Listening to Music While Solving Math Problems

This is a series posted on Goodreads.com.

As implied by the title, this is a nerdy series of essays about listening to music while solving math problems.

Chapter 1: Why Math?

Why, among all other subjects, would I choose math to be the subject in which I listen to music? Why not language arts, science, history, or even physical education?

I got introduced to listening to music while solving math problems when I went to the website Quora.com. The question that was asked was something like this: "What does math remind you of?" A student who responded stated that math reminded her of music. She believed that math gave her greater opportunities to listen to music than any other subject. After viewing this response, I decided to investigate this response to see if I would feel the same way. I solved mathematics questions on websites containing daily math problems and PDFs containing math problems while listening to music on my Spotify playlist. I solved and attempted both math problems above and at my current mathematical level of understanding, and I used a wide range of math subjects to see what would happen when I solve different types of math questions while listening to music. Some types of math problems included geometric proofs, domain/range, set builder notation, systems of equations, congruence postulates, identifying angle relationships, simplifying inequalities, sigma notation, etc. Eventually, I confirmed to myself that this would become a new hobby.

Why? Like the student on Quora.com, I believe that math can give a person greater opportunities to listen to music than any other (core*) subjects.

For subjects like language arts, history, and science, it is difficult to simultaneously listen to music and answer questions related to those three subjects because of their demand for reading and the processing, memorization, and writing of terminology. Language arts questions may require a person to read a book/passage and answer some reading comprehension questions, which may cause the music to be a problematic distraction, because you are trying to read and answer the questions/passage, but you may be struggling to concentrate when NEFFEX keeps shouting, "'Cause I know you got me f***ed up/, Lemme show you what's up." (No, I do not have that song on my playlist. The song is called No Turning Back, if you wanted to know. Minus all the cuss words, it’s actually really good.) In other words, it's hard to simultaneously listen to music while reading.

This applies for other subjects as well. If I were trying to listen to, let's say, "Overwhelmed" by Royal and the Serpent while trying to study the economic differences between the North and the South in the United States during the 1800s, the information I might want to write in my journal: “While the northern economy in the United States was centered around manufacturing and the automation of production, the southern economy was centered around agricultural means of production” but this phrase might instead compute to "While the northern economy in the United States was centered around manufacturing and the automation of production, the southern economy in the United States was centered around anxiety that keeps me silent when I try to speak.”

In addition, if I were to receive a question like “name an example of mutualism,” then I would be required to type in an answer, which may be harder with music. I might want to write that “rhizobium bacteria that reside on the roots of legume plants can be provided with nutrients from the legume and, in return, could provide the legume with nitrogen,” but the lyric “taking my time on my ri-i-i-ide” might end up playing in my head when I mentally pronounce the first syllable of “rhizobium.” (The lyric came from the song “Ride” by Twenty One Pilots.)

However, while the previous core subjects do not accommodate the listening of music well, math does. When it comes to solving math problems, as opposed to language arts, history, and science questions, music is not viewed as a distraction. If not, it could be viewed as a benefit. The reason why I don’t feel distracted by music while solving math problems is because math is mostly problem solving and logic, as opposed to memorization, verbal processing, and verbal reasoning. Language arts, history, and especially science, I admit, do involve a lot of good problem-solving opportunities, but to implement those problem solving skills, the need to memorize, understand, and manipulate terminology is required in order to solve problems

or answer questions relating to those subjects. Math problems, generally speaking, do not require too much verbal reasoning or reading, and instead just require logic, abstract thinking, and arithmetic skills, which, at least for me, can be used while listening to music. (I find solving math problems while listening to music to be like solving a jigsaw puzzle while listening to music. Since solving a jigsaw puzzle does not require reading, I can listen to music or even the sounds of my brothers’ loud screams without struggling too much.)

