Approximately 4-8% of all school-aged children in the US have dyslexia, make it the most common learning disability in the country. Most experienced music teachers have already encountered dyslexia in the classroom or their private lessons. Unfortunately, recognizing dyslexia isn’t always easy, especially when a teacher may assume that another problem (such as inadequate practicing) is causing hindering the student’s progress.
Teaching music to dyslexic students presents a unique problem separate from other educational problems associated with the disorder. While there are numerous teaching methods in place for teaching reading and math to dyslexics, there are few resources for teaching music to dyslexic students.
If you know that your student has dyslexia, then you can initiate a learning system when the music lessons start. In many cases though, the parents are still unaware of the child’s disorder and thus the music teacher is also unaware. A music teacher must always be on the lookout for signs of a learning disability in students as parents can’t always see these problems. If a student is not progressing despite sincere efforts and enthusiasm, then dyslexia could be the cause. Music teachers should also be on the lookout for repeated problems with identifying musical notation, such as confusing C and G or the directionality of notations.
Tips for Teaching Music to Dyslexic Children
When teaching reading to dyslexic children, experts recommend breaking words down into smaller parts, or phonemes. They are encouraged to understand the individual letters of words and how they string together to make a complete word. Then the children are encouraged to read out loud and build up a vocabulary.
These same ideas can be applied to teaching music to dyslexic children. Always first break down musical notation into the individual notes. While explaining the notes, the teacher should always play the note so the child can learn by ear. Repetition is important for the student to build up a musical vocabulary. Since dyslexics often have problems which short-term memory, it is important to keep lessons broken down into parts. Be sure to repeat the beginning parts of the lesson at the end of the lesson to reinforce what was learned.
Remember that dyslexics have problems which directionality. This can be a problem in music since we often talk about going “up or down” or “left and right”. Thus, teachers need to find a creative way of talking about music tone, pitch, etc. that the student can grasp.
Experts recommend a multisensory approach to teaching music to dyslexic students. This will help reinforce the music education while slowly building up music reading skills. Group lessons are often very helpful for dyslexic students.
On a basic level, there are some simple things that teachers can do to help making reading music easier for dyslexics, such as:
- Color coding notes
- Enlarging music so it is easier to read
- Darken middle lines of the staves and first ledger lines
- Rewrite music with all the stems going in the same direction
- Write the music proportionally (half notes are two times bigger than quarter notes)