Math and Music, Music and Math

              When I began high school, I had no idea what to expect when entering separate classrooms based on subject.  When I first entered my Grade 9 Math class, I distinctly recall being told that music and math work on opposite sides of the brain and that if we strategically use math and music together, we will be more successful in remembering key mathematical concepts.  It was an interesting way to start off the year, but to this day I will never forget that math class and the concepts that I did in fact remember due to the magic of music. 

            Throughout that semester we would learn topics in an interactive and engaging manner, and every now and then would be taught a song that explicitly represented a math concept.  How can a Grade 9 student deny the humour in singing a math song together with a class of 60 students and two co-teachers, about how “I’m a negative exponent and I’ll tell you more, move the whole power to a different floor” to the tune of I’m a Little Teapot?  Who could ever forget a rhyming country themed song about how to solve for the unknown in an algebraic problem?

            Firstly, I think that it is funny how I still remember these two songs to this day.  Secondly, I think it is funny that to this day, whenever I do mathematical work whether it is for a University Math or Chemistry course, I thrive off of getting through the work while listening to music.  I thoroughly enjoy “rocking out” to my favourite songs while completing numerical problems.  I have fun while doing this and sometimes find that I get the work done more efficiently with the music.

            All in all, I think that music makes a big difference in math and I truly believe that the incorporation of music into the math class can engage and benefit a wide range of students.