The archive contains posts about teaching ADD students music.
Do you want to know a secret about ADD? It is not a deficit of attention. In fact, students with ADD have excessive amounts of attention.
Sensitive to their surroundings, the person with ADD has problems with random stimuli. Namely, a ticking clock can become really distracting when a student with ADD tries to study.
If a noise suddenly happens in the room, it can become very hard for the person with ADD to ignore it. Because they have too much attention, everything grabs their focus.
This makes it hard for ADD students to keep to a task. It gets even harder when there are new and fun things to distract them.
Sorting out sensory data remains an issue. However, what appears to be a self-control issue in school, can become an asset in the real world. Let me give you an example:
What color is the apple?
If you said red, look again. Does it just look red?
When you look closely, you can easily see many colors across the skin of the apple. Dark cloudy patches, white and yellow spots, and a brown stem all appear on the surface of the apple. If you said the apple looks red, then you unconsciously filtered out the other colors to quickly label it by its main hue.
This type of sorting does not come easily to students with ADD. Nonetheless, the talent to look beyond the simple label to see all of the colors that appear on the fruit remains a critical skill if you wish to correctly paint a picture of the apple.
Therefore, the student with ADD can easily connect together outwardly unconnected information, because they do not quickly filter out seemingly unrelated data. This tendency helps fuel their creativity.
Curious George always gets in trouble because of his curiosity. However, it turns out he would have made a good scientist (or he would if he was human).
Similarly, students with ADD often get in trouble for being distractible. However, they are also creative and interested in diverse topics of learning. They have a sense of curiosity about them, an important trait for scientists.
“One of the most important qualities of a good scientist is curiosity. Curiosity makes a scientist ask why things happen. It makes him or her eager to learn more or test an idea” (Spectrum Science Grade 3 8).
ADD students are observant. True, ADD students have a hard time with filtering. However, the flip side is that they may just discover something that no one else noticed before. Kinda like Einstein did with the speed of light.
Creating and interpreting music needs this type of curiosity and creativity as well.
© 2021 Geoffrey Keith
Back to the Successful Music Student Blogs page
How do I switch from minor key shaped notes to standard notation?” Sight singing minor keys in standard notation can be challenging. Because it can be difficult to figure out if you’re in a major key or the relative minor. Read more to learn how to transition from shaped notes to standard notation for minor keys. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
“How do I finally get my students to be able to read music without color coding?” In today’s post, we’ll look at the last stage of graduating from the colors: flashcards. Keeping reading to learn how to graduate from color coded music symbols. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Do you want your autistic child to play piano? Or are you an adult with autism who’s wondering if piano would be a good fit? Playing piano brings a lot of benefits beyond just the fun of playing music. Read more to find out the answer to the question, “Is playing the piano a suitable activity for autistic people?” Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Would you like to introduce your kid to piano? (Or are you a music teacher who has a student with learning difficulties?) Multisensory teaching methods will help! Click to learn about playing piano with color coded left hand notes and rhythm. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Do you want to sing Eastern European folk melodies and mediaeval chants? Are you puzzled about how the aeolian mode works? Modes have been a feature of music from ancient times to today. Singing Shape Note Solfege Aeolian Melodies lets you explore the exotic sound of the aeolian mode. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Can’t read piano music? (Or does your child have difficulty reading music?) Color coded notes and rhythms can help! Click to learn about playing the piano with color coded rhythm, fingering, and notes. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
“Can I become a music teacher if I have special needs?” Having special needs doesn’t automatically bar you from teaching. In fact, if you want to teach special needs students, you have an edge as a teacher. Click to find out how you can become a special needs music teacher. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
“How do I switch from singing shaped notes to standard notation?” Because they’re easy to read, shape notes will always be a good choice for struggling readers, and it makes a great introduction to solfege too. However, the limited shape note repertoire means that shape note singers may want to learn to read standard notation as well. Click to learn how to transition from shaped notes to standard notation. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
![Do People with ADHD Have Difficulty Playing from Sheet Music - Girl with Violin - Prodigy Meaning: Examples of Special Talent in Music [Video] - 50 Essential Music Symbols Explained in Less Than 5 Minutes](https://successmusicstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Do-People-with-ADHD-Have-Difficulty-Playing-from-Sheet-Music-Girl-with-Violin-682x1024.jpg)
Are you a parent or a music teacher of an ADHD student who struggles with reading music? Though many people with ADHD have a hard time reading music, multisensory teaching methods can help! Click to answer the question, “Do people with ADHD have difficulty playing from sheet music?” Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Why is it important to sing the dynamics for a piece of music? Dynamics play an important role in notated music, helping bring interest and variety to your songs. If you want help understanding how dynamic signs work, click to answer the question: “Why is it important to define the dynamics to sing a piece of music?” Estimated reading time 3 minutes.