Color Coding Musical Instruments for LD & Special Needs Student Success
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.
Special Needs
Looking for information on special needs music lessons? The Successful Music Student blog archive contains posts about teaching special needs music.
Special Needs
Catchall Term
The name special needs functions as a catchall term. The name says it all. Special needs students have special needs above and beyond the typical learner student. This can include students with:
- LD
- Dyslexia
- Language-Based Learning Disabilities
- ADD
- ASD
- Autism
- Down Syndrome
- Microcephaly
- Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum
- Low Tone
- and more…
They are all Different
Beyond the common factor that all these students have special requirements, they all relate to the world around them in diverse ways. They sometimes:
- learn differently
- socialize differently
- act differently
- move differently
- converse differently
- need adapted gear or learning supplies
This means that students need to be met where they are at, and the teaching process needs to be tailored to them.
This does not mean that they will all learn, socialize, act, move, or converse in the same ways. Two students with special needs can be vastly different from each other. Even two students with the same diagnosis can be extremely different from each other.
OR two students may have similar traits, even with different diagnoses. It really depends on the student what you get.
Some students will socialize fine, but have problems with reading, math, or writing. Other students have no problems learning in school, but will find socializing difficult.
Still others will be fine with learning and socializing. Nevertheless, they will need a wheelchair or have issues with muscle strength or coordination. Some students may have problems saying words clearly or need a talker. However, they have no problems with any of the issues mentioned earlier. Finally, some students may have aspects of many or all of these issues blended together.
This makes teaching a challenge. Yet, it is a challenge worth taking up. Also, with multisensory teaching methods, you can win the challenge, and the student can learn.
© 2021 Geoffrey Keith
Back to the Successful Music Student Blogs page
Color Coding the Fingers for Music Learning Empowers Special Needs & LD Student’s Fingering Accuracy
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.
Color Coding Music for Success
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.
How to Color Code Guitar Tab to Empower LD Achievement
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.
Color Coding Musical Accents Using the Shape Note Advantage for Accurate Special Needs and LD Performance
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.
How to Color the Music Score to Successfully Focus Special Needs and LD Students on Features of the Sheet Music
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.
How to Color Code Music to Get LD Students to Perform Accurate Alternate Picking
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.
How to Color Code the Musical Form to Unlock LD & Special Needs Music Students’ Learning Potential
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.
How to Color Code Rhythm to Empower LD & Special Needs Students
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.
How to Color Code Music Notes for Successful LD & Special Needs Distance Learning
Based on a scientifically proven method for teaching LD students. Learn how to color code music notes for LD & special needs students. Estimated reading time 6 minutes.