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Childhood Education
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Music Makes Math Meaningful

a b c
R. Jill Edelson & Gretchen Johnson
a
Teacher Education Department , SUNY College at Old Westbury , Old Westbury ,
New York , USA
b
Big Chief Nursery School and Kindergarten , East Meadow , New York , USA
c
Department of Childhood Education , City College of the City University of New
York , USA
Published online: 04 Sep 2012.

To cite this article: R. Jill Edelson & Gretchen Johnson (2003) Music Makes Math Meaningful, Childhood Education,
80:2, 65-70, DOI: 10.1080/00094056.2004.10521259

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2004.10521259

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 R. Jill Edetsan and
Gretchen Johnson t
R. Jill Edelson is Assistant
Professor, Teacher Education
Department, SUNY College at Old
Westbury, Old Westbury, New
Music Makes
York, and a consultant and music
specialist at Big Chief Nursery
School and Kindergarten, East
Meadow, New York. Gretchen
Math Meaningful
Johnson is Associate Professor
and Chair, Department of Child-
hood Education, City College of
the City University of New York.

T
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oday, everything seems to be interconnected. In the education

community, "interdisciplinary" teaching is the latest buzzword. While
good early childhood teachers have been teaching in an interdisciplinary
manner for years, there is one combination that could be strengthened:
math and music.
By integrating mathematics and music, teachers will be able to help
children achieve national and state learning standards in mathematics as
well as the creative arts. For example, the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics (NCTM) (2000) calls for teachers to help children make math- While good
ematical connections in contexts outside of mathematics. Also, components
of appropriate practice for young children, as defined by the National early childhood
Association for the Education of Young Children (Bredekamp & Copple,
1997), state that math needs to be integrated with songs; children need to teachers have
understand notation, rhythm, and explore their relationships; children need
to have daily opportunities for aestheticexpressionsand appreciation through been teaching in
art and music; and children need to learn from self-directed problem solving
and experimentation. an interdisciplinary
The connections between music and math are ever-present. Brain re-
searcher Eric Jensen, when asked about the arts and education, stated that manner for years,
"music is a part of all of us, and it's critical to us as learners to develop
pattern-making," adding that math skills tend to be stronger in students who there is one
have a music background (D'Arcangelo, 1998, p. 25). Using music to
enhance a curriculum, such as math, enriches the environment for children, combination t h a t
creates an atmosphere free of undue pressure and stress and infused with
a degree of pleasurable intensity, promotes exploration and the fun of could be
learning, and allows the child to be an active participant rather than a passive
observer (Diamond & Hobson, 1998). strengthened:
Teachers can use music to enhance children's pleasure and understanding
of difficult mathematics concepts and skills. Children need active, experi- math and music.
ential learning experiences in meaningful contexts to develop complex
thinking skills and problem solving. Grandin, Peterson, and Shaw (1998)
state that music enhances spatial-temporal reasoning skills, which are cru-
cial to learning proportional reasoning and geometry skills. Rauscher et al.
(1997)found that music promotes the development of such thinking skills
as recognizing patterns and using logic. This type of thinking is essential for
mathematics and science.

