Supporting music and other performing arts students at HE ADSHE conference: June 21st 2012

Paula Bishop-Liebler is an additional support tutor and assessor supporting students at the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal College of Music and Dyslexia Teaching Centre and assessing for various HEIs. She is currently completing doctoral research in music and dyslexia within HE. Sally Daunt is a support tutor at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and has worked at the Royal Northern College of Music and other HEIs. She has a background in music teaching at secondary and FE levels. Please feel free to contact her: s.daunt@lipa.ac.uk

Both are members of the British Dyslexia Association Music Committee – as far as we know, the only one of its kind in the world!

Organisational skills A good first check point: if a student isn’t organised then nothing will work properly. Also, if they’re not organised then they will not be able to take up performing opportunities that may arise.Organisation for performing artists is even more complex than for non-arts students The ‘constant’ of practice/rehearsal needs to be balanced with

academic work Rehearsals/individual lessons change from day to day/week to

week Need to remember to take the right equipment – music, strings,

reeds, scripts, clothing… The need to timetable in private practice How to organise private practice

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Strategies Create a year table (academic and practical together); a working

document that will need to be revised regularly – keep it on the computer. There is no such thing as a normal week for performing artists

Create small targets – break down each task with the student Have an observation week – ask them to write down everything

that they do in their practice and rehearsals Construct a practice routine – a log or plan: weekly or daily

Written workCommon denominators: essay work. On the whole, whatever the subject matter, support approaches are similar.Differences occur in: (a) The giving of examples/analysing music (b) The use of evaluative techniques for performances

(a) The need to put in musical examples as illustrations of points – is like finding examples from text for almost all students, this involves (i) reading and (ii) memory – the 2 areas that are a common area of weakness for most dyslexic students.

It’s important that students listen to the music and work out how to analyse. Support tutors can help.Analysing scores requires specific music knowledge but also the learning of rules, similar to learning formulas in science or maths

(b) Evaluation of performance in music, acting or dance is frequently required. Not easy.Evaluating Dicken’s portrayal of women with special reference to Esther in Bleak House isn’t quite the same. Both require an analysis, but in the evaluation of personal performance, there is a different and difficult element

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Personal evaluation Self-analysis involves Sequencing the series of events (in memory) Finding the right words Not describing but evaluating (all students find this hard) Having to analyse/evaluate in real time – difficult to decide what

to look at or note down.

Strategies Develop a template with the student to fill out in a performance

(concert, play etc) Read other critics to understand the kind of things to look for Practice writing an overview then details Get permission to video the event if you can

The notation of text and the notation of musicDifficulties in accessing text are well known, but people don’t think about similar difficulties in accessing music. Are they similar?What is the difference between text and music?

Surface similarities between language and music are relatively well established; they both combine “small elements, (phonemes, notes) according to rules (grammars) that allow the generation of unlimited numbers of phrases or utterances that are meaningful’ (Anvari, 2002, p. 112) and it is suggested that, at a behavioural level, they require similar skills (Lamb and Gregory, 1993

However, it is also well documented that music and language are perceptually different (Patel, 2011).

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In terms of reading music notation, again there are surface similarities between music notation and letters. There are also surface similarities between the difficulties that our students have reading text and music; however research is ongoing to understand if there are clear cognitive and neurological links between reading musical notation and text.

In terms of support, what is important is to develop ways to aid our students in overcoming their difficulties with processing.

In terms of the processing needed, music can be more complex than spoken/written language indeed,

‘music performance is [thought to be] … one of the most complex and demanding cognitive challenges that the human mind can undertake’ (Zatorre, Chen and Penhune, 2007).

Relationship between music and textSome ideas from a presentation by James Hitchins the Disability Coordinator at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.His presentation The Problem with Music is available as a pdf. To access this, contact him at J.Hitchins@trinitylaban.ac.uk

He has created a wonderful image of a piece of text written as if it was a piece of music. He took the phrase “My name’s James and I’m dyslexic” and applied the following from music 1. It must be read aloud2. It has to be read at a specified time; can’t slow down and pause

to gather one’s thoughts; must carry on regardless of mistakes3. May have to read many letters at the same time (notes – if you’re

a pianist, for ex)

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4. In music a note on a line isn’t constant – it can be flat, sharp or natural (see key sig) so in text might = changing a letter to the one ‘lower’ for flat, so with key sig of 4b ‘M’ will = ‘L’(!)

