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Effects of the design of written music on the readability for children with dyslexia
Julia Plato
research about music readability in dyslexic students called Effects of the design of written
music on the readability for children with dyslexia. Many dyslexic students have a difficult time
reading text. However, the research of Jaarsma et al. (1998) has shown that they also have
trouble reading music for two reasons. First, dyslexic students have a difficult time correctly
interpreting the meaning various musical notations. For example, these students are often
confused by the direction of the note stems which causes them to incorrectly read a pitch.
Second, written music contains a spatial component that requires the reader to look both
vertically and horizontally. This component is the most challenging, because dyslexic students
typically have difficulties distinguishing left and right, high and low, and rising and descending
patterns.
The research of Hubicki and Miles (1991) has shown that adjusting the color and size of
music can make it easier for a dyslexic student to read and understand. These adjustments
support in the discrimination between ascending and descending patterns as well as the spatial
component of note intervals. OBrien, Mansfield, and Legges (2005) research about font size of
music concluded that dyslexic students need 32% larger fonts to read as accurately as normal
readers at the same level. However, Rogers (1991) study specifically about the affect of color on
the readability of written music produced statistically insignificant results. Flach, Timmermans,
and Korpershoek built on the work of these previous researchers by comparing the design
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adaptations for written music in the performance of dyslexic students and normal reading
students.
The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between the design of the
written music and its readability for dyslexic and non-dyslexic students through the manipulation
of variables such as size, color, and stem-direction. The goal of the research is to provide music
teachers with techniques they can use if their own dyslexic students have difficulties reading
music. The authors asked the research question: What are the effects of design adaptations in
written music on the performance of dyslexic students in music reading in comparison with non-
dyslexic students? They hypothesized that an increase in size, the use of colors, and the
consistency of stem direction would significantly improve the music reading performance of
dyslexic students.
The participants of the study were 72 students, ranging in age from eight to thirteen, from
four primary schools and one secondary school in the northern region of Netherlands. These
students were divided into three groups based on their difficulties reading. They were
categorized as dyslexia group if they had a formal diagnosis of dyslexia, reading difficulty group
if they experienced reading problems, and the remaining students fell into the normal reading
group.
The research method used in this study was a questionnaire which is a descriptive type of
research. The questionnaire began with questions about the background of the participants with
regards to reading, music education, and color blindness. The second part of the questionnaire
involved written music in varying forms of size, line color, and direction of stems. For each of
the three conditions there were several types of questions that assessed the music reading
precision of the students. The first type of question required the students to identify notes on the
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staff within a particular piece of written music. The second type of question asked the students to
determine whether a sequence of notes was ascending or descending. The final type of question
asked students to determine the correct position of a given note out of a set of four or five
alternatives.
The study resulted in proof that dyslexic students have more trouble reading music than
normal reading students. Dyslexic students made an average of 18.76 mistakes on the
questionnaire while the normal reading students made 9.31 mistakes. For both dyslexic and
normal reading students, an increase of size of the written music decreased the number of
mistakes. However, the decrease in mistakes was much more significant for dyslexic students.
More mistakes were made in the colored condition than the standard black and white condition,
however it was not enough to be considered statistically significant. Less mistakes were made
when the stem direction was the same compared to when the stems went in different ways.
However, the difference was much more significant for dyslexic students than normal reading
students. The authors concluded that while some dyslexic students have difficulties reading
music, others do not. It is important for music teachers to adapt the music for students who are
struggling so they can find success. This can be easily done by increasing the font size and
changing the stem direction by using a music notation software. All students are different, but
This study was very thorough in the depth of its questionnaire. The researchers were
sure to give many different variations of the tested conditions to accommodate different types of
students. The study also separated the students by their reading ability in their results so it is easy
to see if the change of variable affected all students or only certain groups. However, the largest
flaw of this study was the size and type of sample that was used. Only 72 students were given the
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questionnaire and of them, only 18 had dyslexia. Additionally, these students were from a small
area of the Netherlands. In order to be more accurate, there should have been a larger sample size
that covered a larger area with a wider variety of demographics. I think that these findings can be
applied to real world experiences by music teachers. If teachers encounter a dyslexic child that
seems to be struggling with reading music, they can try and help their student succeed by using
This relates to Chapter Four of the Slavin textbook which focuses on the different
intelligences and learning styles. In the textbook, Slavin states that, If schools want all children
to be smart, they must use a broader range of activities and reward a broader range of
performances than they have in the past (Slavin, 2015, p. 92). Not all children are able to
succeed at the same things using the same devices. Some students learn visually while others are
aural or tactile learners. It is important to remember that, Many faltering students have
specialized minds- brains exquisitely wired to perform certain kinds of tasks masterfully, but
decidedly miswired when it comes to meeting other expectations (Slavin, 2015, p. 94). By using
methods such as enlarging the written music size, or changing the stem direction, dyslexic
students will be able to meet the expectations of the ensemble or class, despite their brains
wiring. These students will feel more included in the classroom because they will be able to find
Works Cited
Flach, N., Timmermans, A., & Korpershoek, H. (2016). Effects of the design of written music
on the readability for children with dyslexia. International Journal of Music Education,
Slavin, R. E. (2015). Educational Psychology: theory and practice. New Jersey: Pearson.