Musical genius but bad at school.
Mick Fleetwood the drummer of Fleetwood Mac is dyslexic and found school almost unbearable.
He still can’t say his alphabet to this day, nor can he read music…. but boy can he drum up a beat.
Paul McCartney did OK at school, but found it totally uninspiring. Believe it or not he found music classes totally boring and wasn’t accepted into the school choir.
They said his voice wasn’t quite right.
If only they knew what was to come.
Robbie Williams failed his high school exams, left school at the age of 16 and has more recently set up a foundation for underprivileged people in his hometown to assist them to reach their goals in life.
When you speak to people who find school difficult, ask them what it is that they do really well.
There will always be something
and sometimes that thing is music.
Here are 3 tips that can assist an aspiring musical genius.
- Enlarge the size of the sheet music using a photocopier. You can use coloured paper too.
- Colour code musical notes using highlighter pens so students can use the colour cues to assist them.
- Write the letter symbols of the notes along the top of the bars on the sheet music.
Many children with dyslexia possess an aptitude for music even though they may have to overcome the hurdle of reading sheet music.
Music can also be used to teach children with dyslexia how to read and spell.
That is why in The Ten Minute Tutor™ we use song lyrics and their related video clips as part of the reading practice tutorials.
Not surprisingly it happens to be one of the favourite parts of the program for many children.
To try this activity for yourself, find the lyrics of a song your child likes on the internet and get them to read along with them as they listen to the song in audio or video format.
This uses both the right and left side of their brain, helping to develop better reading skills in a multi-sensory way.
Wishing you and your child every success.
Kind regards,
Liz Dunoon
P.S. The Ten Minute Tutor™ has the rights to some amazing song lyrics.
Children will read the song lyrics as they watch the related video clip to practice their reading.
Now that’s a fun way to learn!
Mick Fleetwood photo source: Flickr.com – Jo Bielawa
