“Out‐of‐Pitch” but Still “In‐Time”

Abstract

A bstract : Congenital amusia is a lifelong disability, commonly known as tone deafness, that prevents afflicted individuals from developing basic musical skills despite normal audiometry and above‐average intellectual, memory, and language skills. Although it is estimated that 4% of the general population would be born with such a musical handicap, the underlying cause is presently unknown. Recently, we proposed that this disorder could be traced to a deficit in pitch perception on the basis of a single case. 4 Here we provide psychophysical evidence for the existence of a generalized defect that is both fine grained and specific to pitch because time is unaffected.