Learning the harp with Special Needs

If you are considering learning the harp but worried that you or your child or someone you know might not be able to cope, simply don't worry! Everyone can learn the harp. If you would like a consultation lesson to see whether it is what you imagined and dreamt the harp would be please contact me.
​EVERYONE IS WELCOME!
If you are a teacher looking for some advice for a student please do contact me too! Or if you have read my article and have some advice/tips for me, I would love to hear from you!

All of the examples used in this text have been approved by students, parents or careers
Teaching students with Special needs, Autism, ASD, Aspergers Syndrome and more.

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Article by Fran Barsby

After teaching a variety of students with special needs, Autism, ASD and Asperger’s Syndrome I have been asked to create a help page for music teachers. This page is not an official clinical paper, nor a fool proof way to teach every student but it is intended as a helpful starting point for teachers working with specials needs students. 
I am lucky enough to have known some incredible students with special needs and the first thing to remember with these students is that no child/student is the same. Just like every other student a flexible approach is required. ​

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Here is a short YouTube video to help explain Asperger’s and Autism:​

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Please watch the following video:

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​Now answer the following questions:

How much did you understand? 
How much could you read? 
What did you focus on the most?


Unless you are familiar with Tokyo, after that video you might have felt:

• bewildered
• excited
• curious
• small
• scared
• stressed
• tired

All of these feelings are how students with special needs, Autism, ASD and Asperger’s Syndrome see the world that we are so used to. Each day is a challenge just to make sense of what many of us see as a “normal day”. Therefore when teaching your student you should try and create a safe and consistent environment. Make each lesson manageable. Only try to teach your student one task at a time. Break down each task into manageable chunks for your student. 
Remember that a piece of music is not usually a manageable task as this includes: note names, rhythm, fingers used, sitting position and dynamics. Already this is too much for some students to cope with without even considering environment. When teaching students with these conditions you also need to be sensitive to the affect of being in a different location than they are used to. Are they used to you? Are you wearing different clothes? Is your student playing on their harp or yours? Are they using a different seat to usual? Have you tied your hair up differently? Are you tired or grumpier than usual? Have you died your hair? Try and maintain your environment as much as possible - you want to only focus on one change at a time and this means you must try and be as consistent in the teaching location as this is one change already.
Breaking down an aspect of learning needs to be taken slowly and patiently. 
For example: the notes on the harp:

A, B, C, D, E, F, G,

These can be learned in many ways, 

• alphabetically
• by colours (C and D)
• Numerically 1 = C? or A.
• Through rhymes or word games eg. Aunt Bessie’s Cat doesn't eat frozen grapes! It is important that the student comes up with their own rhymes. This will help them invent something that works for them!
• Games - how quickly can you play all of the C’s on your harp. 
• Solfège often works better than abcdefg. Singing solfege or hand signals can often be better than note names. 
• Try playing all of the notes on a harp, then swap harps. Can your students play the SAME note on the new harp. Make sure to only change one aspect at a time. In this instant the aspect changed would be the harp. 
• Comparison to the piano or another instrument they may be familiar with.
• Low notes are Left. Low for Left. 
• Orchestra: print out orchestral instruments. Ask your student to put the instruments in high and low instruments. Then ask them to choose an instrument and ask them to play a glissando on the notes that the instrument uses. Do not be too specific. 
• Change the note names so they work for the student. Eg - C might be called Cat and F frogs. Your student’s fingers might be spaceships landing on planets. Your student could come up with planet names for the notes. 
• Relate the names to something that your student enjoys. Perhaps train stations: each string - the letter name is the first letter of the station. You can visit a new station each week.
• Role reversal: ask them to be the ‘card master’ and they control you and tell you whether you are right. This helps many students feel in control of the situation and therefore more comfortable. Other students may feel on the spot so make sure you are sensitive to each individual student. 

After the student has learned a note name, I use the same games (that they enjoyed) and adapt it to also include the musical name of the concept they are learning. For example: show a flash card of a cat - how quickly can they play the cat string (C String), then the frog (F string) and play it. I then ask the student to match the card with the C or F flash card. Then I try the flash card with the C on it and see if they can remember to play a C. Spend a few minutes changing the cards and asking them to play. The game pairs is very good for this. Print multiple cards and make sure they are in the correct colours and play a game of snap. 
Remember always praise your student for anything they did correctly before offering them advice to improve. Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome encourages students to think very literally. Do not criticize as this can be very detrimental to your student as they can take this very personally. 

It is important not to overload your student. Always move at a pace that is comfortable with them. Your student should always feel like they are achieving, if they become reluctant or stressed move away from the subject immediately. You can then regain a calm learning environment and approach the topic again in a different way, in another lesson or later in the lesson depending on the student. Persistence and causing a student to become reluctant will only take their enjoyment from the instrument. It is usual that one note / name of a string can be learned comfortably per lesson. I.e. 7 weeks for 7 strings. It is very very important to move slowly so your student always feels like they are achieving do not push too hard and always ensure the task is fun. 
Generally if you try to relate learning the music to something that your student enjoys they will understand the concept a lot quicker and with more enjoyment. Do not force the learning. 

