Tim Falconer, author of Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music

Tim Falconer, a self-described bad singer, always wanted to make music, but after he started taking vocal lessons he learned that he’s actually amusic.

Many people with this fine-grain pitch discrimination disorder are indifferent to music, or even actively dislike it, but for Falconer, music is a life-long passion. So, while continuing his sessions with his singing coach, he seeks to understand the brain science behind amusia by visiting a series of labs where the researchers who test him are as fascinated with him as he is with them. He also explores why we love music and investigates what we really hear when we listen to it. What he discovered, as told in his new book, may surprise you.