Page 1 of Can you play an instrument if you are tone deaf...

One of my next year resolution is to learn to play the guitar, the problem is that I am 100% tone deaf, can`t sing at all (was banned from singing at school). Can you learn to play an instrument, in my case the guitar, if you are that bad at singing?
JC

Don`t know about the guitar, but to answer your question, yes. I`m good at the Triangle.

wasn`t mozart deaf as a doorpost? if he can do it...

No that was Beethoven.

There is a famous UK female drummer who I think is tone deaf, I can`t remember her name though.

floyd

Do you know how long it would have taken for just one of these protein molecules to appear entirely by chance? Roughly ten to the two hundred and forty-third power billions of years. And I find that far, far more fantastic than simply believing in God.

DVD collection & WANTED list

Quote:
There is a famous UK female drummer who I think is tone deaf, I can`t remember her name though.

Which is why she`s a drummer !
You don`t need an `ear` for music as a drummer,as such.
You need rythym,so provided she can keep a beat it won`t matter a bit if she`s tone deaf.Even tuning them in can be done using electronics,so she wouldn`t need an ear for it there either.
Yes,you could learn to play if tone deaf,but you will inevitably end up being a `play by numbers` type.
If learning the guitar,for example,you will be able to learn where to put your fingers in accordance with notes/chords written down.
However,you will not be able to play `by ear`,which I would guess would be incredibly frustrating and devoid of any reward.
I play the bass and am lucky enough to be able to replicate most basslines (eventually..) by listening first and then figuring out the notes on the fretboard.
I can`t read music and I don`t know what all of the notes are called.
I couldn`t listen and go "that`s a C,then a D" etc.etc.
I don`t really care about the `technical` side of playing,as long as it sounds good !

This item was edited on Thursday, 23rd December 2004, 09:53

i`ve been playing/teaching guitar for 10 years or more and in my experience anyone can play guitar (as the radiohead song goes!).The main thing you`ll need is an electronic tuner-which you can get for about £15.That way even if you`re singing is out of tune at least the guitar wont be.
In time after you`ve learned the basics you may find that you can write your own songs which suit your `style` of singing...or just stick to learning playing instrumental `party pieces`....
If you wanted you could always take singing lessons(the voice is an instrument which requires practice too y`know)

I`m totally tone deaf, and was banned from the school choir as well.

But I do enjoy listening to music, and managed to get Grade 2 on the piano. I did fail my Grade 4 though - mainly due to the aural tests which I just couldn`t do.

As long as you can enjoy music you can play. Although I can`t hold a note myself I do know to a certain extent if someone else is singing flat, although I know that I couldn`t tune in a guitar.

I`d say go for it. You never know until you try.

I just had a thought..

Busted have,what,3 or 4 members ? ( `member` can also mean `knob` )
All evidently tone-deaf.

What the chances !

:D

You beat me to it, I was about to say just look at the charts over the last 10 years to proove you can play an instrument if your tone deaf, but then again perhaps they are tone deaf & that`s the results. :/

Thanks WRabbit, yes I think that I will give it a go, I know for sure that I will never be brillant at it but if I can manage to play a few songs (without singing of course-I was also banned from my Spanish lesson when it came to singing, the teacher would ask me to sit at the back and read a book) I`ll be happy with that.
JC