Actually, we shouldn't presume that most Chinese people have this gene. Often, Chinese people can't pronounce the tones properly either. The tones vary from accent to accent (and every city has its own accent) and most people with less formal education don't speak with proper tones (instead converting most words to the "even" tone) sometimes with comical results.

I run into a lot of people who have just started to learn Chinese and insist that they are "tone-deaf" and hence unable to master tones. This is normally not the case since when we say "tone-deaf" we normally mean a person can't recognize harmonic notes as opposed to dissonant ones, and can't properly identify musical notes. This, ...

Actually, we shouldn't presume that most Chinese people have this gene. Often, Chinese people can't pronounce the tones properly either. The tones vary from accent to accent (and every city has its own accent) and most people with less formal education don't speak with proper tones (instead converting most words to the "even" tone) sometimes with comical results.

I run into a lot of people who have just started to learn Chinese and insist that they are "tone-deaf" and hence unable to master tones. This is normally not the case since when we say "tone-deaf" we normally mean a person can't recognize harmonic notes as opposed to dissonant ones, and can't properly identify musical notes. This, however, is actually a question of pitch, not tone. Having perfect pitch is, of course, not necessary to learn Chinese.

There is much more research yet to be done on how people learn languages, and I wouldn't be surprised if genetics plays several parts in that equation.

And Mona, if you need any help and you're in Beijing for the Olympics, just look me up!