Connection between Music and Mathematics

The relationship between math and music extends to many elements of both, and studying one can lead to success in the other. If nothing else, the connection is an interesting one to explore.

Math and music are two entirely different fields of study, but there is a strong correlation between them. At some point, they tend to overlap, and it is common for people good at math to be good at music. It may seem illogical to compare the two, but there are more similarities between math and music than you would imagine and you can use numbers and mathematical principles to teach or learn music.

What connects music and math?

Music involves creating patterns of sound, whereas Mathematics is the study of patterns. Research has found out that popular pieces of music have definite mathematical structures that are less evident in others. These patterns appeal to our innate desire for mathematical rhythm and patterns.

Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato believed in the existence of a solid connection between music and mathematics and included music as a genre of mathematics.

It is said that Pythagoras formed the connection between music and math when he heard a smith hammering the anvil. He found out that they formed harmonious beats because of the order of the weights which were being hit. They were in the ratio 6,8,9 and 12 pounds, which formed Do, Fa, Sol, Do of the music scale.

The beats which make up music are periodic in nature. Creating appealing beats involves the generation of notes with the right mathematical combination and changing frequencies and periodicity. A musical scale consists of a discrete set of pitches, having a repetition interval called an octave. The relation between the pitches is an important determining factor in the creation of music.

Melody is made up of waves and mathematically, a perfect melody, when graphed makes a sine wave. It is known that a sine wave is the most perfect wave and can be made only in the laboratory or by a tuning fork –  which is evident even in the movement of the tongs when it is vibrating.

Universally, it is found that humans love music involving smaller ratios of frequency between two notes, the gap being called the interval. The double helix structure of the DNA is twisted in the ratio 2:3. This proportion resonates the fifth – a popular interval, as anyone having musical knowledge would know. This structure, I believe, is what binds humans to music.

Studying music, thus, is made more effective by studying the underlying mathematical concepts such as geometry, combinatorics, trigonometry and differential calculus.

Where Math and Music Meet in the Brain

Some research finds that music activates the same areas of the brain that subjects use while solving spatial-temporal reasoning problems. Based on extensive research and knowledge that certain types and frequencies of sound are processed by the two hemispheres of the brain differently, using specific music and sounds may help to stimulate one hemisphere more than the other and possibly create more balance in the brain. As such, listening to music could improve a student's cognition and ability to learn math skills.  As such, listening to music could improve a student's cognition and ability to learn math skills. As recently as 2012, one study showed that listening to music during a math test could improve performance by 40 percent.

Listening to Music May Improve Math Skills and Cognition

A considerable amount of research suggests that listening to music may improve cognitive skills. More recent studies show that the Mozart Effect, as it is known, has very little to do with listening to Mozart and more to do with listening to music that activates a certain portion of the brain. Classical music and minor tones for the right side, upbeat and major tones for the left side. Over the years, Dr. Robert Melillo has worked with a composer to develop a line of music that specifically addresses strengthening each hemisphere.

Performing Music Teaches Valuable Lessons to Students

While listening to enjoyable music may improve cognition and math skills, performing music offers more advantages. Learning music improves math skills because, at some level, all music is math. It's about time signatures, beats per minute and formulaic progressions. Performing music, therefore, reinforces parts of the brain used when doing math. Studies even show that children who play instruments are able to complete complex mathematical problems better than peers who do not play instruments.

Students who commit themselves to learn an instrument may also learn other skills that help them perform better in school. It takes a considerable amount of patience to practice scales, and children who apply similar patience to doing schoolwork will have an advantage over those who don't. Fine motor skills are also improved by playing musical instruments.

Taking time to appreciate music is a reward on its own. For the teachers and parents trying to help children succeed, that time could also improve math and academic skills.