Related Literature and References

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Related Literature

Music is the vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony and expression of emotion (as defined by Dictionary). It has been one of the oldest forms of art in the world emerging since the time of our ancestors dating back since the time of our ancestors.        The earliest forms of music were probably drum-based, percussion instruments being the most readily available at the time (i.e. rocks, sticks). Since there is still no established text regarding music, people then had no idea what they were doing and mindlessly played their ‘said’ instruments. Civilizations across the globe became curious and due to that curiosity, they started to create instruments like the Egyptians and with the invention of the guitar, new forms of music genre and creativity of humans further improved. From there, music has constantly evolved and the addition of other elements became more and more visible throughout time. After the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical period, several music genres emerged and were continuously manipulated and experimented to create the perfect sound they are looking for.

On the other hand, the field of mathematics alongside with science has imparted notable works regarding different concepts that were never discovered during the primitive era where great Greek mathematicians like Pythagoras, Euclid, Archimedes etc., started to broaden our knowledge regarding mathematics. Since then, theorems, equations and different formulas have been introduced to the public and changed the course of math up to the present period.

 On the other hand, different nations or cultures adapted diverse style in music and this was used to further improve their creativity and resulted in what we have now. Some countries incorporated the style of different countries especially during the colonization period because the culture and tradition of one powerful nation was presented to their colony especially during the Spanish, American and Japanese period.

According to Glauser (2017), “music is entirely intertwined with mathematics, so much so that even a basic major chord can be described mathematically.” One example is the finger positions in a chord where a specific number is designated to a finger and mainly helps novice guitar players. In addition, in tabular notation and time signatures, numerical coefficients are used to describe these concepts. Notes in different scales are also presented with numerical value for aspiring musicians to better understand and use this as a foundation with their music career.

In addition, learning to play a musical instrument relies on understanding concepts, such as fractions and ratios that are important for mathematical achievement (Gabb & Zuk, 2017). From this statement, it can be assumed that for a person to be good in playing an instrument, he or she has to have the knowledge about mathematics particularly in arithmetic where numbers, fractions and proportionality is present. Therefore, music (whatever the genre is) may have a possible effect to the processing and solving skills of an individual when introduced to an assessment test.

Related Studies

Recent studies shows the relationship between these two and found out that there is often a general presumption that music and academics have a positive relationship. Researchers have investigated this relationship using a variety of subjects and testing many different variables (Mass, 2013). Different factors like socioeconomic background (for example, if you grow up in a household with good financial resources, you are more likely to be able to afford music lessons, attend a good school, and so on), motivation, educational setting or overall parental involvement (Gabb & Zuk, 2013) were very important to consider because these can alter the result of the study and also, these variables are unlikely to be manipulated since it is in the natural environment.

In another side, executive function and self-regulation skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully (according to Harvard University). In order for us to solve arithmetic problems, we need our minds to function properly and good understanding of concepts and of course, an in-depth analyzation of the lessons. A person who is able to do multiple tasks has a high efficiency in both motor and mental skills and thus, has a chance in increasing his/her performance in solving problems. These functions are known to be a strong predictor of academic achievement, even more so than general intelligence. Playing a musical instrument recruits these functions through, for example, constantly adjusting your motor movements to changing tempos and key signatures (Gaab & Zuk, 2017).

Also, cognitive skills have been one of the main contributors in people to have the proper understanding and to use the appropriate knowledge to decide on. It is also possible that other cognitive factors contribute to an individual’s success in music and mathematics. In fact, research has suggested that the link may be driven by high-level cognitive-processing skills that are necessary for both subjects, such as executive functions, which allow individuals to adjust to changing task demands (Gaab & Zuk, 2017).  With the help of excellent processing skills, the executive functions of the body are continuously to be transformed and will be able to adapt to different tasks every day.