Is Being “Tone Deaf” a Myth?
- Music Room
- Jun 26
- 5 min read
As someone who makes musically relevant small talk with parents semi-frequently, I get a fair amount of personal anecdotes about personal successes and struggles of musical endeavors of a few decades past. I hear about how parents used to play an instrument and went to regional festivals and starred in musicals. But I also hear about parents that only lasted a few years in a program because a teacher told them that they weren’t any good, would never amount to anything, that they lacked talent and that they never sang again because they were tone deaf.
The stories make me sad because, well first of all, decades later, it made such an impact on them that they remembered it enough to tell me. They also regretted quitting because in most of the recollections, they enjoyed what they did and the teacher was the problem. The only silver lining I ever hear is that they were standing in front of me with the hopes that their children’s experiences would be far better than their own.
One could say that teachers don’t speak to children like this anymore, but what if they still did? Or what if the verbaige is more polite or politically correct, but still captured the same label and negative fate? We don’t know what goes on in every music classroom or rehearsal space around the globe, but I think we can all agree that every music teacher should be intending on giving their students the best support, encouragement, instruction and experience possible. Why would you dedicate so many hours in a day to being a music teacher if you didn’t want those things for your students?
Is Being "Tone Deaf" Actually a Myth?
In my experience with implementing growth mindset strategies to my own thinking and in my students’ development, I’ve come to find that certain outdated sentiments should be put to final rest, and one of those terms is “tone deaf.” I doubt it’s even politically correct anymore, since students dealt that card of fate aren’t deaf at all. Generally, it is referring to an individual that struggles to sing in tune, with themselves or with others.
But has anyone ever bothered to teach them what singing in tune should feel like? Or sound like? Did they work with them on a psychological level in case there is some anxiety that distracts the focus on blending their pitch? Or could they do that well, but struggle to maintain relative pitch intervals when singing alone? Did they know that most collegiate music programs teach that skill for months on end to already-accomplished musicians?
I’d like to start the argument that the condition of being “tone deaf” doesn’t exist at all. A teacher labeling a student as “tone deaf” is simply acknowledging their failure of a teacher to their subject and gaslighting them to feel like it’s their fault for having it as a disability.
I understand that the above was a very strong statement, but I said what I said. Here is what I mean. Let’s say that a student has been working with a vocal/choral teacher in some capacity for a little while, formally or informally. The teacher is getting impatient and frustrated that the student isn’t understanding how to sing in tune, for whatever task is needed. There is likely a reason why a student is struggling with this. Students that are encouraged to sing freely at home from a young age will be more comfortable and flexible with their ability to manipulate pitch and tone, simply from experience and use. We can all agree on this. But what if singing at home was discouraged? What if the parents were also labeled “tone deaf” and refused to sing? What if singing was viewed as some impossible accomplishment that only rare and naturally talented people could do? The student would feel like even the task of singing a simple tune would be like moving a mountain, no matter if they enjoy it or not, and the teacher may have no idea. Nor is it their job to ask, and pry, other than perhaps “Do you sing much at home?”
What This Causes
If the above situation would even partially be true, then there is a psychological barrier blocking the student’s ability to believe they can follow an easy instruction to get them to sing a specific pitch. It’s the teacher’s duty to set up a safe and welcoming environment to allow the students to explore their ability, find their voice (quite literally) and manipulate it to sing exact or even almost exact pitch sequences.
A teacher that labels their students “tone deaf” is admitting failure to do any of the above. At the very least, they should be noticing and acknowledging progress, because vocal progress is slow, and every student progresses at a different rate. Right? We all know these things, am I correct?
What about the even stronger statement that a teacher that labels this way is, in fact, gaslighting their students into thinking that “tone-deafness” is their fault? It may come across as an accusation, as a permanent condition that a music teacher cannot change (likely incorrect unless the student has a predetermined diagnosed disability). A student will interpret this as being their fault, like they missed something and cannot get it back. Maybe they were absent that day in kindergarten when their teacher gave them this magical trick to unlock their voices. Who knows? But if this notion is absorbed as a permenent condition, there may be no getting it back without someone taking them through everything from step one- and that is if the individual is interested and willing enough to face the mental pain, fear, risk, or whatever negative they could be feeling, in order to gain this skill later in life.
I’m not looking to offend any teacher, but to help put in perspective that we hold some superpowers. Instruction that is saturated with growth mindset verbiage is extremely empowering and inspiring, and makes students feel like they can do absolutely anything. Students hear the phrase all the time “that they can do anything that they put their mind to”, but without being shown the “how” of this, will they ever believe it?
How to Really Help This Issue With Singing
Singing is the same way. Students need to be shown the “how” if there is some missing piece that prevents good intonation from happening. It’s up to us music teachers to do that, and we shouldn’t be citing “lack of collegiate instruction” as a reason for not teaching our students just that. With performing arts personnel consolidation occurring due to budget cuts, teachers that were training in instrumental pedagogy often are responsible for general and choral students. If you are certified in music, you are expected to know how to teach children to sing, regardless of your upbringing, so if this is part of your professional responsibility and job description, it’s time to fill in the knowledge gap.
Uplevel U: Music is an online interface that music teachers can use to complete courses based on pedagogical microskills. Used as professional development credit hours, educators may pick and choose courses on topics that they feel they could use some refinement, and complete them at their own pace, at home, on-demand. The “Growth Mindset for Music Teachers” course is an in-depth examination of the self as an individual personality and a teaching personality, with the purpose of rewiring the mind to implement growth mindset strategies for themself and in their delivery as teachers. The “Vocal Pedagogy for Non-Voice Majors” idetifies the top challenges that choral teachers face in their students’ development (or themselves) and teaches them the most concise and proven strategies for their students to succeed and be confident in their vocal techniques. Visit Uplevel U: Music directly or click HERE to download the interactive course catalog today to be the music teacher that knows no limits.
This article was written by Music Room/Uplevel U: Music's owner and creator, Karen (Kay) Janiszewski.
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