Dear All,
The DANA centre is hosting an evening discussion event, "Can’t Sing, Won’t
Sing" at 7.30pm, March 12th.
Graham Welch and myself will be speaking and Peter Evans will chair the
discussion.
The event is free but requires reservation of a place.
Call 020 7942 4040 or e-mail [log in to unmask]
For more information, please see:
http://www.danacentre.org.uk/events/2007/03/13/245
About the Event:
So you think you’re tone deaf? Can’t sing in tune? For some, a condition
called ‘amusia’ means they cannot perceive music or reproduce it. The
problem makes music seem at best pointless, but, much worse, can leave
sufferers socially isolated.
Admit it: you sing along tunelessly to your favourite CDs at full volume in
the car. No-one can hear you. But imagine what it is like if you can’t
recognise a familiar song, such as Happy Birthday, or determine what the
right notes should be. Some people have a little-known condition called
‘amusia’, meaning they cannot perceive or reproduce music. For them, music
is at best pointless, but much worse, it can isolate them socially. It is
not the same as being tone deaf. People who are tone deaf can hear the music
perfectly well, but cannot sing it. For amusic people, all music sounds the
same – and pretty irritating and unpleasant at that.
Consider how nerve-wracking parties or pubs would be where music is playing.
Short of eliminating themselves from social occasions, an amusic person will
just have to put up with it. It is really difficult to avoid music – in
shops, restaurants, at home watching television.
Dr Lauren Stewart from Goldsmith's College, London has been studying amusia
and will tell us what she has found out. Professor Graham Welch from the
Institute of Education in London believes genuine amusia is very rare indeed
and that music is hard-wired into the brain. Anne Barker, who took part in
Lauren's research will describe the profound impact that not being able to
understand music or rhythm has had on her life and of being terrified to go
to dances. Her sister, Carmel Keating, is a violinist, so despite both
growing up in a musically enriched environment, their experiences of music
could not be more different.
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