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I'm not so sure it's all about education. I've always thought it had a lot to do with "listening talent", that thing which people refer to when they say "He's g

I'm not so sure it's all about education. I've always thought it had a lot to do with "listening talent", that thing which people refer to when they say "He's got a good ear." Of course, this is just my own theory based on my own, personal (and therefore anecdotal) experience. For example, to enjoy a song, I first need to like its music. If the lyrics are in a language I understand, then I need to like them too, but I'm more forgiving in that aspect. I've always thought that this is because I have a rather decent ear. Even though my voice often lacks the capacity to reproduce the music correctly, I can distinguish sounds well enough that I can reproduce at least the main melody on a keyboard. On the other hand, I've noticed that most people who have less-than-decent "ear" tend to focus more on lyrics than on music. My theory is that if you can't distinguish well enough one melody from another, your won't be able to enjoy songs based on their music -- it's sort of like expecting a blind person to admire a painting. I think the weakest link in my theory is the fact that I'm basing it on my "anecdata": among all the people I know, those with "not-so-good ear" are more frequent than those with "decent ear". It would be interesting to see what other people's experiences when it comes to that.

sumeeta 17y ago
I don’t like that you’re drawing a line between talent and education. I would probably arrogantly classify myself as someone with a “good ear” but because of my experiences with different music and musicians. I often say people think too much when they listen to music when they need to just take it in. But if I didn’t have the same exposure to the music world, I know I wouldn’t be able to do that. I’m sure the same thing applies to anything you can call art.
- CodeMage 17y ago
  Nothing says the ear can't be trained. But there's always innate capacity you start with. Your talent (or ability, if your wish) depends on both. That's why I said "I'm not so sure it's all about education", the key word being "all".

sumeeta 17y ago

I don’t like that you’re drawing a line between talent and education. I would probably arrogantly classify myself as someone with a “good ear” but because of my experiences with different music and musicians. I often say people think too much when they listen to music when they need to just take it in. But if I didn’t have the same exposure to the music world, I know I wouldn’t be able to do that. I’m sure the same thing applies to anything you can call art.

CodeMage 17y ago
Nothing says the ear can't be trained. But there's always innate capacity you start with. Your talent (or ability, if your wish) depends on both. That's why I said "I'm not so sure it's all about education", the key word being "all".