5. There are signs telling you to speak loudly or quietly and you need to read these while reading everything else

6. There are signs giving instructions relating to the emotion you need to use; also need to be read at the same time (so in a text example these might be instructions to touch your eye, chin, nose or head…)

7. If reading from 2 staves, the bottom stave’s notes are not in the same place as the top stave (treble = B; bass = D); sound quite different

8. Your audience will often have heard your ‘piece’ lots of times before – and performed really well!

The end result: look at this for 7 seconds (the time it would take to play the piece) and see if you can speak it! It’s a lot to take in!

Also Music can involve (at least) 3 languages at once: the language of

musical notation; a language that has to be sung (Latin, Italian, French, German, Russian etc and instructions being given simultaneously in Italian and/or French or German…!!!

Written music is full of lines (bar lines; beams) which can exacerbate visual stress (Meares-Irlen) and can cause cogwheeling.

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As with best practice in presentation of visual material/text with most dyslexic students, you can consider photocopying on to off-white or coloured paper (this can be legal for teaching purposes, but check).

In the professional (classical) world, musicians (instrumentalists and/or singers) are expected (especially in the UK) to (be able to) sight read a great deal of material; perhaps perform a previously unseen orchestral piece with only 1 or 2 3-hour rehearsals.Actors also need to sight read text (auditions etc). See on.

So – if students have problems with reading, how does this impact the reading of music with its much greater complexity?

There are many strategies (particularly multi-sensory) that can be adopted with pupils at a relatively early stage in music – see Sheila Oglethorpe’s book, Instrumental Music for Dyslexics and the Teacher Guide to Music and Dyslexia (see reference list) but in HE?

Someone very keen on music & with good ear can go down the non-reading route popular music etc. But for those who need the skill…

Supporting music students in the reading of music There is a difference between sight reading and reading a piece

of music to learn it: different demands and expectations and different strategies. Sight reading is the main difficulty for dyslexic musicians (and actors).

Split strategies into 2: (1)Maximise what you can do today(2)Integrate the long term development of skills into daily

practice

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Ask the student what their priorities are: i.e. is reading music an important aspect of their work and is sight reading something that they feel is important to focus on?

Ask the student what they find difficult about reading music – e.g. integrating everything together quickly enough; rhythm goes when I try to play at speed; my fingers won’t play fast enough…

The specialist music support tutor could then create a set of strategies for the student based upon breaking down the areas of difficulty such as maintaining a pulse, recognising rhythmic and melodic patterns etc.

For those working with music students without specialist music knowledge this is probably a good time to see if coordination with their instrumental teacher is possible. A questionnaire can help the instrumental teacher to discuss possible strategies, including questions such as the following questions relating to timing:Do you have difficultyMaintaining a pulseChanging tempoReading rhythmsReading restsRecognising rhythmic patterns?(Others can be created covering different musical areas)

Strategies include: Visual – colour the middle line of music to give an anchor for

visual processing Use two colours (chosen by the student) for the tonic and

dominant in a tonal piece Visually mark the rhythms either with lines or colour for the main

beats

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Suggest that the student look through the piece before they start rather than just starting at the beginning and then getting a shock half way through

Long term practice Good sight readers chunk information – practice aspects in

isolation (e.g. rhythms, melodic patterns); practice recognising them and being able to play them as patterns.

Rhythm fluency and memory practice Sight singing is different in some aspects to instrumental sight

reading as there is no fixed key to press etc.

Reasonable adjustments in sight reading Discuss the possibility of not having to sight-read much in classes until you have improved in private practice and with your teacher. Get the music in advance. Rhythm is most important - when you do have to sight read try only playing the strong beats in the bar; that way you will be in time which is the most important aspect of sight reading.

Supporting music students in aural work: problems and strategies Short-term memory often difficult Aural dictation Clapping and singing simultaneously – allow time to prepare Mapping between aural and written Responding quickly in written form (similar to analysing

performance)

Strategies for how you are going to maximise your efforts in aural tests

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Break down the tasks – practice how you are going to approach each task so you don’t panice.g. Dictation – split into aspects – e.g. rhythm then melody, practice singing first two bars whilst the music continues, try to isolate two bar phrases.

