Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Gareth Gates

Panic not, this blog isn't dumbing that far down. However:

- Stammerers usually have no trouble singing
- It's easier for people to recall lyrics than the words of poems
- More babies than adults have perfect pitch

Stephen Mithen's new book, The Singing Neanderthals argues that perfect pitch could interfere with language acquisition so is generally debased in the general adult population. (Where just 1 in 10,000 possess it.) Only trained musicians appear to have an above average chance of retaining the ability. Mithen also speculates that our sense of rhythm evolved in tandem with the ability to walk upright. (Think Travolta)

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