The Magical World of Music

and Math
Math 1030 Final Project

Barbara Kobs

Barbara Kobs
Math 1030-003
Thomas Sanborn
Final Paper Draft #1

The Magical World of Music

Have you ever driven down the road and seen the person next to you jamming and
singing to their favorite tune? Or have you ever listened to music while tapping your fingers on
the steering wheel to the beat of the song? Have you noticed while watching a movie the music
in the background? Or my favorite is watching a YouTube video of a little baby twerking to the
rhythm of a popular Taylor Swift song. We have all probably been subjected to all of these
situations. Did you know that while youre listening or dancing to your favorite tune, you are
actually listening to math? Yes, really you are!
Music is a natural way for making people wave, stomp and clap to the song they are
listening too. What we are really doing while tapping our fingers is tapping out a beat which is
made up of numbers , 4/4 etc. Not many people ever think about how much music has to do
with mathematics. When you think of Math you think of symbols and numbers and music also
has to do with symbols and numbers too. Music and math both use basic concepts or rules that
remain constant, no matter what action are being performed; music and math both use shapes,
patterns, and numbers. In the book written by Charity Kahn, Math and Music Harmonious
Connections Kahn states, Music gives beauty another dimension to mathematics by giving life
and emotion to the numbers and patterns.
At an early age I learned how to play the accordion, but the instrument became too heavy and
big for me so I moved onto a bigger and heavier instrument; the piano. In later years, a few other
instruments joined the group. Music has always been inspirational and can change my moods, I
can always find a song to go with how I am feeling. Throughout my teen years and later I did a
lot of singing in special groups. As I look back I have loved those highlights in my life. A couple
of months ago, I had a growth that was removed from my voice box, so far my singing days are
over, which has saddened me. Music is my life blood, and I always have a song in my heart. For
me it is not so much the listening to music as it is the playing and singing of the song at the
moment. Through this project I have come to realize how much math is intertwined with music,
one cannot be without the other. This paper is only a brief reflection on the beginnings of music
and how it is connected to math.
The Beginning and the Father of Numbers:

During the time of Ancient Greeks, mathematics and music were immensely related.
Music was considered as a strictly mathematical discipline handling the relationship of numbers,
ratios, and proportions. One of the first people to make the connection between math and music
was Pythagoras, a famous philosopher and mathematician. The Pythagorean Theorem; it is what
he is known best for and why he is called the father of numbers. Pythagorean himself and his
students believed that everything related to mathematics and through mathematics could be
predicted and measured in rhythmic patterns or cycles. The Pythagoreans were musicians as
well as mathematicians. He wanted to improve the music of his day, which he believed was not
harmonious enough.
Do you know how Pythagoras discovered music? It is said that he first discovered musical
notes that could be translated later into mathematical equations was when he passed blacksmiths
at work. He thought the sounds emanating from the anvils being hit were not only beautiful, but
harmonious. He supposed that whatever scientific rule caused this to happen must be
mathematical and that he could apply it to music. He revealed how this happened by looking at
their tools and realized it was because the anvils were ratios to each other; one was half the size
of the first, another was 2/3 and so on. They also discovered that integers corresponded to
musical notes; any vibrating object makes overtones and harmonies together. The series of notes
were: 1/5, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 etc.
The fundamental musical concept is probably that of the octave. A musical note is a
vibration of something and if you double the number of vibrations you get an octave higher. If
you half the number it will be an octave lower. Two notes together are called an interval; three
or more is a chord. An octave is an interval common to all music in the world. Frequently
people cannot even distinguish between notes an octave apart, but hear them as the same. The
concept of octave and the number 2 are closely related.

The piano keyboard is made up of 88 keys, of which 52 are white keys and 32 are
black keys. When striking each succeeding keys it produces a tone particular frequency that is
higher than the tone produced by striking the preceding key by a set interval called a semitone.
The frequencies increase from left to right. A pattern is produced while striking the keys of a

Key Name

Key number

Frequency
(Hz)

A0

27,500

A0#

29,135

B0

30,868

C1

32,703

C1#

34,648

D1

36,708

D1#

38,891

E1

41,203

F1

43,654

F1#

10

46,249

G1

11

48,999

G1#

12

51,913

A1
13
55,000
keyboard. The frequencies of the pitches produced by striking the piano keys can be modeled by
an exponential regression function, or a geometric sequence. The pitch of each note has a related
frequency calculated physically in Hz (hertz) or cycles per second. There are numerous
mathematical associations between the notes played in music and the occurrence of those notes.
As you can see on the chart to the left shows the key name, key number, and frequency in hertz.

Music is made up of sound, which is made of repeated sound waves. Rhythm measures
time. A physically measure is the space between two bar lines of a music staff; they denote the
division of time by which air and movement of music are regulated. Rhythm is created when
you play chords or the same notes; there are many different ways to achieve rhythm in music.

Fibonacci mathematician of the middle ages

Another mathematical relationship in music is scales, chords and the notes themselves. The
greatest European Mathematician of the Middle Ages, was Leonardo of Pisa he is better
known as Fibonacci. He introduced the decimal system into Europe, he was instrumental in
changing the way we write numbers, going from Roman numerals (can you imagine doing math
with Roman numerals?) To the positional system we use today and the symbol for zero. He
gave us the Additive rules, the Subtractive rules, decimal positional system and Algorithm.
Fibonacci numbers have been cited in films, television shows, novels, and songs. Fibonacci
series appears in every aspect of life including music. This series for music goes as follows:

A scale is composed of 8 notes, which the 3rd and 5th notes create the basic foundation of
all chords.

