The Blog Category Is Expanding:
I’ve expanded the blog category to include general special needs topics in addition to the adapted score posts.
The Adapted Score:
Why color code music? Color has appeared in music scores for as long as there has been music notation. Moreover, color is a proven, powerful teaching tool. George L. Rogers has shown that color coding provides an access point for LD and special needs students for score reading.
With color, the special needs and LD students in his study exceled at sight reading tasks. However, without the color, they were entirely unable to read the score at all.
Therefore, students have the opportunity to experience success and thus avoid the failure that often comes with more traditional approaches. For many of these students, success is critically important. Success helps with both self-concept and self-esteem.
The cornerstone category article:
The posts may be read in any order, but I suggest that you read these two posts first:
Playing and clapping exercises:
Graduating from the color coding
The remaining posts can be read in any order you like:
These posts focus on non-color-coding special needs issues:
Learning differences posts:
The previous topic lists will be updated periodically. See the post grid below for the full list and full descriptions with featured images.
– Geoffrey Keith
© 2022 Geoffrey Keith
Back to the Successful Music Student Blogs page
Does your student have a problem telling the right hand from the left? Many LD and special needs students have problems with left hand/right hand confusion. On piano this can be a real issue. Read more to learn how to color code hand icons in music scores. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Does your student confuse the notes on the instrument? Learn how color coding musical instruments leads to LD and special needs success. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Does your student use the wrong fingers? Color coding the fingers for music learning enables LD students to accurately finger the music for smoother playing and faster response time. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Want to read music? Does your child or music student have a hard time reading notes? Color coding music notation can help. I had a student with amnesia who would forget everything she had learned from the previous lesson. However, she was able to learn beginner level piano music with hands together. Find out how color coding helps students like her. Estimated reading time 11 minutes.
Tablature creates a picture of the guitar neck. However, many LD students become confused by tab despite its visual appearance.
In other words, they become dazzled by the shimmer created by the contrast of the black and white lines of the notation. Color-coding the strings helps reduce the confusion that students experience, assisting them in effectively reading the score. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
We approach accents differently than other types of articulations. It is not just about using color to make the accents pop off the page. Using shapes creates a guide for when to play louder. Consequently, for accents we take our example from shape notes. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Color does not need to be limited to color-coding. Bring staccato, legato, pedal, dynamics, and accents to the foreground by using a highlighter and red pen. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Even among typical learners, students find alternate picking and strumming challenging. It is one of the few color-coding strategies I use with every student. Using color-coded arrows as a guide to alternate picking effectively shows students how to accurately execute the picking patterns. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Do your students get confused by repeats and D.C. al fine? Reduce your students’ confusion. Learn how to color code the musical form. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Have a hard time reading rhythm? Coloring the counting numbers simplifies learning rhythm. Learn how to color code rhythm this way. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.