Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was sensitive to differences of task and working memory load. We compared brain activity during high and low working memory load conditions of musical transposing versus math calculations in classically trained musicians. Because musical transposing involves mental adjustment of notes up or down by a specific amount, it may share cognitive elements with arithmetical operations of addition and subtraction. Musical transposing is highly demanding of working memory, as it involves mentally converting notes from one musical key (i.e., pitch scale) to another key for singing or instrumental performance. 6Department of Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, United States.5Department of Neurology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, United States.4Department of Critical Care Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.3Institute of Brain Science and Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.2Department of Neurology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States.1Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States.So music and math certainly have more in common than we thought.Ching-I Lu 1* Margaret Greenwald 1,2 Yung-Yang Lin 3,4* Susan M. While mathematics studies the relationships between numbers, music does the same with notes, rhythm and timing. This seems to be why we easily remember the chorus of songs. These patterns appeal to our innate inclination towards structure, repetition and patterns. Researchers believe that some composers use definite mathematical structures in their music - for example, Pachelbel’s Canon in D - that contribute to their popularity. Music involves creating patterns of sound, whereas math is the study of patterns. ‍Studies even show that children who play instruments are able to complete complex mathematical problems better than peers who do not. Some of his most moving compositions - like the Moonlight Sonata - were created based on the mathematical patterns of the sounds. Infact, Beethoven, one of the greatest composers in history, was deaf for most of his lifetime. Those who perform music need to have a good understanding of mathematical concepts. There are whole notes, half notes and quarter notes a waltz is normally in ‘¾’ timing. Music has rhythms, tempos, beats, and measures, and these are full of fractions and ratios. As absurd as it sounds, all music is essentially math.

Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato believed in the existence of a solid connection between music and mathematics and even included music as a genre of mathematics. By concentrating on the problem at hand (left brain) while playing the piano or violin (right brain), he was able to strengthen the communication between the two hemispheres of his brain and increase brain power.

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Interestingly, Einstein used to play the violin when he was stuck on a mathematical problem. Robert Melillo has worked with a composer to develop a line of music that specifically addresses strengthening each hemisphere. Which means that by listening to music which reaches and stimulates a certain side of your brain (classical music and minor tones for the left side, upbeat music and major tones for the right side), you can possibly create more balance between the two sides. Recent research has shown that each brain hemisphere processes frequencies and sounds differently. And since we associate music with creativity and math with logic, we assume that each of these disciplines is controlled by a distinct side of the brain. Different hemispheres of the brain are associated with different functions - the right brain dominates our creative, holistic and emotional side, while the left side of the brain is associated with logical and analytical thinking. Our brain is arguably the most complex organ of our body.

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However, on a closer look, music and math are deeply interlaced and have more in common than may meet the eye. We’ve always viewed math and music as widely different, one a systematic, objective science and the other, an inspiring, emotional art. “Music is the pleasure the human soul experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting.” - Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz.

Music math problems