I agree with the notion that this is a skill that takes some practice and that there is a good possibility that some indiciduals may be more adept than others when it comes to the application of this skill....Reading up on the brain and on current research in neurology, I have run accross the phrase "use it or lose it" more than a few times. In this case, recent advances in the science inform us that the brain is far more flexible and plastic than we ever before thought. The doctrine that once the brain is injured, it is forever altered, no longer applies. With enough training and stimulation, various portions can be rehabilitated. This does not mean that absolute restoration of neural tissue is possible, but that the Central Nervous System (CNS) is far more resilient than we thought. In his book, "The Users Guide to the Brain", John Ratey refers to experiments that showed portions of the brain devoted to manual dexterity increased their development in reponse to a training regimen targeting key neural tissue. Similar rehabilitative response is possible, I expect, in aural and other portions of the brain. So, yes, it is possible to acquire this ability, but it takes work and it has to affect the right places in the right way to operate.

On the other side of the coin is the fact that listening to music is far more complicated than studying a bunch of charts and listening to a waves and distorted signals. Listening to music is an emotional and cognitive experience that can be refined, but I think that the basic process of musical appreciation is far more complicated. In the book, "Beethoven's Anvil", William Benzon refers to the cultural and neurological bases of music appreciation.....

Just to further the discussion....

Benzon, William. Beethoven's Anvil. (2001) Basic Books ISBN 0-465-01543-3
Ratey, John. A User's Guide to the Brain. (2001). Panthon Books. ISBN 0-679-45309-1