Music and Math Integration Ideas for Kids

There are so many great ideas for integrating music into math for elementary students.  Music helps children retain math concepts and with memorizing math facts.  In this blog post (and podcast episode 96) I’ll show you how you can easily integrate math with music.

 

Math Facts

When children learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, for some kids memorizing these facts is difficult.  Saying math facts like a rap is repetitive and helps children retain what they are learning.  When spoken like a rap, it is way more fun then just spouting out answers one at a time.  For example, 1×2=. . 2,  2×4=. . 8, 3×6=. .  18 and so on.  So, the kids would say the 1×2= part like | | | || , the . . part is two beats of silence, and the the answer 2 would be said like |.   The kids would continue on this pattern seeing if they could go all the way through all of the math facts that they are learning for that day.

 

Fractions

In the beginning (and sometimes the middle) of a musical piece, there is a time signature that looks like 3/4.  The top number tells musicians that there will be 3 beats in a measure and the bottom number means the quarter note will get the beat.  When kids learn fractions in a math lesson, they will recognize how each number has a different purpose.

 

Addition and Subtraction

Along with working on memorizing math facts, music will help kids with addition and subtraction.  Each note in music gets a different number of beats and can be used in simple math problems.  For example, a quarter note (1 beat) + a half note (2 beats)= a dotted half note (3 beats).  This will help children not only with math facts, but also remembering how many beats the notes in music get also.  So, not only is music helping in math, math and the other subjects help in music also.

 

Patterns

In math, students learn about patterns.  They may learn about shape patterns like triangle triangle square circle, triangle triangle square circle.  To practice math patterns in music, children can have a pattern like rest quarter note quarter note rest rest, rest quarter note quarter note rest rest.  Students will begin to see how patterns not only happen in math and music, but with any subject or in the world around them.

Number Order

Children practice arranging numbers from lowest to highest and highest to lowest.  To practice number order in music, students can arrange the notes from lowest sounding to highest sounding and highest sounding to lowest sounding.  Like I said earlier, math help with music and music helps with math.  Another way to arrange things from lowest to highest or highest to lowest is by arranging instruments from big to small and small to big.  When students do this, without even knowing it, they are arranging the lowest sounding instruments to the highest sounding instruments since the bigger the instrument the lower the sound.

 

There are many more ideas about music and math integration.  What are some of your favorite ways to integrate music with math or any other subject?

P.S.  Are you feeling frustrated or stuck as an elementary music teacher?  Check out these free resources to help you teach elementary music with confidence!