Activities in Math and Music

1. Students share their favorite music and offer info on genre, style, lyrics, and shy it is their favorite.
2. Find some Math and Music websites that can serve as resources in the unit.
3. Read excerpts from Math and Music: Harmonious Connections. by Trudi Hammel Garland and Charity Vaughan Kahn, Dale Seymour, 1995. There are 8 chapters, each taking a specific aspect of music. Chapter 8, The Curiosities, is full of connections between music and math.
4. The day before Thanksgiving break when classes were 20 minutes we had a drum circle to learn the types of time signatures and how they are played.
5. Create a series of questions that deal with music and math (sound waves, The Mozart Effect, acoustics, how sound is created and heard, how recording studios work, etc.) and research them. Present to the class.
6. One of the musicians in the class (who was also in AP Music Theory) took Chapter 4 (The Tune) from Garland’s book and explained to the class The Circle of Fifths, and the arrangement of keys, octaves, and chords on a keyboard.
7. Create your own song that connects math and music. EC if you create your own music, too!