There are 13 notes in the span of any note through what we call an octave.

Based on a tone which are combined of 2 steps and 1 step from the root tone is the 1st
note on the scale.

The scale on piano keyboard is from C to C and has 13 keys, 5 black keys and 8 white keys.
They are split into groups of 2 and 3. Some people might say that there are only 12 notes in the
scale, but if you dont have a root and an octave, in reality a start and an end, you have no means

of calculating the gradations in between.

The 13th note, known as the octave is
critical and crucial to computing the
frequencies of other notes. The word
octave is referring to the eight tones for the
complete musical scale which are in the
key of C. The eight tones go as follows: CD-E-F-G-A-B-C. In a scale, the dominant
note is the 5th note of the major scale. This
is an added bonus to Fibonacci numbers to musical relationships. For example: the typical three
chord song in the key of A is made up of A, its Fibonacci partner E, and D to which bears the
same relationship as E does to A. This is what you might know and heard of the A is to B as B
is to C. E is 3 notes below A and D is 3 notes above. The chart to the left shows an example of a
chromatic scale of what we just were talking about.
Notes in the scale are based on natural harmonics that are created by ratios of frequencies.
Ratios found in the first seven numbers of the Fibonacci Series are (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8) are related
to the key frequencies of musical notes. Below is a chart showing the calculated frequency that
starts with 440 and applies the Fibonacci relationships.

Fibonac
ci
Ratio

Calculat
ed
Frequen
cy

Tempere
d
Frequen
cy

Not
Musical
e in
Relationsh
Scal
ip
e

1/1

440

440.00

Root

432

216

864

2/1

880

880.00

Octave

864

432

1728

2/3

293.33

293.66

Fourth

288

144

576

2/5

176

174.62

Aug Fifth

172.8

86.4

345.6

3/2

660

659.26

Fifth

648

324

1296

3/5

264

261.63

Minor
Third

259.2

129.6

518.4

When
A=432
*

Octa Octav
ve
e
below above

3/8

165

164.82

Fifth

162 (Ph
i)

81

324

5/2

1,100.00

1,108.72

C#

Third

1080

540

2160

5/3

733.33

740.00

F#

Sixth

720

360

1440

5/8

275

277.18

C#

Third

270

135

540

8/3

1,173.33

1,174.64

Fourth

1152

576

2304

8/5

704

698.46

Aug. Fifth

691.2

345.6

1382.
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How Music affects your Mathematical ability

There are several signs that support the positive effects of music on ones ability to do
mathematics. Research shows that when children are musically trained from a young age, they
improve their math skills. Studies done with children show their academic performance increases
after a certain period of music training and or education. A research study that was published in
the journal Nature showed groups of first graders were given music instruction in skill
development and musical games that involved pitch and rhythm. After some time passed
approximately six months, the students scored considerably higher in math than the students who
received traditional music instruction. The Mozarts Effect is the effect of music on math. This
effect gain its name after the discovery that listening to Mozarts compositions, which is very
sequential, produces a short-termed enhancement of spatial-temporal reasoning. There are three
key reasoning that are used in spatial temporal reasoning they are:
1. Symmetries of the inherent cortical firing patterns used to compare physical and
mental images
2. The transformation and relating of mental images in space and time.
3. Natural temporal sequences of those inherent cortical patterns.
The Mozart Effect experiment suggests that spatial temporal reasoning is very crucial to
mathematics. Some of the areas would include: geometry, calculus, and higher mathematical

aspects. Music targets one specific area of the brain to stimulate the use of spatial temporal
reasoning, which is useful in
mathematical thinking. As you listen to
music, certain neurons in the cortex

music or make
of your brain start firing. The pathways

created are the same pathways that

are

used when you complete complex

spatial

reasoning tasks. The more of these

pathways that are forged and the more they

are in

use, the stronger the connections

become. Strong connections lead to easier access, which translates into better skills. The chart
to the right shows how music can not only influence our mathematic abilities but also in other
areas of study. This chart shows the average test scores in 4 categories of study including: Math,
Reading, Science and Social Studies. Notice that with music, it improves the test scores in each
subject. How can you not have music and math in your life?
Conclusion
From the very beginning of life we have been surrounded by sounds, and rhythm which
in turn translates into math. Math is all around us in our daily lives. Most of us do not realize that
math is with us always. No matter where you turn math is right there. In the grocery store, the
doctors office, at home or at school. You cannot get away from it. The same with music, with
the use of modern technology we are able to download our favorite song, and listen to music
whenever the mood strikes us.
We as humans seem to be able to relate to the tones, rhythms, and patterns that we hear in
music and math, and it can have many positive effects on us as listeners. One might say how
does music relate to math? I believe as Thelonious Monk says, All musicians are
subconsciously mathematicians.

Work Cited
Garland, Trudi H., and Charity V. Kahn, 1995, Math and Music: Harmonious Connections, Palo
Alto, Dale Seymour Publications
McClain, Ernest G., 1978, the Pythagorean Plato, Main, Nicolas-Hays Inc.
Reid, Harvey, 1995, On Mathematics and Music,
http://www.woodpecker.com/articles/math+music.html (1998, September 30).
Zhan, Cindy. The Correlation between Music and Math: A Neurobiology Perspective. 2002
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu

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