Some ears are more equal than others.
Music-and-the-brain research is all the rage these days. Often, much of it is conducted by scientists whose primary objective may not be to expand the world’s knowledge about music per se: they’re more interested in the brain, and see music as a means of observing and understanding how it works. Nevertheless, some of this research can have value for music and musicians.
For instance, a friend recently boasted on her Facebook page that her ears are better than 97 percent of the general population. How did she know? She did an online test that’s currently being run by Harvard Medical School.
In the test you hear a series of pairs of pitches, and you’re asked to identify if the second one is lower or higher than the first. Initially, it’s pretty easy. Then it gets harder, until the two tones are almost identical. When the test is done, the folks at Harvard email you your results, the next day.
I took the test, too – and scored “better than 67 percent.” I guess I’m not quite in the same league as my friend (whose ears are much younger than mine) – but I like to think that placing in the top third is at least respectable.
You’ll find the test here – and it only takes a couple of minutes. So do your bit for science, and learn something about yourself in the process.
© Colin Eatock 2012
In the test you hear a series of pairs of pitches, and you’re asked to identify if the second one is lower or higher than the first. Initially, it’s pretty easy. Then it gets harder, until the two tones are almost identical. When the test is done, the folks at Harvard email you your results, the next day.
I took the test, too – and scored “better than 67 percent.” I guess I’m not quite in the same league as my friend (whose ears are much younger than mine) – but I like to think that placing in the top third is at least respectable.
You’ll find the test here – and it only takes a couple of minutes. So do your bit for science, and learn something about yourself in the process.
© Colin Eatock 2012
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