Do you need help teaching piano to dyslexic learners?
Statistics show that 1 in 5 children have a language-based learning difficulty and that dyslexia is the most common of these challenges. It is likely then, that you have dyslexic learners in your studio.
For piano teachers, who don’t normally receive training in how to work with learning difficulties, dyslexia can often show up in ways that we wouldn’t normally expect. It’s not just about reversing numbers or reading backward.
To help students overcome these challenges, today we are sharing 10 teaching strategies.
10 Strategies When Teaching Piano to Dyslexic Learners
1. Avoid assuming that a student’s slow progress is due to a lack of effort. Sometimes students who appear to never practice, lose focus in lessons, and forget instructions, may be dealing with learning difficulties and not behavioral challenges.
2. Children with dyslexia often have difficulties with short-term auditory memory. This should govern the way you give instructions. Speak slowly and keep your directions to a minimum of two requests at a time. Only after a student has completed the initial requests should you add further instructions.
In addition, introduce music in small chunks that will eventually be put together. Break everything into small, easy-to-memorize bits of information or material.
3. Watch your leveling carefully. Keep a student’s feelings of success intact by avoiding anything too challenging. Just because a method book says your student should now learn about flats, doesn’t mean that the student is ready. Find additional supplementary repertoire if a student is not ready to move on.
Click here or on the image below for an entire library of exciting supplementary repertoire.
4. Use a dyslexic-friendly font for lesson notes. Then, type notes out instead of writing them by hand (and use this font for any worksheets, game cards, etc). Find an open-source dyslexic-typeface here. It’s fine to use for all students and is especially helpful to those who may be dyslexic.
5. Employ multi-sensory approaches when learning new concepts. For example, quarter notes can be drawn on a salt table, created out of playdough, or tapped on a drum.
6. Mark up music with color cues instead of written words. For example, a green circle can mean two beats, instead of writing 1-2 on a page or an orange star can mean a hand-position change.
7. Keep student binders tidy. Use post-it tags to mark pieces to be practiced at home. Organization and simplicity are key to successful home practice. Keep weekly tasks to a maximum of 3 and write them (preferably in the font mentioned above) clearly on a lesson assignment sheet.
8. Continually take note of successes and weaknesses. Do you notice a trend in what is difficult? Focus on these difficulties (in a positive way) and find multi-sensory ways of helping a student to break through these challenges.
9. Maintain routines in your lesson time. Follow the same progression of tasks each and every lesson while finding the variety kids crave in how you approach each of those tasks.
10. Above all else, stay positive. Having a learning difficulty affects more than just a child’s learning. It can also affect self-esteem and overall enjoyment of activities.
What to Do About Undiagnosed Dyslexia
As piano teachers, we are often put in the awkward position of picking up on a learning challenge that may have gone unnoticed in other areas of a child’s life. Suggesting to a parent that their child may have a learning difficulty is never easy.
However, in the best interests of the struggling child, it is always a good idea to bring your observations to a parent’s attention. Choose your wording carefully, and avoid “labels” like ADHD or dyslexia when first bringing your concerns to the parents.
Remember… you can apply all of the 10 strategies above to any struggling child in your studio, as many of these strategies help children with other learning difficulties (or without!) as well.
Robbin says
Thanks for the advice. Any more tips would be appreciated. I have at least two students with dyslexia – possibly more. Parents often are reluctant to provide this information.
Susan McGuire says
Your last paragraph about talking to parents was worded well, I thought. I have also found that many parents do not want “labels” attached to their children but are willing to give your information when you ask gently about your observations. As long as I don’t sound accusatory all is well when they realize I just want to help their child progress more easily.
Thank you for the link to the downloads! This may be invaluable. My husband is a graphic artist and I will see if he already knew about these fonts! Some of this info will also be really good for kids with ADHD. Thanks again!
Andrea says
Hi Susan – great comment! Yes, you want to avoid phoning a parent and saying “I think your daughter is dyslexic”. There’s no better way to get someone’s back up (and then nothing gets done for the sake of the child). It’s all in your approach, but making that approach is so important in that triangle of parent/teacher/student teamwork. Thanks for your insights!
Andrea says
Hi Robbin – we’re fortunate to have a lot of comments with some great advice on this post. Parents can be reluctant, but they also sometimes just don’t know. As a piano teacher you are one of very few adults who spends one-on-one learning time with this child (one of very very few!) and so your insights can be invaluable to parents if you can encourage open dialogue with them. Thanks for reading!
