We are…

Support tutors

• Paula Bishop-Liebler - Royal College of Music; Guildhall School of Music and Drama; Royal Academy of Music and Dyslexia Teaching Centre, London.

• Sally Daunt – The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts

Key points• Basic principles common to all

support• Issues that occur in performing

arts support that can inform more general study skills work

• Info for non-specialists in order to point students in the right direction

• Subject specific?

Outline• Organisational skills and strategies• Written work• Issues for musicians– Notation and reading of music– Supporting the reading of music– Reasonable adjustments– Aural work

• Issues for actors• Issues for dancers• Features that can inform general support

Organisational skills

Strategies• Year time tableThere is no such thing as a normal

week for musicians

• Small targets• Observation week• A practice routine

Written work‘The measurement of effective

treatment in cystic fibrosis’

or

‘A discussion of performance technique in relation to the cello repertoire of the 17th century’

‘The opening of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring uses a solo melody based on a folk theme. This is quasi-pentatonic as can be seen in the emphasis on the notes DE GA and B in the extract at Figure 1…’Figure 1: the opening of…

Write a personal evaluation of two concerts that you have attended this term.Refer to issues such as historically informed performance, programming, interpretation and comparison to other performances of the works.

Strategies• Develop a template to fill out in concerts• Read other critics• Overview then details• Get permission to video performances

Issues for musicians with musicCommonly reported difficulties include:

Sight readingRhythmical accuracyAural dictationMemorising musicScanning between conductor and musicRemembering and applying theoretical rules for music theory and composition

Many of these difficulties relate to processing musical notation

The notation of text and

the notation of musicSimilar

orDifferent?

Surface similarities

‘push’ =  /p/, /ʊ/, /ʃ/

“My name’s James and I’m

dyslexic”

The music:

Supporting the reading of music

• Maximise what you can do today• Integrate long term development

of skills into daily practice• What are your priorities?• What do you find difficult about

reading music?

QuestionnaireDo you have difficulties with –

• Timing• Maintaining a pulse• Changing tempo• Reading rhythms• Reading rests• Recognising rhythmic patterns•  • Pitch • Reading pitches quickly• Recognising pitch patterns (e.g. scales, arpeggios)

Sight reading•Do you have to sight read?•Get the music in advance•Rhythm – –Play the strong beats only

Aural work• Short term memory• Aural dictation• Clapping and singing

simultaneously• Mapping between aural and

written• Responding quickly in written

form

Strategies• Break down tasks• Rhythm then melody• Practice singing the first 2 bars whilst

the music continues• Try to isolate 2-bar phrases• Work on the piano for harmony• Listen actively

Timeline

Reasonable adjustments

• Extra playings (25%)• Extra time between playings• Inclusive assessment protocol –Allow all students to prepare rhythm and singing exercises

And another thing…

Drama: sight reading

Key points• Get the script as early as possible• Find a quiet place and read out

loud• Connect to your breath• Get an overall picture• Clues: title etc• Other plays by the same author?• Long sentences? Where to breathe?

And…• Kinds of punctuation?• What can you use of yourself?• Mark up ‘gear changes’ of emotion• Don’t get fixated on words you

don’t understand or pronounce – be brave!• Memorise the 1st 3 words of key

sections

Multi-sensory•Movement (post-its)• Visual (story-board)• Actor’s thesaurus• Aural (put lines on a voice recorder)

Dance• Difficulty copying movements

in mirror fashion• Muddling up L and R• Short term memory of moves

(sequences)• Concentration• (Use of dance notation)

Features of support in the performing arts that can inform other areas

• Memorisation techniques (the post-its)

• Different types of memory – visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, emotional, place…

• Regular practice over long periods of time

Motivation & practice

Adaptability & organisation

Summary • Good approaches for dyslexic

students are (usually) good approaches for all

• Be imaginative in our support• Motivation is key• Everything is harder and takes

longer• Get the student to solve the

problem - metacognition