Even with geometric proofs, listening to music is still okay. I do admit to having mild concentration problems due to the music, but when it comes to creating two-column proofs, the statements usually just comprise the identification of segment or angle relationships (ex. AB⩭CD), which do not use a lot of words. In fact, statements usually just contain letters, a bit of algebra, and sometimes a couple of numbers, and reasons are pretty concise and only comprise 1-4 words. You can literally just use the single word “given” as a reason (if applicable).

The ability to concentrate on a math problem while listening to music may vary from concept to concept, but a lot of math is pretty well-suited for listening to music. Some types of math problems that I find best to solve while listening to music include:

-Simplifying algebraic expressions and equalities. (Anything algebra, actually).

-Solving for a variable.

-Geometric relationships with angles and sides. (Ex. By which congruence postulate are these two triangles congruent?)

-Easy to complex arithmetic. (PEMDAS, exponents, applying operations on both sides of an equation to isolate the variable, square roots and absolute value, etc.)

-Systems of equations and inequalities.

-Functions

-Creating equations for short scenario

-SHORT word problems

Solving math problems while listening to music is pretty great, and math is best at offering opportunities to listen to music, more than any of the other core subjects. Of course, I would not listen to music while solving math problems on my math homework or on my math test because of pressure to finish the assignments, but on a weekend where the sunrays visibly shine through the windows and the day has just begun, I could unlock my tablet, click on my Spotify app, and scroll through math problems on my screen while listening to some upbeat music.

Songs Cited:

Horth, Brandon. “NEFFEX–No Turning Back.” Genius, https://genius.com/Neffex-no-turning-...

Joseph, Tyler, Reed, Ricky. “Twenty One Pilots – Ride.” Genius, https://genius.com/Twenty-one-pilots-....

Royal and the Serpent. Style, Marky. et tal “Royal and the Serpent–Overwhelmed.” Genius, https://genius.com/Royal-and-the-serp...

*Core subjects refer to subjects that are required to be learned, regardless of grade level. These include math, science, language arts, and social studies.

Chapter 2: Why Music?

In the previous chapter, I discussed why I chose math, among all other subjects, to do while listening to music. Lately, I have been pondering why it was MUSIC, among all other sounds, that makes me motivated to do math as a hobby. When I am doing math assignments for school, I normally prefer the sound of silence, and recently, I have been manifesting an appreciation for the sounds of nature in my backyard. Why would I choose music over silence or the sounds of nature?

Considering music while solving math problems, I think it is an opportunity to establish my independence, individuality, and self-esteem. I looked up "quotes about music," and I found out that the famous singer Alicia Keys said, "You are what you listen to." Thinking about it, the quote does sound kind of accurate. My Spotify playlist was literally made for me; I listen to rap and rock music about hardships and overcoming them----guess what? I have been living under a lot of trepidation.

I listen to "Miracle" by The Score! Well, just like the Score, I have often been feeling as if I'm "working through some s***," and I have also been trying to be perfect, or trying to "find the perfect lines." (I suffer from writer's block all the time because of perfectionism.)

I listen to "Therefore I Am" by Billie Eilish, because I like philosophy (and the quote "I think therefore I am"), and I like to establish myself as an independent thinker instead of some people-pleaser who is only used to make others look good.

In other words, my music preferences, or the music I listen to while solving math problems, is based on my own preferences and personality.

Now combine this with math. There are times when math has a therapeutic effect. With math, there always has to be a justifiable reason for everything, especially with geometric proofs. There are even those problems that say that you must "explain your REASONING!" Even when I encounter difficult problems, I can always assure myself that there is always a way to solve them, because math has logical rules, and every theorem, formula, and equation has a logical reason for being there.

