Does the notion of a math-music connection seem ridiculous? If so, you might be surprised to hear that Science American explains, “learning to play a musical instrument relies on understanding concepts, such as fractions and ratios, that are important for mathematical achievement.”
And yet, many view music and other arts as antithetical to academics. This has created a large chasm between the arts and STEM subjects.
That’s not the case at schools that teach academics through art. These arts-integrated educators understand that – along with other art and academic connections – math and music share fundamental building blocks. And they use these connections to engage their students.
Research Backs It Up
According to numerous studies, a region of the brain known as the anterior corpus callosum is larger in musicians than in non-musicians. Why is this important? Because this area is hypothesized to play a big role in cognitive ability.
In fact, a 2019 study demonstrated that high school students who took music courses performed significantly better than non-musical students on math exams. They also scored higher on English and science exams.
In another study, Stanford researchers used fMRI to look at the brains of trained musicians versus those who didn’t play an instrument. They discovered that musicians could distinguish between similar syllables faster and more accurately than their non-musical counterparts. Thus, from their findings, they theorized that there is a link between musical ability and cognitive ability.
But let’s circle back to math-music connection.
Math and Music Both Use Patterns
The most obvious connection between math and music is rhythm.
Think about one of your favorite songs. Something that’s catchy and upbeat. A song that stays with you. Chances are, if you break that song down into components, it’s comprised of repeating patterns of beats, tunes, and notes. This isn’t by accident. The human brain thrives on these repeating patterns. And it’s part of what makes music so effective.
Every musical piece has a time signature. This is the “rhythmic” information, as it were, about the piece. There’s a top number and a bottom number. The top number indicates the number of beats in a measure. The bottom number shows the note value that receives one beat.
For example, in 4/4 time, there are four beats per measure and a quarter note receives one beat. In 3/4 time, there would be three notes per measure and the quarter note receives one beat. It gets more complicated with something like 6/8 time where there are six eighth notes per measure, grouped into two groups of three with the eight note receiving one beat.
On paper, it may not make sense to you. That’s okay. Because this is the beauty of learning math through music. For many creatively minded young people, getting an instrument in their hands is a natural way to make sense of math. In this case, fractions.
But it goes beyond that.
Frequency of Sound Is Also Related to Math
Sound is a vibrational wave. The number of vibrations per second is the frequency and in music, it refers to how many times a note plays in a time frame. Sound oscillates with a certain frequency, and for each frequency, there is a different note. There is also a scale that consists of pitches with fixed repetition. This is known as an octave (eight notes).
Nevertheless, when you watch a musical performance, you probably see nothing more than musicians brought together to play their instruments. But the composer of said music has sculpted that piece using ratios and fractions to keep it mathematically intact.
So composers are, in their own right, mathematicians.
They have to understand fractions in order to divide a whole musical note into parts — halves, quarters, eighths, sixteenths, etc. They also have to use ratios to create, understand, and then perform their music.
It may sound complicated on paper, but in the context of a well-executed arts-integrated curriculum, the math-music connection is a hands-on approach to help kids make sense of math.
Is It Time for Your Child to Experience the Math-Music Connection?
If your child believes that being creative means he or she will never understand math, then it’s time to look into an arts-integrated education.
Arts Academy in the Woods not only takes advantage of the math-music connection, but the entire curriculum focuses on teaching academics through all of the arts.
So contact us today to request a tour of our school. And give your artistic child the opportunity to explore academics in a whole new way.