[WernHalen]

Hey,

I have mentioned this a couple of times before, but I have struggled with a mild case of lysdexia when i was younger... Sepcifically with regards to maths...

Anyway I am having problems with putting together full free flowing solo's. I play short licks and then i miss a couple of notes and then I pick it up again. It seems that I cant concentrate on the notes enough to see where I should be going next. I get carried away in the music and then I forget where I was and where I was going... This is sometimes (seldom though) a problem even for music that i know and have played fluently before...

Anybody have similar problems? Have you found anyway to get around this?

[carol m]

That's a tough one Wern, maybe someone will come up with an answer. I'm afraid I don't have any suggestion as I have no experience of dyslexia. Glad to see you back at the forum though. How's Christmas in sunny SA?

[eXperiment63]

Dyslexia only hinders one's ability to compute things they read. At least, as far as I know that is all it does.

I guess my advice would be for you to just slow down. Work at soloing at a slower pace and allow yourself more time to feel what you are doing. If you struggle with something guitar-playing related... Slow down and give yourself a fighting chance!

[allthumbs]

Dyslexia is not that simple Ex. Some get hit harder than others. It can effect how well you can process linear information as well as spacial relationships like left and right, clockwise- counter clockwise. Pattern recognition etc.
I feel your pain, I have even more trouble than you with my dyslexia. The only thing that saved me was Kirk's Plane Talk material. I would still be held hostage to playing tabs only if I hadn't stumbled over his stuff. It will definitely help you keep track of where you are in a tune.

[jbhiller]

I would also recommend slowing down to--as one just said--give yourself a fighting chance.

If your situation/condition continues to get in the way you will have to overcome it somehow. Since you cannot eradicate it (my understanding is that is an immutable characteristic) you will have to compensate. A good friend of mine had a substantial case of dyslexia. Through logic tricks, hard work, hard work, and hard work, he was top of his class in my law school. He told me his secret: he had to know the material that much better to compensate.

I can only say that slowing down and mastering your moves would probably put you in position that you would have more gas in your tank than you would ordinarily need. You may have to get to the point where you can work a couple steps ahead of yourself (mentally) and see mistakes or the abrupt stoppage before it even happens.

Whatever you do, do not give up! Just be persistent and do not worry.

Your story is inspiring to me. Keep going.

[eXperiment63]

Originally Posted by allthumbs

Dyslexia is not that simple Ex. Some get hit harder than others. It can effect how well you can process linear information as well as spacial relationships like left and right, clockwise- counter clockwise. Pattern recognition etc.

I did not know that! Learn something new everyday. I have dyslexia, to a very small degree though. It never really hindered me at all. I would have to re-read some things at times, but it generally never affected me.

[allthumbs]

It was a nightmare for me. I was 36 before I knew I had it. School was like a level of Dante's Inferno for me.

[starsailor]

Dyslexia's no fun, my Daughters Fiance has it and he suffered at School because he was also aggressive and impatient, the Teachers had him down as a hopeless case which shouldn't really happen these days; because of his wasted years my Daughter had to teach him to read and write and we have spent the last 2 years boosting his confidence and making him believe in himself, now he is doing well at college all his aggression has gone and he is a much happier person.

I don't know if this will help WernHalen but could you record your sessions, then if you miss a bit out you have a record of where you were and where you went wrong and will allow you to record sections of the piece and move onto the next part, so you are cutting a session into bitesize pieces rather than trying to do the whole thing in one go, I hope I'm making sense and that it might give you an idea.
Good to see you around again

Best Wishes

Chris

[eXperiment63]

Ok... I wanted to come back in here and apologize to any and all people who have dyslexia, or know someone with dyslexia. I want to apologize for my ignorance on the subject. If I offended you, or made you feel belittled at all, I am sorry.

I just wanted to make sure I apologized just in case anyone was offended and hasn't voiced their opinions.

Happy Holidays!