Examples of varied learning. 
String names:
I once had a student that loved trains. I cut out two trains, one blue, one red. We called the red train Cassy and the blue train Freddie. These names were the students idea! This means your note names will be Cassy and Freddie not F and C. Once we began looking at music I made sure that Cassy and Freddie were always coloured in on the stave. (This was only after the period of a year of only looking at string names and learning aurally. Remember to be patient and inventive and most importantly always work at the pace of each individual student.)
Always remember, if your student is not understanding or focusing it is your fault - not theirs! Make sure you are engaging and change focus regularly and repeat games and lesson structures. Do not change too much at once. For example you could always start with the same warm ups. 

​Notation:
I get asked a lot by parents and teachers how to teach notation in general, not just with those students with Aspergers or ASD. 
Below I have listed a few ways to encourage note learning. 
Stage One - Areas of notes 
Treble and bass clef. Warm up with treble and bass pictures. Depending on which card you show the student has to play either right hand, high glissando or bass left hand, low glissando. If this doesn't work experiment with alternate pictures first, such as mouse for high squeaks or bear low growls. It is useful to ask your student what they think of when they hear the low glissando and then what they think of or feel, when they play the high notes etc. 
Before I move on to actually reading the notes on the stave I do a lot of games for example learning how to draw the treble clef.      
​ - Drawing a stave that fits your harp and playing all of the notes on the stave. 
- Putting the orchestral instruments into groups with the treble and bass clef. 

Stage 2: String names (see above)
Stage 3: Notation
I always start with middle C or the UFO or Planet that fly’s between the staves. I have created flash cards of middle C looking like a planet in the middle of the staves. I always make sure that the C is coloured red to match the string. This can pose a problem with students that see colours when they play but I still use red as to match the string – until they invent other coloured strings!

I relate the staves to the harp. I create staves that match directly with the harp. I do not explain any notes for a few weeks allowing the student to get used to the decoration and I just keep middle C as the focus. However, if asked about the images, I will offer an explanation if the student is enthusiastic and curious. Make sure to create cut outs that fit your harp perfectly.

Stage 4: 
Once the student can easily draw both clefs I then move onto one note in each clef. Usually the note that the clefs curl around. G clef and F clef. I tell a story of how in years gone by the clefs were just fancy versions of our letters. I then draw a normal G and F on the clefs swirling around the note. I then ask them to draw both versions and play them. I have found it is very important to do any theory work alongside the harp so that each student can understand and relate its practical use. I then will play similar games to those described previously with these three notes. F, G, and middle C. 
As the student becomes more familiar with the notes I then ask them to find more G’s, F’s and C’s on the harp. After they are happy with this more notes can be added. But only one at a time! 
Some students do not get along with this concept at all! That is FINE! I have found it is important to encourage them to look at music that suits them and in time looking at traditional music will come. 
Here is an example of a few different ways Twinkle Twinkle Little Star can be notated. I always put the Strings explanation on top as a key.

​What music looks like

Alternative ways to write it

Do, Do, Sol, Sol, La, La, Sol, 
Fa, Fa,  Mi,  Mi,    Re, Re ,Do.
Sol, Sol, Fa , Fa, Mi, Mi, Re,
Sol, Sol, Fa , Fa, Mi, Mi, Re,
Do, Do, Sol, Sol, La, La, Sol, 
Fa, Fa,  Mi,  Mi,    Re, Re ,Do.

C C, G G, A A G
F F E E D D C.
G G F F E E D,
G G F F E E D.
C C, G G, A A G
F F E E D D C.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,                                 
How I wonder what you are.                                    
Up above the world so high,                                    
Like a diamond in the sky.                                        
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,                                    
How I wonder what you are.      ​

Golden rules for a music lesson with a special needs student1. Think ahead
Carefully plan the lesson ahead and try to anticipate what might be tricky for the student. Identifying the predictable triggers will mean you can plan strategies in advance.

2. Give the child advance notice
Explain the lesson at the start. If the student knows what they are going to cover and how they will achieve it it provides them a sense of being in control, as well as allowing them processing time. This will also help them to avoid anxiety during the lesson.

3. Be aware
The mood and behaviour of children with special needs can change very quickly. It is important to look out for signs of increased anxiety, which can be reduced by decreasing demands. Make sure to never give your student too much in one go! They should always feel like they are achieving. Speak to careers for clues about the tell-tale signs that the child is struggling. At the end of the lesson ask the student what they thought they did well, then you tell them what they did well. You can also ask them how they would like to improve for next lesson. Help them take ownership and control of their studies. Try not to dictate what they should do as it takes away their control. Never put them on the spot, make sure you always help them feel safe. When a student feels safe and happy they will learn!

4. Create space
Students and children are very influenced by environment. Make sure you are not sitting too close to make them feel uncomfortable. It is important to set boundaries, but make sure you do not sit too far either to make it more like an observation. I always have two harps, one for the student one for me to make the environment feel less daunting and more equal. Also if you can sit at the same height as your student and where they are comfortable. This may be on the floor or facing in a certain direction, always remember to be flexible. You may also not want people in your space. I explain to the children we are all in our imaginary bubbles, we blow them up together and then we cant come too close in case the bubbles pop.​

5. Try to see the world through their eyes.
We all see the world differently. Try to put yourself in your students shoes. See what they see, how they see it and this will help you adapt your teaching to help them.
(If you have any more ways of teaching please email me at fbarsby@poppyharp.com I would love to hear from you.)

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