Music Is Math

This resource was made to help elementary aged students connect music to math and reinforce the difference between notes, rests, and beats. By starting with basic fractions, students learn that notes and rests are named according to the space they fill in a measure. For example, a whole note/rest fills a whole four beat measure (4 beats). A half note note/rest fills half of a four beat measure (2 beats). A quarter note/rest fills a quarter of a four beat measure (1 beat). And so on. I have found that using the included visuals and following the provided sequence makes these concepts much easier for my students to understand. Connecting music to math is a powerful way to incorporate cross curricular study in your classroom, and I wish you great success!

Outline:

1) Slides 3-13 introduces fractions using shapes.

2) Slides 14-28 introduces whole notes/rests, half notes/rests, quarter notes/rests, eighth notes/rests and sixteenth notes/rests, relating them to beats.

3) Slides 29-32 visualize notes, rests and beats using blocks.

4) Slides 33-47 visualize four beat rhythms to be clapped.

5) Slides 48-101 ask a series of questions helping students identify, count and understand notes, rests and beats.