them up? Does the test have a couple examples where the same progression of notes is played, but just at a slightly higher pitch?) Anyways, I took it again just now (I had not looked at which ones I got wrong last night) and got 86.1%. So I feel a bit better, though I can’t quite claim that score since it was the second time I’d taken it… :mad: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-your-musical-ear/381445.md?page=5)