[allthumbs]

Naw. I'm good Ex. The details of dyslexia are pretty obscure. Even 10 years ago, kids were still slipping through the cracks. Our neighbour's boy, who was an average friendly kid, turned surly and started heavily drinking when he hit high school. My wife started to tutor him in math and twigged that he was dyslexic and advised the school to test him. She was right. They gave him special help for kids like him and he turned back into his sunny self. He couldn't fake his way through his classes anymore when he hit grade 9. That's what triggered his change.

[WernHalen]

Thanks for all the good wishes...

Carol, I have been visiting the board sporadically for some time now but i dont really have the time to contribute that much anymore...

AT, I did exactly that, I struggled at school with math because of my dyslexia... All my other subjects I did well in but maths was my nemesis... I had to re read every question, until one day when a new lecturer taught me a new way of doing maths... I now look at a math problem and writhe down the answer. It makes the probability of making a mistake with writing down steps so much less. I still got about the same marks, but I was much less frustrated and I did not work nearly as hard...

I have tried recording the stuff I play, although I don't do that nearly enough... I usually learn a new song section by section, but when all else fails I usually play by ear, with PlaneTalk of course, which can or can not be a success, depending on which band I am playing with... Luckily I am never really held to playing a song exactly like the original, except with SIAM, but their songs i know pretty well.

I am changing jobs in the new year so I might not be back in here for a while...

Again thank you for all the good wishes, if I don't see you all in here again before then have a great new year...

[carol m]

Good luck with the new job. Just don't forget us altogether, and visit us when you can. How is your little boy? I can't remember what name you eventually decided on. Any more yet??

[doug russell]

I feel for you wern. I know there was a kid when I was in primary school, that was given a hard time by teachers a classed as dumb, but when he went to secondary school (but not until he was 14) our tech drawing tutor spotted that he had got a lot of talant in most area's until it came to the reading and writing. He was sent to another school for children with special needs, and his mother kicked up a lot of dust. He was sent back to secondary (High school) and given some personal tuition. That very person works for the UK civil service in the treasury in London.

[sboswell]

My daughter has dyslexia and has a terrible time in math and in writing classes. However, she is overcompensated in one area in that she is a very good artist and has won numerous art awards. With her math the problem is that the school teaches one way to work a problem. As a mathematician myself, I was able to show her alternative ways of solving problems. We would try different methods until one clicked and she was able to remember the process. For writing, I found a technique called "mind map" which is great for outlining your ideas in an artistic way. Well worth it to learn. Use it myself to write papers for work.

Anyway, the motive in this reply is that you may not learn the way everyone else does, like my daughter, but you can learn given the correct method. You need to find a method that works for you. It may not be the normal way everyone else learns, but there is a method that will work for you. It may be with the Plain Talk. Perseverance will pay off.

Good Luck,
Steve

[WernHalen]

Gee wizz... It has been a while since i have been on here...

Time sure flies when your havinf fun, but it still does not slow down when you are not having fun either...

Anyway I have since moved to my new job and i have moved house... I have started a new hobby, Archery, and I am still learning the geetar...

I have definatly grown in my playing since I have been on here, but alas not nearly far and fast enough for my liking... Now that I am in the new house I might be playing a bit more since it is closer to work and the traffic is reduced to almost nothing... The nice farm atmosphere also does wonders for ones stress, anxiety, artistic etc. levels.

I think might have broken the code on my dyslexia problem... when i get confused i resort back to the PT method and I just play within the I,V,IV chords of the key. I know this is not really the best way out but it helps me out in a tight fix and it sounds ok as long as there is not any out of key chords. Apart from this i just keep at it and things are getting better.

I have been complemented on my playing very often now and am starting to think i am making progress as well. until about two/three weeks ago. I am having difficulty concentrating again, and my moral about my playing is low again... That is the reason why i made a concerted effort to join the forum again after a long absence.

Hopefully i will be able to make some contributions during my hectic schedule...

• Family
• Work
• Band
• Business
• Studies

Rant rant rant...

I actually just wanted to add something short to the post about how my problem has reduced, but then...