Long term practice Do work on the piano if you have to do aural work with harmony

– learn to recognise harmonic patterns and be able to write them down

Kodaly training Lots of listening to music in an active way, make notes and write

up short paragraphs about the piece Make a timeline of the main musical features of

composers/periods Lots of practice Use of Auralia software Use of websites to support aural (there are many available – use

a search engine)

Reasonable adjustments in aural test Extra playings (25% extra playing) Extra time between playings Inclusive assessment protocol – e.g. allow all students to prepare

rhythm and singing exercises.

Other areas of difficulty for musicians Co-ordination in playing instruments (violin…) can be difficult

but – motivation is key L/R confusion “Play A harmonic minor LH alone…”. So the

teacher could point, rather than saying (this can apply in public examinations)

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Concepts of up and down – ‘up’ on a keyboard is to the R…; higher notes on a cello may require going down the fingerboard…; keyboard music – top = R, bottom = L. So – point and/or use a cardboard keyboard and turn it vertically to demonstrate

Beating time (practice!) Playing or singing with a conductor involves looking up and

back to the music constantly. Keep you finger/thumb on the page if you’re singing. Otherwise, it’s practice.

Reasonable adjustments in (external) exams

(Music and acting)Key points

1. Proof of dyslexia must be obtained well in advance of entry for

any examination proof of dyslexia must be obtained; this will

usually be a report from an Educational Psychologist, a Specialist

Teacher, a SENCO and so on and must be less than 3 years old.

2. Examiners are informed about the needs of candidates with

SpLDs and will make efforts to help.

Music exams

Consider different exam boards – which is most suitable?

Explore alternatives such as Practical Musicianship.

London College of Music popular music theory doesn’t require

knowledge of Italian terms.

Trinity Guildhall and Rock School exams do not require a music

theory qualification for progression to any grade.

The different exam boards differ slightly in their adjustments.

See each board for specific details.

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Common features include:

Extra time for sight reading

Large or modified notation for sight reading, aural or music

theory tests

Use of tinted paper or use of candidates’ own tinted overlays

Replays of scales allowed

Allowance for hesitation in responses

Additional attempts at aural tests

Flexibility over the order of different parts of a practical exam

Examiners are asked to speak clearly and not too fast and to

repeat information if necessary

The use of an amanuensis or scribe in written exams and the use

of a separate room

Contact information for different boards

The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music

http://www.abrsm.org/en/exams/specialneeds/. There are links to

information specific to dyslexia. Also contact the Board’s Access

Coordinator directly at accesscoordinator@abrsm.ac.uk.

London College of Music

www.uwl.ac.uk/lcmexams. Go to ‘Policies and forms’. You will need

to look at the ‘Equality of Opportunity, Reasonable Adjustments and

Special Consideration’, particularly Section 2.24 for dyslexic and

dyspraxic candidates.

Rockschool

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See the Reasonable Adjustment and Special Consideration Policy.

This policy is available to download from the Rockschool website via

https://www.rockschool.co.uk/qualifications/generalinformation/polic

ies/ and then the Policy.

RockschoolReasonableAdjustmentsAndSpecialConsiderationsPolicy.

pdf

Also ring: 0845 460 4747.

Trinity Guildhall

http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/site/viewresources.php?id=1315

Go to Information and Regulations Booklet, then p.7, ‘Requests

for Provision for Special Educational Needs’. Also email

music@trinityguildhall.co.uk

Acting exams

Cases are generally considered on an individual basis.

Modified or enlarged print sight reading and written tests

Use of tinted paper

London College of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA)

http://www.lamda.org.uk/exams/general/adjustments.htm

Trinity College

http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/site/?id=306

Contact Olivia Howlett on 020 7820 6165 or email

olivia.howlett@trinitycollege.co.uk

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Further and Higher Education (music and drama)

It is important to check with individual institutions.

There aren't generally any acting 'exams' in the BA/MAs for that

discipline. Students are marked on their end of year performances

and sometime receive a process mark for the year. There may be a

small piece of written work which shows research or something like

a reflective journal.

