Math and Music?

How do math and music relate to each other? At first glance you would think that they do not have much in common as they play very different roles in our society. But it turns out they are more closely related than many think. Music often has mathematical characteristics and, more importantly, the artistic aspect of music can be found in math. 

For many, math is a disconnected set of facts and rules you had to memorize for that math test in school and then quickly forgot. It is a subject thought of as abstract, cold, and soulless. 

Music, on the other hand, is full of emotion, warm feelings, and life. It is a way of expression familiar to anyone who has sung a note, pressed a key on a piano, or clapped along with Miss Jenn to the hello song at Kindermusik. 

It can be easy to see aspects of mathematics in music such as rhythm and pitch, but it is more difficult to see any musicality in math. The strong order and rigidity in math does not seem to fit with an artistic pattern. 

However, there are different aspects which indicate this relationship. Research has proved that children playing the piano often show improved reasoning skills like those applied to solving jigsaw puzzles, playing chess, or conducting mathematical deductions. 

 

Other studies have also found that math test scores for preschool-age students rose for those who received instruction in piano, rhythm or singing. The students who studied rhythm had the biggest gains. Rhythm is, after all, the subdivision of a beat. It's about ratios and proportions, the relationship between a part and a whole -- all material from math classes.

So even if singing and learning an instrument won’t help with your calculus homework, the underlying “Number Sense” and visualization that come from math share roots in music. Developing that intuitive sense of pattern, rhythm, counting, and the relationships between notes and numbers all flow together. 

- Posted by Dan Gehlbach

 

Many thanks to Dan, who is the owner and Center Director of Mathnasium Learning Center in West Des Moines. He is also a veteran Kindermusik dad of a 4 year old and 18 month old.