For instance, let's take something simple, like point-slope form: y-y1=m(x-x1), where y1 and x1 are coordinates to some point on a given line. One could be wondering: why does this work? What about the more intuitive slope-intercept form (y=mx+b)? Is the point-slope form of a line the same as the slope-intercept form? Let's say we have a line with a slope of 1/2 and a point in it is (0,3). The slope-intercept form for this line would be y=1/2x+3. The slope-intercept form makes a lot of sense, but the point-slope form may seem to derive from nowhere, so let's plug in the values for y-y1=m(x-x1) to see what happens if we use this formula:

y-3=1/2(x-0)

Simplify:

y-3=1/2(x-0)

y-3=1/2x

+3 +3

y=1/2x+3

The point-slope equation for this line is equivalent to the slope-intercept equation for this line, so point-slope form, like slope-intercept form, does work! As seen with this problem, there was a reasonable way to investigate the mathematical inquiries above.

Now, life is not like a math problem; there are so many things we can't control, but with math, you can control the problem you are solving (remember, there are so many different ways you can solve a problem), and, of course, there is always a set of logical rules that can be used to make decisions.

How does this relate to music? Well, since math is controllable and logical, it makes sense to add self-selected music to it; since all of my music is selected by me based on my own personality/preferences and math gives me more things to control amid the unpredictability and anxieties of life, I can always trust the combination of these two factors to allow me to live with myself, as an independent human being who has control over who she is and how she approaches her problems. The self-selection involved with music is perfectly compatible with the control and problem-solving I have or I know I will have when I encounter a math problem. In other words:

Self-selected music + math=control, independence, etc.

Now, I know that I have analyzed listening to music, but what about listening to music in comparison to listening to silence or nature?

First of all, as I said in the first chapter, I considered listening to music while solving math problems to be a hobby. Listening to silence while solving math problems, as opposed to listening to music, would cause the solving of math problems to lose its hobby-like quality. You see, I listen to silence when I am doing math homework, math tests, or classwork in the Zoom meetings for math class. For a while now, I have been thinking about my own life, as opposed to my school life. I have been thinking about the life I have that is INDEPENDENT of the classroom, the school curriculum, the middle school I am in, and the high school I will soon be going to next year. Solving math problems on a weekend without listening to music is very much like solving math problems for a school assignment, so that's why I add music: to live in a world beyond the classroom, where education and learning could be self-directed and hobby-like instead of assigned. (It's a matter of freewill, I guess.)

What about the sounds of nature in my backyard? The main reason why I don't listen to the sounds of nature in my backyard while solving math problems is because... of my pet rooster. (Yes, I said that correctly.) I like the sounds of nature in my backyard, but my rooster is one of the things in my backyard, so I have to listen to HIM. My rooster is so annoying, and sometimes, I just hate his face. He screams so loudly, and when he crows, his head is tipped at a weird position that makes him look like an idiot, and sometimes, he lets his rooster hormones overcome his rational judgment, so he tries to tackle me. I once was carrying a plate of food, and while the hens were acting perfectly normal and were trying to get the food, the rooster gave me that look in his eye and tried to battle me. There was even this one time when a hawk was screeching while the rooster was trying to tackle me (btw the rooster once got attacked by a hawk and my brothers just managed to come out of the house on time to throw a slipper at it). The hens perked their heads up at the sound, while the rooster kept trying to tackle me!

Even if the rooster wasn't in my backyard, I would still prefer music, because the music on my playlist is usually upbeat, fast-paced, and/or motivational, while the sounds of nature tend to be tranquil and soothing, which I don't find to be the best conditions to solve math problems, because I prefer to have that MOTIVATION to solve that math problem, as opposed to the CALMNESS. The fast pacing of my music makes me want to solve that problem FASTER, while the soothing sounds of nature might actually hinder my mathematical progress.

The compatibility of self-selected music and the control and problem-solving one gets with a math problem, the way in which music distinguishes solving math problems for school and math problems out of my own will, and the need to motivate myself and to not have to listen to my rooster are the reasons why I choose to listen to music, among all other sounds, while solving math problems.

Songs cited:

1. Eilish, Billie, FINNEAS, et tal, "Billie Eilish---Therefore I Am," Genius, https://genius.com/Billie-eilish-ther...

2. The Score, "The Score---Miracle," Genius, https://genius.com/The-score-miracle-...

Chapter 3: Anxiety to Exhilaration

Listening to music while solving math problems was already something to pursue, but the continual pursuit of this activity was, if I had to be honest, mildly frightening.

