The Connection Between Music and Math
by Nigel Joneston
http://www.fvgmusic.com
More and more studies are being done that find a strong
connection between music and math. Part of this connection
is the patterns that exist between math, language, and
music. Music is a series of notes that are played according
to a pattern that has been established. Math works in much
the same way. Although there are many ways that can you add,
multiply, subtract, and divide numbers, the ultimate
combination is still finite.
The same can be said about music. Notes can be combined in
an endless variety of groupings but the number of notes and
sounds that exist are finite. It is these patterns and
combinations that make music and math very similar. Our
brain seems to process the data from music and math much
differently than it computes other information that is
derived from other forms of the thought process.
Babies are attracted to the spoken work when it sounds
rhythmic and melodic. Talk to a baby in a normal tone of
voice and then change your words to a nursery rhyme that has
melodic and bold sounding words throughout. You may find
that the baby pays more attention to you when you are saying
words that have a poetic, mathematical stride to them much
more than when your words are mundane and spoken in a normal
tone of voice.
Small children love to listen to music that has patterns and
repetitive lines to it. This is because their brain is
computing the music message in way that catches their
interest and makes them think. And the more ways in which
children are taught to think, the more they will learn and
absorb.
Many young children will make their own music with anything
that they can get their hands on. If you listen to the
sounds that they are making you'll always find some sort of
a pattern emerging. It is this ability to make patterns out
of random sounds that influences how well the child will do
at math skills later in life.
As a child grows it's important to continue to have music as
a part of their life. Studies show that children who are
active in music, whether playing an instrument or listening
to a wide variety of music, do better in math. This is
because their brains have developed in such a way that they
are able to discern patterns and repetition among the
musical notes.
Math is essentially the following of known patterns to
arrive at a conclusion. Once you know that formula to find
the answer, such as the simple formula of addition or the
more complex formula of determining the degrees of an angle,
you'll be able to use that pattern to get that answer.
The connection between music and math works both ways: those
children who do well in math class are also extremely
successful when it comes to playing an instrument and
reading musical notes. The combination of both these skills
can lead to better overall performance in school.
The music also seems to have benefits that include
everything from learning of language to improving math
skills. Putting music into our lives from an early age, such
as birth onwards, seem to give an advantage that can't be
disputed. More and more studies confirm that there truly is
a connection between music and math.
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