Music is Math
Aug 13, 2019“I would teach children music, physics and philosophy, But most importantly music. For in the patterns of music and all the arts are the keys to learning.” - Plato
Growing up, I believed I was “bad” at math. My name never made it on the “Mad Math” wall in my second grade classroom as my peers were passing off timed memorized addition and subtraction facts. Seeing a blank sheet of multiplication or division problems can still send me into a mild panic attack. I faltered and flailed my way through year after year of confusing and frustrating math classes, until my seventh grade band teacher pointed out something that changed my world. “Music is math,'' he told us. I knew I was good at music, I understood the relationships between notes and rhythms and how it all fits together. If I could be good at music, I could also be good at math. I stopped fearing numbers and started seeing them as notes, lyrics, and patterns.
There is a growing body of research on the relationship between early music education and learning. Musical experiences in early childhood can accelerate brain development, especially in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills, can improve mathematical learning and even increase SAT scores. Research also indicates that active music making stimulates areas of brain development and has a high likelihood to influence children's success in other, non-musical, tasks.
While the depth of an entire field of research is probably too much to dive into for this simple article, anecdotal evidence certainly provides us with plenty of support that exposure and participation in music has a positive influence on development. Ask the parent of a high achieving young adult and you will likely hear that music has played some role in their upbringing. Ask a music educator and they will talk at length about the ways that their students have reached academic and professional accomplishments that extend well beyond singing or playing an instrument.
Research is how we understand and measure our world, however the musical experience is so much more than a concept to be studied. Music exposes us to a wealth of emotions, memories, and experiences. It causes us to laugh, to cry, to connect, to learn about ourselves and the world around us. Music tells a story. When we move our bodies, use our voices, play an instrument or actively immerse ourselves in a musical environment, how can these things NOT contribute to our growth and well being? Positive experiences associated with enjoying music support social and emotional development, securing music making as a well-rounded and comprehensive learning experience for all of us.
Music truly is one of the building blocks of learning. It took me from a confused and intimidated second grader that struggled to memorize basic facts to an adult that can still, to this day, recite the Quadratic Equation to the tune of “Pop, Goes the Weasel”. The benefits of musical learning begin at birth, and are reinforced over time. So, let’s make the world a little more musical for our children. Providing opportunities to experience and participate in music making, at home and in our educational settings, encourages us ALL to grow.
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