Amusic does not mean unmusical: Beat perception and synchronization ability despite pitch deafness

Pitch deafness, the most commonly known form of congenital amusia, refers to a severe deficit in musical pitch processing (i.e., melody discrimination and recognition) that can leave time processingincluding rhythm, metre, and feeling the beatpreserved. In Experiment 1, we show that by presenting musical excerpts in nonpitched drum timbres, rather than pitched piano tones, amusics show normal metre recognition. Experiment 2 reveals that body movement influences amusics' interpretation of the beat of an ambiguous drum rhythm. Experiment 3 and a subsequent exploratory study show an ability to synchronize movement to the beat of popular dance music and potential for improvement when given a modest amount of practice. Together the present results are consistent with the idea that rhythm and beat processing are spared in pitch deafnessthat is, being pitch-deaf does not mean one is beat-deaf. In the context of drum music especially, amusics can be musical.