Music and Math

MUSIC

We're rather fond of music in our family.   All kinds of music.  DH has a large collection of vinyl records and music CD's and is slowly converting it all to digital media.   Our kids grew up listening to all types of music, classical, 70's classics, jazz, country, and their own favorites from the 80's.  We like to sing.  We sang almost every day in Joy School, most of us have sung in the choir at church, DH sang with a community choir for many years, and many of the kids sang in the school choirs too. 

We bought a small electronic keyboard shortly after we were married, and later were able to purchase an old second hand piano from some neighbors who were moving.   I had taken piano lessons for about ten years while growing up, so even though I'm not an accomplished musician, I was able to teach our kids the basics, and encouraged them to practice each day when they could.

We did leave this piano behind with another family when we moved across the country, but soon inherited a full sized keyboard from my sister's family, so the children could continue to practice.  Several of the kids took piano lessons for a year or two from a neighbor who plays better than I, and the others have practiced enough on their own that they can all do fairly well with hymns or other simple pieces.  I certainly have not been a very good enforcer of daily practice for my kids, but I am happy that they have all had an interest and a drive to learn as much as they have.  Participating in music can be a source of joy throughout your life.  Just a few years ago I inherited my parent's piano, the one that I had learned to play on.  It is one of my most prized possessions, even though it now needs a major over-hall to get it back in proper playing condition. 



We have also encouraged the kids to learn another instrument in addition to the piano and to join the band or orchestra at their schools.  We have two who play the violin, one the viola, one learned flute, one clarinet, and one trumpet.   Some played for more years than others, and most of them have also participated in the school choirs.   Some years we were able to enjoy three or four Christmas concerts during the holiday season, and others in the fall and in the spring.  I miss the days of attending school
concerts!

MATH

Our family also has more of a fondness for Math than most.  I did fairly well in Math when I was in school, but it was never my favorite subject.  On the other hand, both DH and DS1 have a great love for math.   As a mother it was exciting to see my son grasp the concepts of numbers and addition and multiplication before he was old enough to begin school and it has been exciting to see his progress and work throughout his school years.  All of our children have done well in their math classes, and their rather extensive study of  math has been beneficial for each one of them. 

Have you ever done a google search on music and math?   The results will give you enough reading and listening material for days!  For starters you can check out these articles: 
Correlation between music and math  and   Connection between music and math.

I'm definitely not an expert, but I do know that there are many very interesting mathematical concepts basic to music, and I am firmly convinced that the early study of music lends to a greater understanding of math and many other academic subjects too!  It saddens me to see the time and funding set aside for music education in the public schools as one of the first subjects to be cut.   For me one of the daily joys of my life is listening to our local public classical radio stations, and I'm grateful that it is still sending the joy out over the airways every single day. 

How have music and math enriched your life?