I do not have a phobia of math or of listening to the wrong music. It's just that the urgency the music added to solving math problems made me nervous and conscious about how many math problems I was able to solve and get correct. Because a lot of my music on my Spotify playlist is fast-paced and loud, there was a stronger ambiance of urgency added to the need to solve those math problems, so I initially had anxiety whenever I listened to music while solving math problems. The music I listened to fueled my fear of failure, because it was so fast-paced and loud. (Ever heard of Centuries by Fallout Boys? Ironically, it's one of my favorite songs, but that one triggered a lot of anxiety and fear of failure. XD)

Even with the songs that were not fast-paced or loud, like some of Bob Marley's songs or the one song I have by Versing, I felt more anxious, because in addition to being instinctively inclined to wanting to solve more math problems correctly due to the ambiance of urgency, the music fueled my desire to solve math problems without getting distracted. Naturally, I have this desire to be as intellectually strong as possible. It is just part of my personality. With the music on, my anxiety went up, because I knew that it is possible for any human being to get distracted by the music. Since I believe that ability in mathematics can exemplify a high level of intelligence, I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of solving math problems without being distracted by music. (I have this bad habit of believing that distractibility is a form of ignorance, and therefore getting distracted by MUSIC from doing MATH equates to intellectual struggle.) Any song, even the calmer songs, gave me this fear of appearing mathematically incompetent, because of the possibility of getting distracted.

Even with my anxiety, I kept pursuing this activity, partially because I wanted to see if I might get used to solving math problems while listening to music, and partially because I wanted to show off. (Yeah, I can be very self-centered sometimes). Anyways, my anxiety actually started shrinking as I kept doing the activity, because I got used to it. Since I got used to this hobby, there was no anxiety to fill my heart, meaning that there would have to be some other emotion that did. So, what did? Exhilaration. Like with my anxiety, the fast-paced music contributed to the atmosphere of exhilaration. Exhilaration and anxiety have similar physical reactions---heart beating and hastened breathing, so it made sense for my former anxiety to be replaced with exhilaration. However, why exhilaration? It could have been anger, which, for me, also has the physical reactions of hastened breathing and heart beats.

Although the exhilaration could be attributed to me getting used to the activity, it also felt good to listen to loud music while solving math problems the same way it feels good to listen to loud music while completing an art project. When I listen to music while completing an art project, the music in the background gives me motivation to control my thoughts and my art project. That is quite similar to what happens when I have that background music while solving math problems. The background music gives me more motivation to control my thoughts and my math problems. Like an art project, math needs a thinker (any thinker, amateur or brilliant) to control and solve it. With art, one needs to think about how to compute an image, which strategies and approaches would be relevant, and how to coordinate oneself (especially with hand-eye coordination) to accurately depict a reference, idea, etc. Likewise, math needs one to think about how to compute a problem, how to find relevant strategies and approaches, and how to coordinate oneself to accurately model a situation and solve it. Since it is easy for me to listen to music while doing an art project, I could easily listen to music while doing math problems, since math can be quite similar to art. Because, like with art, the music gives me motivation to control my thoughts and my problems, listening to music while solving math problems can become exhilarating.

In addition, listening to music while solving math problems is exhilarating, because it is kind of like a source of adventure. Life can be kind of boring. Unlike book and movie characters, who have every right to explore multiple dimensions and hidden islands, we just... sit there. However, with the music, I always feel motivated to try to explore any math problem, even math problems above my grade level. That is kind of equivalent to seeking an adventure. Not all math problems are the same, so there is always something new to find.

Even though listening to music while solving math problems induced anxiety, the motivation music provided me with and the adventure the activity allowed me to pursue caused the hobby to transform from a source of anxiety to a source of exhilaration.