WINTER2003/04 + 65
 Pattern Activities photo #l).Ask the children to describe what they see
The idea of pattern is a powerful one that not only is on the graph.
essential to mathematics and music, it also cuts across Learning Symbols: Notes and Rests. Symbols are
all other curriculum areas. Pattern work prepares important in math, and this is a friendly, active way to
children for the patterns they will encounter in the introduce new symbols. Present two musical sym-
number system, such as alternating odd and even bols-quarter notes and quarter rests-that can be
numbers. In music, children find patterns in the re- displayed in a pattern on individual cards on a
peated melodies, refrains, or rhythms of a song. A window sill, on the tray of a chalkboard, or on the
pattern is an arrangement of elements that repeats floor (see photo #2). Have the children practice
according to a rule. Work with patterns enhances clapping when they see a note and spreading their
children's thinking and reasoning skills, because they arms wide for a rest. Subsequently, the children can
must: 1)analyze the pattern to figure out the rule, 2) arrange the symbol cards in various ways for the class
communicate the rule in words, and 3 ) predict what to "play," using clapping and arm movements.
will come next in the pattern. In addition, children also Two-element Pattern. Introduce two kinds of
can learn to translate a pattern. When children trans- rhythm instruments. These rhythm instruments
late a pattern, they refer to the same rule but express make their sounds either by being shaken (bells,
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the pattern using a different medium or materials. maracas, tambourine) or by being hit (triangles,
Thus a one, two, one, two pattern can become a skip, sticks, wood blocks). Hand out instruments to six
jump, skip, jump pattern. The rule is the same-there children, asking each child to tell how his/her in-
are two elements that alternate-but the number strument makes a sound. Help the children to ar-
pattern has been translated into a series of physical range themselves in a pattern of shake, hit, shake,
movements. hit. Repeat the activity with other children, and ask
Name Patterns. Demonstrate how to use beats on a them to create new patterns.
drum to represent the syllables in a first name, begin- Listening for Changes in a Musical Pattern. Have
ning with your own. Take the class attendance using the children listen to music (e.g., "The Syncopated
the drum, and have the children listen carefully to each Clock" by Leroy Anderson). Demonstrate, with a
child's name to see who might share sound patterns. wood block, the steady tick-tock of the clock, and then
"Hello, Jane" (strike once on the drum as you say the have the children raise their hands when they hear a
name). "Hello, Hen-ry" (strike twice on the drum). change in the pattern of the music.
"Hello, Jen-ni-fer" (strike 3 times). "Hello, Al-ex-an-
der" (strike 4 times). Beat one, two, three, or four beats Serial Order
on the drum and ask children to group themselves Deepening the Concept of Serial Order W i t h Sound.
together when they hear the number of drum beats A musical scale is an example of serial order, with
that corresponds to the number of syllables in their sounds arranged according to pitch. Using a xylo-
names. The children then can decide which group (or phone or piano, demonstrate the changes in pitch by
set) is the largest or the smallest. going up or down a scale.
TransIating a Pattern. This activity is designed to Serial OrderFrorn Lowest t o Highest. Here's a game
help children translate a pattern from one medium to that children love, and it's a "magical" way to calm a
another; for example, from sound to visual. Strike a class. Sing and play "The Jack in the Box," playing
name pattern on the drum; when the children with that and/or singing a different tone for each line of the
name pattern stand up, give each child an index card song. The children get down on the floor on all fours
on which his or her sound pattern is represented by and curl up, hiding their eyes. At the highest note
"bumps"-one bump for a one-syllable name, two ("Yes"), they bounce up.
bumps for a two-syllable name, etc. Have the children
arrange themselves into a one-bump, two-bump, one- Jack in the box
bump, two-bump pattern. One child can strike the Still ns n iiioiise
sound pattern with the drum while the other children Deep dozoii inside liis
clap their hands. Then, ask the children to suggest new Little zoliite house
patterns. Jack in tlze box
Graphing Sound Patterns. Children exchange their Still as can be
bump card for a colored Post-it note (e.g., yellow for Will lie pop out?
one syllable, blue for two syllables, pink for three Yes! LetS see!
syllables, and green for four syllables), and place their
Post-it notes on a large sheet of paper on the wall; thus, Songs and Visuals To Reinforce the Concept of
the children can prepare a graph from the data (see Serial Order. The song "The Old Lady Who Swal-

66 0 CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION
 lowed a Fly" illustratp serial order in two ways. The
old lady swallows the animals in order, from first to
second, to third, to fourth . . . all the way to eighth.
Another pattern exists in that she swallows the small-
est animal first and then swallows increasingly larger
ones. If visuals such as posters are used, the children
can discuss both kinds of serial order when the song is
finished (see photo #3).

Comparing Cardinal
and Ordinal Numbers
Songs originally written to include cardinal numbers
(one, two, three, four), such as "Five Little Chicka-
dees," can be adapted to include ordinal numbers.
Have five children come to the front of the room. Have
the class sing the song with cardinal numbers. On the
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second line of the chorus, touch one child, who then

"flies away." Deliberately mix up the order of the
children you choose, to reinforce the idea that when
using cardinal numbers, it doesn't matter which object
we take away; we are still subtracting one and getting
the same result. Then switch to the ordinal number
version of the same song. This time, on the second
line of the chorus, touch the first child in line, then
the second child, etc. After the song is finished,
discuss the difference between the two songs. With
ordinal numbers, the order does matter. If the chicka-
dees are lined up in a row, only one chickadee is the
first in line, only one is the second in line, etc. The
following song is the cardinal version, with the ordinal
Photo # 1: Graphing of names.
version in parentheses.

Five little chickadees sitting near the door,

One (thefirst)flewaway and then there were four.
CHORUS
Chickadee,chickadee, happy and gay,
Chickadee, chickadee,fly, f l y away.
Four little chickadees sitting near a
tree,
One (the second) Jew away and then
there were three.
CHORUS
Three little chickadees looking at you.
One (the third) flew away and then
there were two.
CHORUS
Two little chickadees sitting in the sun,
One (the fourth) flew away and then
there was one.
CHORUS
One little chickadee sitting all alone,
Helshe (the fifth) flew away and then
there were none.
CHORUS Photo #2: Musical notes infloor display.

