Music is organized in mathematical ways: its melodies, rhythms, and harmonies are built on recurring mathematical patterns and sequences. To children, music is play in every sense of the word. In addition, early experiences with music that are successful and fun prepare children to be successful in other areas of learning, particularly math.

Research suggests a connection between children's early music experiences and their math abilities. A 1994 study by Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw, and their colleagues measured the effects of music lessons on three year olds. They found that children who received voice and keyboard lessons scored between eight and ten points higher on IQ tests that measured spatial-temporal skills — important components of mathematical reasoning (Rauscher, 1995).

Another study conducted in 1998 by the same group of researchers followed preschool children who received piano keyboard lessons for six months. The children in the piano group showed impressive gains in their performance on spatial-temporal reasoning tasks. However, the children in control groups receiving other kinds of instruction (including a computer group) did not significantly improve. According to Temple Grandin, Matthew Peterson, and Gordon Shaw (1998), these findings suggest that math and science concepts that are difficult to teach can be acquired by children at an early age by using spatial-temporal reasoning in music experiences. Such early music instruction can "enhance the 'hardware' in the brain for spatial-temporal reasoning" (p. 1).

These are just a few examples of evidence that music directly and consistently enhances mathematical thinking, particularly abstract reasoning skills, in young children. Educators and researchers who have tried to explain how music boosts children's math abilities suggest that it has to do both with the nature of music and the ways our brains are organized. "What is it about music that seems to jump-start our brains, especially when it comes to math-related subjects? Experts say that maybe it is because music never stands still. Whether you are playing an instrument or listening to the radio, you are constantly being challenged to process and make sense of the tune and rhythm," says Cynthia Allegrezza (1999, p. 2).

Neuroscientists and psychologists who have authored studies on music and the mind believe that this intellectual response to music is inborn. Even at infancy, the brain is specifically wired to receive, process, and learn from the highly ordered patterns of sound in music. According to Eric Jensen (1995), "Many preschool teachers would agree that songs, movement, and games are superb neurological exercises. Dee Coulter, director of Cognitive Studies at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado believes strongly in the relationship between patterns found in music and those necessary for proper neurological development. She's found that the combination of auditory and kinesthetic stimuli and teaching approaches make for strong development in language, social skills, self-management, and internal dialogue" (p. 42).

Math and Music:
What Teachers Can Do

As research reacquaints us with the many benefits of music, we need to be careful not to take music instruction too far with preschoolers. As early childhood educators we know how important it is to meet the children where they are and support them through age-appropriate learning experiences. We should avoid teaching children the fundamentals of music in an overly formal way. Instead, we should provide opportunities for children to explore the world of music in their own way and in their own time. It's important to keep this principle in mind as we set up our classrooms and plan for music activities in the daily routine.

To set the stage for music learning, each classroom needs a music area where there are rhythm instruments such as tambourines, jingle bells, drums, and maracas, and melodic instruments such as melody bells, step bells, and xylophones. Children need opportunities to use these instruments during times of day when they initiate their own activities (such as work time, choice time, or play time) as well as during teacher-planned small- and large-group times.

As we work with children throughout the day there are many music activities that we can provide to develop the music-math connection in very natural ways. The next section of this article describes music and movement experiences that strengthen the following important areas
of mathematical thinking for preschoolers: number, classification, seriation, time, and memory skills.

Classification, Number, and Seriation

>> Next Page