Introduction

This class for those students who believe, " I'm going to be a musician, so I won't need math.”  As such, we look at the roots of music. When we do this we find that the people who developed the basics of music did so with mathematics. This class goes on to help students see how knowing the mathematics can directly impact how they play their instruments and create music. The objective is to give these students a good reason to learn math.

This class is a gentle look at how mathematics arises even in the most unexpected places. The emphasis is on why mathematics is helpful in music.  In looking at music we will find use for fractions, least common multiples, exponents and transformations.  As such this class has a lot in common with general  math classes and introductory algbra.

Materials

Calculator, compass, blank graph paper, pencils, and blank music paper.

Text

"Math & Music Harmonious Connections," Garland & Kahn, Dale Seymour Publications

Topics

Unit 1 – Introduction and a little history

Unit 2 – Time signatures and fractions

Unit 3 – Beats and least common multiples

Unit 4 – Tone, sounds, frequency, amplitude, and other problems

Unit 5 – Tuning and the use of exponents

Unit 6 – Composition and the use of transformations

Unit 7 – Instrument design and applying what we learned

Unit 8 – Sequences and curiosities