Scrump mentioned "chord deafness"...I don't play the guitar. For most of my life, I have gotten my starting or key notes from playing a pitch pipe or recorder - a single note. When I sing with my husband, I often can't "hear" the key note if he plays the chord on the guitar. Perhaps with practice I could, but that's just how I learned to hear.

In grades 7 & 8 I sang in a school choir. Our choir teacher was one of those people who believe anyone can sing, a belief I have adopted. I recall one student who really couldn't hear the notes properly. I don't know if she was actually tone deaf, but our choir teacher taught her how to sing on pitch. She placed the student in the front row and gave her a lot of visual cues - a finger pointing up if the student was flat or down if she was sharp - and eventually the student could physically feel the right notes.

These days it makes me angry when someone says, "Oh I can't sing. My choir teacher always had me mouth the words."

Moira