Previous studies have shown that students with musical talent often score well in math. Whether music lessons have a direct influence on math skills remains unclear.
To learn more, software engineer Ayça Akın from Antalya Belek University in Turkey searched databases for research papers on the subject. Their meta-analysis was published in the journal Educational Studies and includes 55 studies published worldwide between 1975 and 2022, with a total of about 78,000 children and young adults.
Clapping on the board
Akın distinguished between normal school music lessons, learning an instrument, and musical elements that are directly integrated into math lessons, such as rhythmic clapping when learning the multiplication table. Regular math tests found that using music, whether in separate lessons or as part of math lessons, was associated with improvements in math over time.
Integrated classes had the greatest effect: about 73 percent of students performed significantly better than youth who did not receive music support. About 69 percent of students who learned an instrument and 58 percent of students who received separate music lessons improved more than those who did not receive music support.
A limitation of the meta-analysis is the relatively small number of available studies. This made it impossible to include the effects of factors such as gender, socioeconomic background, and duration of music lessons.
Fears are reduced
Integrating music directly into math lessons can be particularly effective because it gives students the opportunity to make connections between math and music, the study says. Additionally, this form provides opportunities to research, interpret, and understand mathematics. If classes are more fun than conventional math classes, fear of the subject also decreases.
“Encouraging math and music teachers to plan lessons together can help reduce students’ anxiety about math while improving performance,” said Akın. According to the scientist, mathematics and music have a lot in common, such as symmetry and the use of symbols. Both subjects also require abstract thinking.