Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. of U2 recently opened up on a disability that he has to deal with while playing his instrument.
Counting is extremely important in music if one is a drummer. You have to keep the rhythm and count the bars until the next segment. However, some find this task easier than others.
Speaking to The Times, Mullen Jr. revealed his plight:
“I’ve always known that there’s something not particularly right with the way that I deal with numbers. I’m numerically challenged. And I realized recently that I have dyscalculia, which is a sub-version of dyslexia. So I can’t count [and] I can’t add.”
Dyscalculia falls under learning disabilities. People who suffer from it find all tasks math-related, including telling time and reading music, much harder than a regular person would. Of course, Mullen Jr. has a particular problem playing live. Mullen said that this difficulty explained the “pained” look on his face while drumming and it has been noted by concerned fans of U2, one of the world’s most influential rock bands.
Mullen founded U2 with singer Bono, guitarist the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton while they were at school in Dublin.
“When people watch me play sometimes, they say, ‘You look pained.’ I am pained because I’m trying to count the bars. I had to find ways of doing this – and counting bars is like climbing Everest.”