Chapter 4: Listening to Math While Solving Music

I have already written a lot about listening to music while solving math problems. This series is about that topic, but curiosity has risen for something else: "Listening to MATH while solving MUSIC!"

When I first started posting and blogging about Listening to Music While Solving Math Problems, I, of course, had to type in the title of this series somewhere in my posts and my blog, but there were times when I accidentally was about to type in "Listening to Math while Solving Music" instead of "Listening Music while Solving Math Problems." I would be able to notice these errors in my thinking pretty quickly and hence revise the title as desired, but these events have made me curious about what it would have been like if I chose to make a series of essays called "Listening to Math While Solving Music." This week, I have been thinking about the possibility and definition of Listening to Math While Solving Music.

We already know what it means to listen to music while solving math problems. It is very much conceivable. Just picture a person wearing headphones while solving math problems. That's all it takes! What, then, is listening to math while solving music? First off, what's being 'solved' is music, so there has to be some problem or question that a piece of music presents a person to solve, just like how a math question brings up something that needs to be solved. This, therefore, could mean that the thing that's being "solved" in music is a question or some confusion about an element in a song. For instance, the song "Loving Myself" by Versing has short phrases that are only about 5-8 syllables, or 3-8 words, but there are pauses from the singing, in which there are extended instrumental portions. The song even began with slightly more than thirty seconds of instrumental music! Instrumental intros. are usually not that long, from what I have experienced. The question that I could try to solve is "Why does the song 'Loving Myself' by Versing have short phrases, but extended instrumental portions after the singing?"

Then, there is listening to math. It is true that there are podcasts on Spotify dedicated to mathematics, but I wouldn't want to categorize that as "listening to math," because you are technically listening to a podcast ABOUT math, not math itself. Math is not considered to make a sound, so one cannot perceive it as an auditory feature, or "listen" to it, but the term "listen" can also mean to pay attention to advice. Math cannot literally give advice, as it is non-living and abstract, but we could mathematically think about a problem in a song. Ask questions like "How could math explain the extended instrumental portions of 'Loving Myself' and the short phrases of the lyrics?" or, to be more specific, "How many words and syllables are in each line, and how many minutes of the song in total is instrumental, and how do these statistics contribute to the song's meaning or vibe?" By trying to think mathematically, we would technically, in the figurative sense, be trying to listen to math's advice; we are pretty much asking, "What does math have to say about this music?"

(The next chapter of this series will explain an example of listening to math while solving music.)

In the previous essay, I discussed what it could mean if I wrote about "listening to math while solving music," instead of "listening to music while solving math problems." In that same essay, I promised that I would explain a possible example of listening to math while solving music, and I asked about the song "Loving Myself" by Versing. For simplicity's sake, I will use simple mathematics for this, and the only music terminology you'll have to know is "lyric" to understand this attempt at providing an example of listening to math while solving music. Previously, I asked about the song "Loving Myself" by Versing, specifically centering around the extended instrumental portions of the song. Just for a more thorough analysis of the song, I will be recording other information, besides the lengths of the instrumental portions, to analyze the song. I'll be attempting to answer the broader question "How does the song's stats contribute to its meaning," which may help us answer the even broader question "What is the meaning of the song?" Here, I decided to catalog data I found to be important and unique to the song, which is including the length of the longest instrumental portion, the amount of unique phrases used in the song, the repeated phrases, the syllables of each line, and the pacing: Length of first instrumental: The first instrument-only portion of the song was the longest instrument-only portion in it, and it was an impressive 37 seconds, which is almost 40 seconds! Amount of unique phrases: Surprisingly, there are only five unique phrases in this song, which contains twenty-eight lines! These phrases are: "Keep Loving Myself," "And everyone else," "Oh disaster falls," "When will we make it to the wall," and "For the camera." There are so few unique phrases, because many of these phrases are repeated. Repeated phrases: "Keep loving myself," "And everyone else," and "Oh disaster falls are the three phrases that are repeated. The other two phrases are only used once. The phrase "Keep loving myself" and "And everyone else" were both the most frequent phases, being repeated 12 times in the song. In fact, most of the lyrics of this song comprise the repetition of these two lyrics! The phrase "Oh disaster falls" was only repeated twice. Syllables: The lyrics are short, and each line has few syllables. Most lines (27/28 lines) have only five syllables, and the most syllables in a line was eight syllables. The syllabic pattern was concise and extremely consistent. Pacing: The song's pacing was quite relaxed. It usually took the singer about three seconds to sing each lyric, and he would pause for a second after singing a single line. Although these figures may seem small, they seem to be one of the song's components that make the song slower and more relaxed. In addition, when the phrase "Oh disaster falls" is about to come, there would be a four second pause from singing between the phrase "And everyone else" and "Oh disaster falls." There is also a pause of about eight seconds between "Oh disaster falls" and "When will we make it to the wall." The way the instrument(s) were playing in the music contributes to the slower pacing as well. Wait for Chapter 5 to see my analysis! Song cited: Versing, "Versing---Loving Myself," Genius, 2019, https://genius.com/Versing-loving-mys...