Reasonable adjustments in music usually include

Extra time - usually 25% extra, but can be more. Also extra

time to prepare for sight reading.

Extra playings in aural exams.

Other adjustments are usually discussed on a case by case basis.

Drama See forthcoming book to be published by the BDA on music, the performing arts and dyslexia. This includes a chapter on sight reading for actors by Deborah Leveroy, who has contributed the information below. Often only 20 minutes preparation available Important to understand the text Directors aren’t looking for a ‘word perfect’ reading but want to

see the choices the actor has made concerning characterStrategies Get the script as early as possible

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If you only have (e.g.) 20 mins – find a quiet place (the toilet if necessary!) – particularly somewhere where you can concentrate and read out loud

Connect to your breath – breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth

Flick through the pages – get an overall picture: how many characters? Dense prose or short dialogue? Don’t focus on individual words

Look for clues as to what it’s about – title etc Do you know any other plays by the same author? Are there long sentences – if so you’ll need to think about where

to breather What kind of punctuation? This may give clues – e.g. lots of ? or ! What can you use of yourself to inform the situation? Make bold

choices and stick to them. Mark up ‘gear changes’ (of emotion) in the passage Read it out loud. Don’t get stuck on individual words. Better to

guess the meaning or pronunciation and be brave! Memorise the first 3 words of key sections “Hold the script parallel with the floor out in front of you” so that

your face can be seen Remember to breathe. Be aware of your body – 2 feet on the

floor Use your thumb as a marker so that you don’t lose your place Communicate the sense of the words; don’t say words without

thoughts Don’t be afraid to create pauses (but fill them with your

character’s thoughts and inner images) If you stumble, don’t apologise; don’t go back and correct In a dialogue – pay attention to the other person’s lines Sell the text Practice all these techniques at home

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Other issues for actors include: reading, memory, organisation, concentration and coordination

Learning lines: See YouTube extract from TV about Kara Tointon Don’t Call Me Stupid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DQFbQWyOdw

Here you see KT working with Claire Salter using her weak area (writing out lines endlessly) – so use metacognition & tutor can help to discern student’s best learning style; try different approaches – have the courage to ditch things (as Kara did).

The key element is that of wrong formats and mismatches: What does this mean?

It’s as though the lines in front of you are in pdf format, but in the play they’re in mp3 format & so there’s an irreconcilable mismatch. So --- don’t put them in your head in pdf in the first place!

CONTEXT: Very important that the actor isn’t fixated on the lines themselves – ask them what the play is about/context/the character (step into it)

Get and read the whole play; see it; listen to it (audio version)

The drama drives the language, not the other way round

Multi-sensory approaches

Use movement to help learn lines. This movement does not need to have anything to do with the eventual blocking on a stage. Moving around a room (any room) and putting Post-its in different places can be a huge help (see Don’t Call Me Stupid). The Post-its do NOT have key words from the lines on them, but a summary of

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the emotional intent at different points in the lines. This uses auto-associative memory. If the actor has real problems a key word could be added.

Visual: create a story-board

Actor’s thesaurus: v helpful book for those with a limited vocabulary (see below)

Aural approach: put everyone’s lines on a dictaphone (it’s the interaction between the characters that’s important):

1. Listen and walk around2. Listen, repeating them and walking around3. Then start to say the line(s) in relation to the emotional intent4. Learn lines by association with sound; colour (on Post-Its?);

buzz words; physical movement etc in order to anchor them into the long-term memory

Best time of day to learn lines? Split up learning into chunks (scenes?) Write out the lines on a sheet of paper writing down only the first

letter of each word. etcOther information Noice, Tony and Noice, Helga (1997) The nature of expertise in

professional acting: a cognitive view New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. (see http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=V2oroaBkUuoC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Noice+T+Noice+H+1997&ots=ySC5lynjZ4&sig=zXib5ZEfl2N14S6)

Noice, Helga & Noice, Tony, (2006) ‘What Studies of Actors and Acting Can Tell Us About Memory and Cognitive Functioning’ in Current Directions in Psychological Science (15,1). See: http://www18.homepage.villanova.edu/diego.fernandezduque/Teaching/CognitivePsychology/Lectures_and_Labs/sssAppliedIssues/CurrDirActing.pdf for full text]

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Actor’s thesaurus: this is a very helpful book for those with a limited vocabulary. Calarone, Marina (2004) The Actor’s Thesaurus. UK: Nick Hern Books.

