Music and Dyslexia
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Music and Dyslexia
What do singers Paloma Faith and Sir Tom Jones, record producer of many pop hits Phil Wainman, violinist Nigel Kennedy and violist Steve Wright all have in common? They all have dyslexia and they all have a global career in the music industry. Insert images here.
Learning a musical instrument is fun and can have many benefits. As well as creating new neural pathways in the brain which promote all-around learning, it is a great way to express yourself and use your creative strengths. Musicians who have dyslexia are often very good at creating their songs and can play music by ear.
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Multi-Sensory Learning and Strategies for Successful Learning
Learning traditional music in the Western world relies on learning to read music. This can be a challenge, just as it can be with reading the written word. The good news is that any challenges can be overcome using multi-sensory learning techniques and strategies. People with dyslexia learn best through multi-sensory learning. In music lessons, there is much more freedom to learn in this way than in the classroom. Kinaesthetic learning works well. Moving to the music, marching, skipping, dancing, and clapping. Drawing notes on whiteboards, in sand or with coloured chalk on the floor. Photocopying written music is allowed for students with dyslexia. This allows the teacher to enlarge the score, use different colours to help with the written notes on the page and highlight any musical directions that may be helpful for the learner. Technology can help with recording practice instructions, or videos of the teacher demonstrating what needs to be practiced at home. There are many children’s music apps. Music learning games such as DustBuster for piano and Monkey Drum for all instruments are fun and help to reinforce music learning.
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Which Instrument to Choose?
Woodwind, brass, string instruments and singing have only 1 line of music to read. Some percussion instruments such as drums use a line of rhythmic notation. This can be much easier to process than instruments such as the piano. Written notation for the piano is multi-layered, as many notes are being played at the same time.
If the piano is your preferred choice, don’t let this put you off as many strategies can help.
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Graded Music Exams
Most of the music exam boards including ABRSM and Trinity offer extra time with scales, sight reading and aural tests. Sight reading can also be enlarged or presented on different colour paper for ease of processing. The exam board must be contacted before the exam entry to ensure there is time to make the appropriate adjustments for the exam. UCAS points are awarded for grades 6-8