Handpicked Software

Jake Mandell, a medical student and musician, has developed an online test to rate your overall pitch perception. Designed originally as a quick screen for tonedeafness, the Tonedeaf Test also gauges musical memory abilities. It’s a bit like listening to a game of Simon Trickster. Two musical phrases are repeated one after the other; you have to determine if the second phrase matches the first.

I remember taking a similar test from my band teacher in elementary school. I always wanted to be a drummer. The teacher knocked out a rhythm on the wooden desk with his knuckles and asked me to repeat it. He quickly determined that I wasn’t cut out for drums (I played trumpet instead). But I did better on Mandell’s Tonedeaf Test, scoring an impressive 86.1%, just shy of the 90% scored by those with world-class musical abilities.

Even if you don’t score as well as you’d like, head over to jakemandell.com and listen to his original music, which sounds a lot like the test.