WINTER
2003/04 + 67
 This song is an excellent
one to sing throughout the
year, as you can adapt it to
suit seasonal themes (e.g.,
pumpkins that roll away,
witches that fly away, or
snowmen that melt away).

Sorting/Classifying
ActivitieslVenn
Diagram
An understanding of sorting
and classifying, an essential
concept in mathematics, can
be strengthened through the
use of rhythm instruments.
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Have the children sort them-

selves into three groups ac-
cording to the way their
rhythm instrument makes a Photo #3: Children displaying serial order
sound (by being hit, shaken,
or rubbed). In some cases, an
instrument can make a sound in more than one way (e.g., a tambourine can be hit or shaken), and this can
be represented in a Venn Diagram (see photo #4).
Then let the child choose which way to play the
instrument. Have each group, in turn, make its
sounds. Then, the children will describe each group's
sound, and the teacher will write the descriptive
words on a chart.

How Instruments in an
Orchestra Are Sorted
Symphony orchestras, no matter how large or small,
are sorted into four groups: the strings (pluck), the
woodwinds (whistle),the horns /brass (toot), and per-
cussion instruments (boom) (see Figure 1). Have the
children listen to selections from Benjamin Britten's
"Young People's Guide to the Orchestra," examine
pictures, or invite musicians to bring instruments to the
class. The children then can place each instrument in
a "pluck," "whistle," "toot," or "boom" group.

Learning Fractions by Creating

Musical Arrangements
Introduce the whole note, which gets four beats
(counts), the half note, which gets two beats, and the
quarter note, which gets one beat (see Figure 2). If
some children are already familiar with notation, the
eighth note, which gets one-half a beat, also can be
introduced.
Have the children work with a partner and investi-
gate all the ways they can make a whole note with
quarter notes and half notes (and eighth notes, if ap-
propriate). The partners then can tap out the resulting
Photo #4: Venn Diagram of musical instruments.
rhythm with sticks (see Figure 3).

68 * CHILDHOODEDUCATION
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WINTER2003/04
+ 69
 Conclusion
Integrating music and mathematics activities does not
require musical training or expensive equipment. All
you need are a set of rhythm instruments (many of
which can be made by the children), a phonograph, a
tape recorder or CD player, a few musical selections,
a baton, and some rules for following the “conductor.”
The activities described here are consistent with the
current focus on interdisciplinary curriculum and re-
cent research on thinking and learning. They will
enable children to learn mathematical concepts more
easily, while having lots of fun.
References
Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (Eds.). (1997). Developmentally
appropriate practice in early childhood programs (Rev. ed.).
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 18:25 09 October 2014
Washington, DC: National Association for the Education
of Young Children.
DArcangelo, M. (1998). The brains behind the brain. Edu-
cational Leadership, 56(3),20-25.
Diamond, M., & Hobson, J. (1998). Magic trees ofthe mind:
How to nurture your child‘s intelligence, creativity, and
MUSICAL NOTATION
4 0
BEATS TO A MEASURE d d
4 JJJJ
I EACH QUARTER NOTE
GETS ONE BEAT
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and
Figure 2
Figure 3
70 + CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION
healthy emotionsfrom birth through adolescence. New York
Dutton.
Grandin, T., Peterson, M., & Shaw, G. L. (1998). Spatial-
temporal versus language-analytic reasoning: The role of
music training. Arts Education Policy Review, 99(6), 11-15.
Hoffman, M. (1997). The NPR classical musiccompanion: Terms
and conceptsfrom A to Z. Boston/New York Houghton
Mifflin.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Prin-
ciples and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA:
Author.
Rauscher,R.H.,Shaw,G.I.,Levine,I.J.,Wright,E.L.,Dennis,
W. R., & Newcomb, R. I. (1997). Music training causes
long-term enhancement of preschool children’s spatial-
temporal reasoning. Neurological Research, 19, 2-8.
Westcott, N. B. (1980). I know an old lady who swallowed afly
(retold and illustrated). Boston: Little, Brown.
Music References
Anderson, Leroy. “The Syncopated
. . Clock“
Britten, Benjamin. “Young People’s Guide to the Or-
chestra“
HOLD FOR 4 BEATS
EACH NOTE 2 BEATS
EACH NOTE 1BEAT
EACH NOTE 1/ 2 BEAT
Say 1and, 2 and, 3 and, 4 and