Heather Korn says
Thank you for this! I just want to encourage all teachers to talk with parents when you see these signs – trust your instincts and gently push for parents to seek help from other specialists. I have a 2 year student who came in diagnosed with “bad behavior/not paying attention” and many problems in school in the first years of elementary school. She began lessons with me and I noticed the dyslexia immediately. I probed with the parents on certain things and suggested she be seen by a specialist. She was officially diagnosed with severe dyslexia. Since then many things have happened that were not being addressed by the public school.
This child is no longer “not paying attention/bad behavior” student. She’s doing better in school, she now has glasses and extra reading tutoring. She just came in last week with a huge book from the library that was several years above her grade level. She said she likes to read a “real story” not just a kids’ book!! Using the iPad is helping me with her in many ways. She is still not your “traditional music student” but what an improvement from where we first started!
Some of your tips can also be pertinent when working with autistic children.
Andrea says
Yay Heather! Kudos to you for being an advocate for that child. What a difference you have made in her life. There is always an underlying reason for behaviour issues – I applaud you for rooting it out and making a point of helping her 🙂 Yes, many of these tips apply to kids with ADHD and Austism. We did blog about that if you’re interested https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2012/11/01/8-strategies-for-teaching-piano-to-students-with-add-or-adhd/ and https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2013/08/04/one-super-strategy-for-teaching-piano-to-children-with-autism-adhd-or-behavioral-problems/
Nicola says
Thanks so much for this Andrea! It’s so important to remember to keep each students needs in mind and design lessons specifically for them, not just stick to what the method book says you should be doing.
Andrea says
Hi Nicola – glad you found it helpful! Yes, it’s easy to get into the routine of just turning pages in a method book but our jobs actually become much easier when we let the students’ needs guide our pacing instead. Thanks for your comment and insights!
Kristen says
Such great information. It’s such a touchy subject to bring up.
I had a hunch about a few students so I started asking on my yearly enrollment forms for comments from parents about “Anything about your child that I should know that will help me teach them in the best way possible”. So many parents left me comments that completely changed the way I dealt with their child and lead to so much more success!
Andrea says
This is a great tip Kristen! I ask this as well and it’s amazing what I wouldn’t have known without asking. I used to not ask a long time ago and once, after several confusing months with a student, her mom offered up the information that her daughter has fairly severe hearing loss!… would have been helpful to know 🙂
Beth Yantz says
I teach at a music store and have minimal input regarding what students I get to teach. However, the lesson coordinator is quick to assign me the students who sound like they don’t fit the cookie cutter approach to teaching…I frequently feel inadequate, yet honored that I have been trusted with these students who process concepts in a different way. Being somewhat dyslexic with numbers, I can sympathize with them, but it’s good to learn new how-to’s, as my tricks don’t always work for others! Thanks for the timely advice. And the supplementary materials, too!
Andrea says
Hi Beth – I love your attitude towards teaching these “outside the box” children – a breath of fresh air 🙂 Your students are lucky to have you.
Sandra says
Excellent blog post! As a mother of a dyslexic child I am especially alert to signs of dyslexia in my students. There are so many things that the average person takes for granted that are problematic for a kid with learning disabilities.
A frequent issue I have encountered is poor tracking ability. Their eyes jerk and not only do they skip notes, but their gaze might shift to the next line. I used to do tracking exercises with my son, Take an object like a stick with a coloured circle glued to the top. Move slowly horizontally, vertically and even on the diagonal and watch the movement of the child’s eyes. You can see right away if the movement is uncoordinated and jerky. Sometimes ordinary kids can have this problem. It is a developmental issue.
Some kids have trouble with reading left to right when the notes themselves are actually descending on both the staff and the keys.
In all cases, as you have said so well, patience and a gentle approach are called for.
Andrea says
Hi Sandra – such valuable information! Thank you for sharing. I can only imagine how difficult tracking problems would make reading music – especially as it gets harder. Yes, all things we take for granted ourselves. Thank you so much for your comment!
Mary says
I have had one dyslexic student in my over 40 years of teaching. I did some digging on line and found that color coding all of her notes worked for her-each note had its own unique color-so all C’s were red, D’s blue, etc. It meant extra work for me, as I had to rewrite all of her music-it was also stated that removing any distractions was good-so the lack of pictures on her music was a plus. I put the music in a 3 ring binder with the rings at the top of the piano rack when she came. I did this through at least 2 levels and one day, she asked me if she could go back to the “regular” books and did ok with that. She ended up studying with me for 12 years, with flute and piano and eventually moving over to just flute-she was such a joy to teach!
