I received a “poor” in music on my first grade report card. My mother went to see the teacher, and asked “Why?” The teacher explained, “He can’t carry a tune.” My mother replied, “So what? I can’t carry a tune either!” I received “satisfactory” marks in music after that.
The problem was I was not hearing differences in pitch, so I “sang” in a monotone which is all I heard. In the third grade, the class was singing “Way down upon the Swanee River,” and I suddenly became aware of differences in pitch. Once I could hear the tune, I could also sing it. After school that day, I went around the neighborhood singing “Swanee River” to anyone who would listen.
If you know someone who is tone deaf as I was, I would recommend singing or playing “Swanee River” for them as a way of possibly snapping them out of this condition. (My brother Kris M. Krause tried to cure me using “Jingle Bells”, and it didn’t work.)
Here is a an excellent rendition of this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO7_kaxNFvQ
Recovery from tone deafness may take time, effort and a willing spirit. In the meantime, we can all “make a joyful noise” unto the Lord:
O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. (Psalm 95:1-2 KJV)
A lady once said to me, “You should be an opera singer!” I told her, “It’s a good thing for the world that I am not!” God loves our singing when it’s from the heart. The rest is icing on the cake.
Photo credit: https://drlej.wordpress.com/tag/psalm-95-1-2/
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