Chapter 5: Listening to Math while Solving Music---Analysis

Having collected the data about "Loving Myself," I am dedicating this to some good analysis. I highly recommend you view the preceding chapter (the data section) for reference.

Length of the first instrumental: The first instrumental portion was surprisingly long, and it was inserted at the beginning of the song, meaning that listeners would get a load of instrument before listening to any singing. This attention to guitar playing was surprising, especially in comparison to the short lines and lack of unique phrases in the song. It was almost as if the band was prioritizing the guitar over the voice.

Unique Phrases and Repetition: While the instrumentals and guitar work is extensive and complex, little seems to be possessed by the lyrics, since there are only five unique phrases in the song, and most of the song is just the repetition of the phrases "Keep Loving Myself" and "And everyone else." What I also find to be salient is that those two phrases are repeated more than the more dramatic phrase "Oh disaster falls." Reflexively, in a time of disaster, one's mind would be more likely to dart towards the disastrous consequences and the need for survival than towards introspection ("keep loving myself") and companionship ("and everyone else.") However, instead of focusing on the bigger picture, or the destination, as I like to describe it in this context, the band focuses on the details, or the journey. Allow me to elaborate: If this were a book, and a summary had to be written about it, we would say that this song is about people encountering a disaster, trying to hurriedly finish what they need to finish before it's too late (like find shelter), or "make it to the wall." However, the majority of this song contains what is in the middle of the story, or what's in the journey: The singer is embracing his companions and, most importantly, learning to embrace who he is. These seem to be more important than the story's resolution, the summary, and the destination. Also, the phrase "For the camera," as in "Oh disaster falls/, for the camera," was said only once, but it was saved for the end of the song, which, like the conclusion of an essay, is meant to help people walk out remembering and contemplating something. Although the journey portion was well-emphasized, the destination was still inserted, even though it was not repeated. This may show that there is an important ending to this journey. Versing is a band, and cameras and spotlights usually refer to fame, so the destination of the journey could be making an impact in the music industry, or leaving behind a memorable legacy.

Syllables and Pacing: Although the lyrics are brief, the pacing of the song is relaxed, which is ironic for a journey about companionship, the prioritization of oneself, and accomplishing goals amid hardships (or disaster). I would imagine that the repetition of phrases and the sparse syllables would make this song faster-paced, but on the contrary, it adds to the need to sing slower, make pauses, and drive attention to the guitar. Maybe this is supposed to signify a long journey. Continuing to love oneself and unite with others while trying to become famous is pretty difficult, so the progress can be quite slow. The pauses and pacing shows how something that is seemingly simple (or of a few syllables) can be so hard to do. Saying "I love myself" and "I love you guys" are simple phrases, but doing so can require years of dedication and some analysis of life experience. Saying "I will be famous" is just a four-letter elementary-level phrase, but it is vastly easier said than done. These factors might explain the "disaster" described. It is a very difficult task to try to coordinate your friends and yourself to obtain fame, which is already difficult to acquire. This might also explain the extensive instrumental discussed above, because there is so much to do, or so much chords to play, before accomplishing the goal, or before being able to sing.

