Dyslexia and learning musical notation: A pilot study

Both the alphabet and our system of musical notation are largely based on arbitrary conventions and associations. Conforming to the Dyslexic Automatization Deficit Hypothesis, children suffering from dyslexia are supposed to have difficulty in automating these types of conventions and/or associations. Scientific research into the relation between dyslexia and learning musical notation is rare. Therefore, we developed a new intervention paradigm on learning musical notation. This program was followed by five dyslexic children and four children without dyslexia, in order to study and compare the learning processes of both groups. The program consisted of instruction, practice in the skills and knowledge related to musical notation, and test assignments. During each session, the problem-solving process of the individual child was observed and the amount of time required to complete each assignment in the program was recorded. In addition we analyzed the errors made by the two groups of children in each session. A pretest-posttest comparison revealed that dyslexic children needed more time to learn musical notation than did children without dyslexia. Dyslexic children also made more mistakes and produced more ‘third transpositions’. The implications for teaching musical notation are outlined.