Various video clips on the web with Orlando Bloom talking about his dyslexia and acting, including:http://www.mefeedia.com/video/31466789http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf_RNr9rkQw&feature=relmfuhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnAzVPCCT_Ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SXfXQjfFbE&feature=relmfu

Dance Also see forthcoming BDA book Difficulties include Copying movements given in mirror fashion by demonstrator.

So – person demonstrates with back to class/use of video link. The DSA can provide video cameras so that they can record dance sequences

Muddling up L and R. Some more dyslexia friendly tutors have replaced 'left and right' with 'can you turn to the door/window rather than saying turn to the left'

Short term memory of moves poor; remembering sequences (particularly if also dyspraxic). So – video classes?

Use of (Laban or other) choreographic notation. Similar problems to music but few dancers use this

ConcentrationFeatures of music/performing arts support that can inform support in other areas Memorisation techniques above (the post-its) useful for exams;

preparation for a presentation. Memorising music you need to think about different types of

memory – visual, auditory and kinaesthetic as well as possibly emotional memory (story, funny idea), place memory (where you

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learned it). All of these are necessary in music but could be used more fully in any learning/revision.

Key feature of actors, musicians, dancers is regular practice over a long period of time (see Young Musician 2012 interviews)Probably most of our students don’t ‘practice’ their reading and writing skills to the same extent. Little and often…? If we can get out of the ‘sticking plaster’ cycle of merely patching up the next impending essay to the holistic exploration of long-term strategies, maybe we should try daily 10 minute sessions??

BUT – motivation?? Performing artists are usually highly motivated to do their practical work Are our students motivated to improve their literacy skills other than to ‘get through’ HE? How can we persuade them that these underlying skills will be (a) needed (b) useful?For example an image for a music student doing a presentation would be that it’s like being the composer and the performer; they wouldn’t compose a piece and then not practice it before the performance!!

Adaptability and organisation – as mentioned above, performing arts students have a particularly demanding and changeable schedule with fixed academic deadlines and highly moveable practical performance demands. This highlights the need to start early on academic work and those tasks they know they need to do and to maintain progress toward long term aims whilst dealing with the changeable day to day schedule. Have a routine that allows for change.

Overall, this is about people (students) being organised enough to produce the work they want to the standard that they want and to ensure that they have given themselves enough time to take up opportunities (work, socialising, career, travel) whilst succeeding on their course.

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Summary1. As always – good approaches for dyslexic students are (usually)

good approaches for all2. Be imaginative in our support and in our suggestions to students.

Don’t dismiss the above ideas – they’re only for actors/musicians; ask: “How these approaches be used/adapted for my student?”

3. Motivation is key4. (We all know -) Everything is harder and takes longer5. Get them to solve the problems – metacognition

Queries? ContactSally at s.daunt@lipa.ac.uk

ReferencesAnvari, S. H., Trainor, L. J., Woodsidre, J. & Levy, B. A. (2002),

'Relations among musical skills, phonological processing, and early

reading ability in preschool children'. Journal of Experimental Child

Psychology 83, pp.111-130.

Lamb, S.J. & Gregory, A.H. (1993), ‘The relationship between music and reading in beginning readers’. Educational Psychology 13, pp.19-27.

Music Teacher & British Dyslexia Association (2012), Teacher Guide to Music and Dyslexia (online). Available http://www.rhinegold.co.uk/downloads/magazines/music_teacher/music_teacher_guide_music_and_dyslexia.pdf (June 9th 2012).

Oglethorpe, S. (2002), Instrumental Music for Dyslexics: A Teaching Handbook. London: Whurr Publishers.

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Patel, A. (2011), ‘Why would musical training benefit the neural encoding of speech? The OPERA hypothesis’. Frontiers in Psychology 2(142), pp.1-14.

Zatorre R.J., Chen J.L. & Penhune V.B. (2007), ‘When the brain plays music: Sensory-motor interactions in music perception and production’. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8, pp.547-558.

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