The Lazy Reader, the Dyslexic Reader, the Reader Who Needs Glasses

The lazy reader, the dyslexic reader, the reader who needs glasses.   How does a teacher tell the difference?  The answer is illusive and often takes several weeks, even months, of staying on your toes during those afternoon lessons when you really feel like taking a nap.  The following examples describe teenaged students who have taken lessons for a while.

Student No. 1.  I have several students (at various levels) who sight-read new assignments with a high degree of accuracy.  Recently I realized that one of these students consistently stutters faintly over left-hand notes until he hears the correct pitch.  This habit occurrs after having had the piece for a few weeks.  I asked him to play again but this time pause on the notes before sounding them.  Of course his tempo slowed, but his hands moved unerringly to the notes he needed.

Student No. 2.  Another of my students is working through late-elementary pieces.  She is sort of a hit-and-miss reader, one who doesn't like to take the time to make sure she's read the notation correctly.  And lately I've noticed that she will pause, lean forward, and squint at the music.  I'm not a professional eye doctor, but this seems to me an indication that I need to mention my observations to her mom.  It may be time to get the student's vision checked out.

Student No. 3.  Another of my students plays well at an early intermediate level so long as he does not have play at tempo when following the music, or rely on the score when he's playing at tempo.  Reading early beginner material is a tremendous struggle and he frequently flips clefs, especially when he's trying to decifer bass clef notation, and his hands never seem to know what direction to move.  He is an extremely smart kid and has not had any reading issues in school.

Dyslexic symptoms are seldom obvious.  Most dyslexic students are particularly good at hiding their weakness.  Reading issues don't usually show up until a student is out of beginning literature and trying to read multiple clefs (grand staff) with smaller, more complex notation.  With piano students two of the biggest clues are watching the student's eyes track the music as they play, and watching their hand movement.  It isn't difficult to see when their eyeballs are not following the music and when their hands are in the air more than they are on the keyboard.