Math & Music

Teaching Pre K-8, Mar 2002 by Lindroth, Linda

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Blue Ribbon Software

Math & Music is one unit of an interdisciplinary curriculum, A Bigger World, by Wildridge Software, Inc. Integrating the study of mathematical concepts with the physics of music gives this program an interesting focus on the interrelationships of our world.

From the opening menu, the mix of math and music is evident - from the metronome that links to the Science of Music (Physics of Sound, Physics of Music and How We Hear) to the Abacus that links to Exploring Numbers (Ancient Numbers, Abacus, Duplation, Primes and Tallies). These are but eight of the 18 topics, with related subtopics included in this comprehensive program.

The multimedia exercises and tools are the major component of Math & Music. There are 18 exercises, 19 challenge tests and a final challenge test on the CD-ROM. Each tutorial lesson is followed by a practice to reinforce the concepts. For example, in Exploring Numbers, students learn about Egyptian Hieroglyphic Numbers in an animated tutorial for Ancient Numbers and then try a series of challenges. Students are given one chance for a correct answer and click on juDGE for immediate feedback. If incorrect, the program corrects the answer and gives an explanation. The navigation bar helps students advance through the tutorial, repeat any part or return to the main menu.

Using math concepts to understand harmony and scale in music is a great way to show the interrelationships of our world. Music is also closely related to culture and history as shown in Music Around the World.

From the world map, just click on a country's icon to learn about and listen to music styles from different cultures. Music Through Time presents a timeline of music over the centuries with short biographies about the musicians and their music. I hope your students will enjoy the guided listening, which helps them focus on the musical elements in the music from different time periods, as much as my students do.

The audio glossary is well-designed and includes the vocabulary to be learned from all the exercises. Simply choose a topic and get a list of all the related vocabulary, with definitions and audio pronunciation.

Students can follow their own progress with the Progress Report. Teachers can access the Progress Report, grade extra credit and write notes to the student using the Edit function. There is an excellent Teacher Guide with suggestions for using the program. The Student Guide has assignments, study questions and challenges to go along with the software program and a detailed textbook which will support the tutorials.

Be sure to visit www.wildridge.com or call 888-244-4379 for more information about this exciting series. Windows 98/95/2000/ME or Mac. $99.95.