Learn Mandarin and become more musical? Apparently, the two go hand in hand. Researchers discovered that speakers of tonal languages are much more likely to have perfect pitch. In Europe and the US, only one in 10,000 have the gift. But in certain parts of China it is very common to have the ability to sing or recognize the pitch of a tone by ear.
The study results suggest that learning a tonal language plays a far greater role in perfect pitch than genes. Asians participating in the study only scored better if they were fluent in their parents' native tongue - and the level of fluency seemed to affect their mucical abilities as well.
So, who wants to learn Mandarin, Cantonese or Vietnamese?
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