Music and dyslexia:the teaching-learning process
Ros Carver
Many teachers will have encountered a bright, musical and motivated pupil who is not progressing as expected. There are many possible reasons for this, one of them being that the pupil might be dyslexic. A dyslexic pupil is not a slow learner in the ordinary sense even though progress may be impeded but lack of expected progress is, however, usually the first sign that something might be wrong.
Here are some of the areas where problems might occur, together with ideas for coping with them.
Short-term memory
Present material (aurally or visually) in short sections. When teaching a pupil to remember a phrase, the usual good practice of starting with a small phrase and building gradually to longer ones pays dividends. We remember best the start and end of an activity (primacy and recency effects). This means that the start of the lesson should be planned with care, and the start-up material should be repeated during and at the end of the lesson.
Reading music
For many dyslexics, reading the written word is a skill that develops only slowly. Music uses a completely different written language and one in which many of the signs have more than one function. Take the simplest symbol, the line. It can be used vertically or horizontally, it can be long or short, straight or curved, have meaning on its own or in combination with another symbol.
For those with visual discrimination problems, reading music, with its associated signs and symbols, may always present problems. Enlarging music, making spaces bigger and signs and symbols more distinct, can be useful and copying music on to coloured paper may help those who find the contrast of black on white too great.
(If copying copyright music you must ensure that you comply with The Code of Fair Practice published by the Music Publishers Association – if in doubt please refer to www.mpaonline.org.uk)
Younger pupils love to be different if it means that they get something bigger and more colourful, but older ones may feel rather self conscious when their music is oversized, so exercise tact.
Personalising the music in any way is an aid to reading and to memory. For instance, making a catchy mnemonic for remembering the names of lines and spaces (not a new trick!) and giving colours to C and G or the different beats in a bar.
A visual map of a whole piece, with colour and images to remind the pupil of repeating patterns or emotional climaxes, highlights things that could otherwise be overlooked.
These activities are fun and encourage pupils to use their imaginations.
Other ways to access music
Although reading is a time-honoured, and usually efficient, way for us to access music, progress in music education towards the inclusion of jazz, popular music and world music has led to a rethink of the emphasis on learning to read. We now also have a range of ICT to help expand horizons.
Try to adopt a variety of approaches: using notated music, playing by ear and from memory, and improvisation. This enriches the life of all musicians and is an essential diet for dyslexics.
Direction
There are many contradictions here from the viewpoint of a dyslexic musician. We talk about notes moving up or down in pitch but on the piano or flute, for example, this means a sideways movement. On the violin the movement is towards or away from the face and on the cello the pitch goes up as the fingers move nearer the floor.
The pupil who finds it difficult to follow instructions that talk about the music in terms of notes going up and down may also find it hard to grasp concepts that involve right and left. We tend to connect the words ‘right’ and ‘left’ with parts of the body and direction of movement, but for dyslexics this may be confusing and it is best to find other ways to describe them. Difficulties can sometimes be eased by emphasising the association between sound and action – a multisensory approach.
Group teaching
In an individual lesson of sufficient length it is possible to use time-consuming methods individually tailored to the pupil. However, with a growing trend towards shared lessons for beginner pupils we need to develop strategies that are flexible and include differentiation. The skill of the teacher in guiding a disparate group along a fruitful and enjoyable path lies in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the members of the group and planning carefully to ensure that they are all provided for.
Many of the advantages of group lessons – sharing an enjoyable activity with friends, providing mutual support and encouragement, and having a common activity to talk about outside lessons – suit pupils of any learning style. Raised self-esteem is also a good spin-off.
Multisensory teaching is an effective way of helping dyslexic pupils and a group instrumental lesson naturally uses a multisensory approach, as it involves pupils learning from interaction in terms of body language and listening to each other.
Two of the essential ingredients for progress for the dyslexic musician – a clear learning structure and the identification of short-term attainable targets – are fundamental to group teaching and are well provided for in the Associated Board’s new Music Medals programme, specifically catering for pupils taught in groups.
This brief look at a common problem is by no means exhaustive but I do hope readers will be enthused to draw out the best that their young musicians can offer.
Ros Carver holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Bristol and the ARCM in oboe teaching. She teaches the two subjects in schools and private practice.
Further information about dyslexia is available from:
The British Dyslexia Association
98 London Road, Reading RG1 5AU, UK
t +44 (0)118 966 2677
The Dyslexia Institute
Park House, Wick Road, Egham TW20 0HH, UK
t +44 (0)1784 222300