Andrea says
Mary – I have to tell you how much I admire your dedication to your student. What a gift you gave her by spending that extra time.
Yin Stewart says
Mary, do you have to color the piano keys to match the note colors?
Cassie C. says
Thank you!
This is a great reminder!
Do you have any solutions for a student that can read the note names on the staff, but applies them in the wrong order? Example: playing in an incorrect octave, switching hands, reversing intervals (high c, low g… instead of low c, high g).
I’m still trying to work this one out.
Andrea says
Hi Cassie – have you tried color coding? One of my students used to do this with all the different C’s. We choose one colour that would always mean middle C, one for treble C and one for bass C. She had it sorted out within minutes and I just always would circle her notes for her where it might be problematic. You can do the same with kids who reverse treble and bass clef – either color the stems all the same (so all the bass clef stems are blue etc and all the treble clef stems are red) or draw brackets around each set of notes that correspond to a clef color. I’m betting this will work for your student – it has for many of mine (even without dyslexia).
Cassie C. says
I will try this! Thanks again!
Emma says
Thank you so much for this. As a new(ish) teacher, I haven’t dealt with any dyslexic pupils yet, but I know music lessons are often a place where these issues come up as it’s a one to one environment. I’ll be keeping a copy of this for future reference, so I can adapt the tips for singing teaching.
margaret says
My daughter is taking piano and loves it. she has now made it where the letters are not on the page. with her dyslexia Memory issue this is a problem. so a suggestion is to allow them to write the letters to the notes repetitively until they make the connection visually this really took the frustration and discouragement out of the picture. this also allowes her to put to long term memory. thank you for this article.
Violin Mom says
Music teachers, thanks for working with our dyslexic kids! The one thing I would suggest is NOT to take the approach my child’s violin teacher took when she said, “Well, she’s not exactly a goldfish, but she’s just not getting it.” We left immediately (leaving behind pre-paid lessons) and never looked back. Please be gentle!
Inga Feter says
What a horrible horrible thing to say! This person should not be let near any student! 🙁
Mike Parker says
I was told I ‘just wasn’t musical’…. my dyslexia wasn’t diagnosed until I was 17, but then, neither was my double astygmatism…
My experience is that every child needs lessonst tailored to their learning style (I’m a great believer in Vark), so dyslexic students just need an even more different approach…. that, and the teacher needs to spot the difference between “I can’t see it’, and “I didn’t practice, but I can get away with it, if I blame my dyslexia”… 😉
Heidi says
This is an old post and I realize that I may not get any answers, but my seven year old son, who has visual tracking issues and trouble with focusing on small details (as noted by a developmental optometrist) is really struggling with sight reading music. He used to hate piano lessons, since his teacher often kept him on the same pieces for several months at a time and he got bored. He can actually learn to play the pieces from memory pretty quickly, and now that a new piece is being introduced each week he is finally enjoying his practice and will often sit down and practice voluntarily during the day. Playing by memory and figuring out notes by ear has worked beautifully for a while now, but he is getting to the point where he really needs to be able to read the music to continue to the next level.
Any ideas? As I said, progressing slowly and sticking to the same pieces for a long time, just left him unmotivated and hating piano. We are considering a dyslexia evaluation for him, as he also has issues with reading, but he is receiving intensive reading support and that seems to be helping. What we do know is that he has a visual tracking issue, which would make reading music really difficult.
Thoughts we have had is whether it is possible to enlarge the sheet music, and whether we should switch him to an instrument with only one clef. I would appreciate input.
A I Pritchard says
I have a new student – an adult – who is dyslectix, and will be better off now that I have read all this. Thank you so much. gap
Robert Gardner says
Well, as a 74 year old dyslexic trying to transfer musical knowledge from the guitar to the piano, I was really moved by the effort made in this list of tips. Kindness, a willingness to see that all square pegs do not fit into your round holes, and a willingness to see something other than laziness or willfulness in a child’s behavior is very important—not just for the child’s understanding of music or the piano, but for the child’s struggling sense of self worth. Take it from this old dyslexic dog, a dyslexic child is facing a struggle and it is a struggle that will last his or her entire life. You can be a blessing in that child’s life, a door opener, or you can be one in a long chain of judgmental and punishing adults. These tips are a wonderful way to be a decent teacher and a decent human being.
Andrea says
Hi Robert – I’m so glad that you enjoyed the article. Thanks for your helpful perspective!