Musical Dyslexia?

[Wadey_W]

Music is a struggle for me, im new here obviously. I was wondering if any of you guys have an idea of the Musical Dyslexia theory? I dont have bad dyslexia, only sometimes. It bothers me most with music. My band directors mother is a Dyslexia expert and is a dyslexic herself, but has never encountered musical dyslexia. Any ideas on how to help me read music?

[mrhappy]

I'm interested to hear more about this... maybe THAT'S the reason I'm such a horrible reader!!
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MH

[HaveTrumpetWillTravel]

Wadey, just out of curiosity--how are you aurally at hearing and repeating tunes? I'd be curious if learning by ear is as hard for you as sightreading.

[JayKosta]

What type of errors (or confusion) do you make when reading music?
For example, is the trouble with
- vertical placement of the notes in the staff,
- left to right reading of consecutive notes,
- omitting notes or rests,
- seeing '1/16, dotted 1/8' as a 'dotted 1/8, 1/16',
etc.

Jay
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Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[Wadey_W]

I can learn by ear fine, i guess just as good as the next person. My sight readig is HORRIBLE. I have no idea how i got to third chair of 20 trumpets, but im there. That means i get first part, melody, to most every song.
To show an example of what im seeing, less than a week ago we had our music performance assessment. (I think the level of my “mess ups” have a connection to stress) So we were in the sight reading room, obviously pretty stressful, and we get the music. Looking at it im like oh that not too hard. I ask my second chair buddy what a couple notes are, he says theyre all A SPACE HIGHER THAN WHAT IM SEEING. I freak out(on the inside) and nod, knowing i have to transpose the whole piece down two notes.
I wanted to dieeeee :/
It wasnt fun

[JayKosta]

Miss-reading the staff lines might be a simple vision problem - perhaps astigmatism.
If there's a school nurse, ask about a simple eye test - it's usually a line pattern, and if some lines look to be a lighter shade than others, that's a result of astigmatism. Also perhaps you need a general vision exam, for both distance seeing, and for reading.

You might also try a 'glasses store' (optician) - even at Walmart, they probably have the basic eye charts.

Jay
_________________
Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[Wadey_W]

Another example of whats up is my band director tried using different color paper to print the music on, like red bule yellow and green. The yellow one looked like a completely different piece of music than the rest, the green one looked funny too. Then the red and blue looked slightly similar, but when i sight read them they sounded different. He said the red one was closest and that one the blue one i swapped a couple eighth note runs the opposite direction, like if it was going up i played it like it was going down and vice versa. Also on the red one i played the sharps as natural and the flats as sharps and the naturals as flats. He asked me if i knew the difference(i was like yesss i do, duh) but i couldnt tell the difference on the paper. When he wrote it out on a white board i could tell the difference, but not on paper. He thinks that getting a red sheet protector type thing would help with sight reading, that he would rather me miss a couple accidentals than transpose the whole thing.

[JayKosta]

[Wadey_W]

Im going to the nurse rn haha
I got my music printed on blue paper for our jazz band concert and i could hardly see it. I have to get some of our theatre tech kids to help me fix the lights on stage today anyways so it would help a bit(they need more blue gels in them) ill get them to adjust the stage lights too.

[Andy Del]

There is a lot more going on ere than we can work out remotely. I wold VERY strongly suggest you talk to your parents about this today - as SOON as you get home. Make sure they understand it is causing you a lot of angst and you want some help. Do what you need to to get them to understand!

Then, you should be consulting with you GP and getting a referral to at the very least experts on:

Dyslexia
Irlen syndrome
general vision, like an optometrist or ophthalmologist

I have had students with various levels of different conditions diagnosed, and quite often hey do not sit neatly into a single definition of category. That colour is involved suggests it won't be straightforward.

Good luck with it!

cheers

Andy
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so many horns, so few good notes...

[Wadey_W]

My parents know, they just dont believe me since my dyslexia test came back negative. Like i told them, normal dyslexia doesnt affect me that much on a daily basis, its more stress induced. Music is pretty stressful when you cant read it.
Ill try to get my parents to set me up appointments for those Andy suggested. That color thingy with the lines on it looked normal so the nurse said i didnt have astigmatism as far as she could tell[/quote]

[Seymor B Fudd]

[bean_counter]

You sound very similar to my daughter; issues that needed to be addressed, but didn't show up on the "usual" tests. Her persistence, drive, and ability to cope/manage hid what was going on and she really didn't get a good diagnosis until she was in college.

Figuring out there's an issue is a great first step, I wish my daughter had done that. Be persistent in getting the help you need. It will smooth the road going forward, and not just in music. Good luck!
_________________
Kevin Mc
Strad 180s37 (07 'True Bach'), Schilke 18 or 18B4
anon OTS Bb Saxhorn, Berliner valves c. 1860
Eclipse cornet (Yellow, Bauerfeind) DW 4B Heritage
Cousnon clairon Bb
'60s Besson tenor horn DW 3

[Speed]

My wife taught kids with dyslexia for many years. I've heard her comment that while a teacher "knows it when he/she sees it," it is in reality a medical diagnosis.

My limited understanding (jump in here, medical pros) is that dyslexia is a perception issue, not a visual issue per se. It would seem to me that it would make sense to see a board certified ophthalmologist (an M.D or D.O. who diagnoses and treats diseases of the eye). It is also possible that an optometrist (not an M.D. or D.O, but still very highly trained) could help, but in my experience, most optometrists spend most of their time conducting eye exams for the purpose of prescribing eyeglasses, where an ophthalmologist has more training and experience in dealing with diseases of the eye.

Whichever one you choose to have examine you may be able to rule out the notion that you have any sort of disease of the eye, astigmatism, etc.

Once any physical problems with your eyes themselves are ruled out, and if the problems persist, that would be the time to follow Seymor B. Fudd's advice about seeing a psychologist specializing in cognitive/perceptual matters.

Incidentally, I sometimes experience a similar problem with the notes below the staff. My brain is telling me it's a "C" when the note on the page is actually an "A." It is worse when I am fatigued.

Take care,
Marc Speed

[Wadey_W]

Thanks for the advice here guys, it helps me out
I really appreciate it