If you have ever watched American Idle (sic), the best part is in the beginning watching folks who believe they can sing (for various reasons given) just slaughter old familiar songs. And then I began wondering about what is really going on. What is the disconnect between what they hear and what they hear when they try to duplicate the sound. It's mystifying because one would assume they hear the music and tones in the original opus correctly and respond favorably, enthusiastically even, to the music. Can they not hear themselves? Can someone be trained out of tone deafness? I have a cousin who does a fair job on the piano and she can't sing a lick (mostly sharp). I suppose this is an age old question but I have never heard a satisfactory answer. Also, how do you go about informing someone they can't sing? I really don't like the Simon Cowel (is that right?) approach and yet I find myself agreeing with his criticism about 95% of the time and for the same reasons given.