Overview
Math and Music: Algebra Featuring Mickey Hart is a lesson collection aligned to 7th to 9th grade math standards that invites students to explore the mathematical and scientific principles of sound and music.
In this 4-lesson unit, students:
- Conduct hands-on activities to discover the physical principles of sound waves, and why sounds vary so widely
- Calculate, plot, and graph sound waves based on measurable, real-world acoustic data
- Calculate pitch, tension, and frequency using Mickey Hart’s famous beam instrument
- Discover the math and science behind Pythagoras’ calculations of ratio, tuning, and harmony
As a summative assessment, students draw upon the skills they gained in the lessons to create with mathematics their own custom musical riffs, which they present to Mickey Hart.
Lessons
lesson:
The Science of Sound
What is sound, and how are its characteristics explained scientifically?
lesson:
The Mathematics Behind Sound
What are the mathematical variables that give a sound its particular quality, and how can these variables be measured, visualized, and calculated?
lesson:
Calculating Pitch
How do musical instruments produce different pitches, and what variables allow you to calculate the pitch of an instrument?
lesson:
Musical Ratios
What role do ratios play in the Western musical concepts of rhythm and harmony?