The conclusion:

The song is trying to detail the long and slow journey of the building of one's confidence and the welcoming of companionship in that final, ultimate goal: making it to the camera. It does this by using long instrumentals, simple lyrics, slow pacing, the repetition of phrases that signify the journey, as opposed to the destination.

Song cited:

Versing, "Versing---Loving Myself," Genius, 2019, https://genius.com/Versing-loving-mys...

Chapter 6: Classical Music vs. My Original Playlist

Thanks to Penelope for suggesting the idea!

Having gone this far into my journey with listening to music while solving math problems, I decided to use Penelope's idea of listening to classical music while solving math problems. I listened to the Best Classical Music playlist on Spotify, which was a playlist made by a user called "Peaceful Classics," while solving a couple of math problems. I did this for about one hour and twenty minutes. Because this is my first time intentionally listening to classical music, my mind was swimming with confusion and attempts to mentally articulate my own observations. I decided to write down all of my observations about how it all went with classical music vs. my regular playlist

My concentration: I noticed some key differences in concentration. Ironically, I was less concentrated on my math problems with the mostly-instrumental classical music than with my lyrical playlist. This decrease in concentration may be attributed to the fact that I was just being introduced to classical music, but even when I listened to it after a longer lapse of time, I still did have some minor concentration issues. One of the reasons I believe this happened was because I am normally used to loud, fast-paced songs that are either motivational, evoke strong emotions, or contain something that relates to my life experience. Most of the music on my playlist is like that; my playlist was designed for me, so I was able to fuel my sense of self and competence and keep solving. Classical music was harmonious, had long notes, and hardly had any singing. That is the opposite of what I listen to; classical music is a very interesting genre indeed, but it was not designed for me. In addition, there were some things I wanted to think about as I listened to classical music. The experience listening to it was intriguing and profound; because there were not any lyrics, and there were many long, complex notes, I was tempted to try to decipher what it could mean. What is a song without a singer? An intriguing and maybe complex set of notes. Solving math problems already requires some problem-solving skills, so trying to think about the music as well is like trying to multitask, which does subtract from full concentration on a certain task. It might be good for stress relief, or it might help get my mood set for deep thinking, which are both really awesome, but in my humble opinion, it was not the best for concentrating on math problems.

My reaction: As mentioned in my essay Anxiety to Exhilaration, I felt anxious and then became exhilarated when I listened to my own playlist. How about classical music? I did feel more anxious about trying to solve more math problems, since I noticed that I was having some concentration issues. I still had minor anxiety and concentration issues, but there was no form of exhilaration. Instead, I was calm, intrigued, and immersed. It was a new, peculiar feeling that I usually don’t experience too much or as strongly as with other forms of music. Even though I was aware that the day for state testing would come (today, 4/28/22, is a testing day), I almost forgot about it. Sure, it did not make a difference on my awareness, but I was not as stressed about the test as I would normally be.

Preferably, though, I would be exhilarated, not calm, intrigued, and immersed, so I did prefer it when I listened to my own playlist while solving math problems.

Final thoughts: I am pretty sure that there is the problem-solving and some of the arithmetic in classical music that can be found in an everyday math problem, but when it comes to listening to classical music while solving math problems, for me, it seems easier to enjoy them separately than to enjoy them together. I do prefer my own playlist, but this was an interesting experience.

Chapter 7: Concluding the Series

It was amazing to be able to write about this topic. Who knew how perfectly music paired with the solving of math problems? Maybe I might end up writing more observations about math and music, when I finish school, become proficient at higher grade levels of mathematics, and learn more about musical concepts.

Hope you enjoyed it! Like and comment on this series!