MuSciQ

Services Offered

Skills & Teaching Methods

MuSciQ is a curriculum that highlights mathematical concepts rendered in a musical fashion. It strategically covers concepts such as fractions, arithmetic, intervals, and algebraic thinking. The intervention is broken into two primary musical components—rhythm and melody. Students spend time gaining a foundational understanding of music theory. The theory is coupled with popular loops and phrases that serve as a static tempo for practice. Over the remaining weeks, students are given multiple in-class projects. The end goal of each project is to use math to determine the melody line that is being played. First, students are given a rhythmic phrase that they must write out entirely. After the rhythm is analyzed, as a group, the rhythm is clapped or performed with a rhythmic device. Next, students are given notes to derive using frequency ratios. Using algebraic thinking, students will identify the new frequency. The last part of the project is melodic and rhythmic synthesis. The rhythms and melody are played simultaneously, and the “hook” is revealed. Although some students do not prefer math, MuSciQ encompasses a different motivational factor that encourages students to persevere long enough to play a popular song. The goal is to reduce math anxiety by introducing mathematical foundations of music while teaching students to engage those concepts in a musical fashion. Additionally, the classroom application will aid in the teaching of math and will inevitably result in a better understanding of principles related to both math and music.