Is music dyslexia a thing?
 

:wave: I just registered and I have no idea how anything works around here, but this is my question.

I've been playing violin for 10 years and I know how to sight read music, but I always mix up the notes. If you show me a note individually, I know what it is, but when I'm reading an unfamiliar piece -- no matter how easy or hard -- I'll play the wrong note and not even notice. I mix up notes that are 2 above or below -- for example, I'll play a B as a G, or an F as an A. Sometimes I'll get through half a phrase before I notice that I'm a third off. Another thing I do is play the phrase on the wrong string, but with the right fingers, so it's a fifth above or below. The only reason I notice is because it doesn't sound right.

Is music dyslexia a thing, or do I just straight up suck at sight reading? (I am not dyslexic btw, I know dyslexic people sometimes struggle with sight reading but I've never had any problems with reading words or spelling or anything.)

I play guitar, and I find sight reading to be difficult because there is more than one voicing for chords, and positions for notes. So it's a slow process to find the best way to play it. After I figure that out, I only rely on the sheet music until I know the song by rote. Then I use the sheet music more as mnemonic to know where I am at in a song. I don't read a note and play a note, like if one was to read from a book.

Another thing, sometimes without knowing you can learn mistakes by letting it go. If you let the mistake go a couple times without doing anything about it, it is if you learn that mistake. There are ways to undo the mistakes, by reviewing the material or playing at a slower pace, etc. If you already know the song and how to play it the correctly but a mistake somehow creeps in, and you seen not to be able to undo the mistake no matter what you do sometimes it is better not play the piece for a while.

If it's not about knowing your rudiments, or about practice etc it could be motor skills disorder (dyspraxia).

I have always had very mild dyslexia, it hasn't caused me any problems. I didn't have any trouble reading sheet music for the short time I tried to learn the guitar.