We’ve all been there. It’s 6:00 PM, the kitchen table is covered in crumpled worksheets, and your child is staring at a page of division like it’s a personal insult. There might even be some tears. Could be theirs, yours or both. Ha ha.
If I’m being honest, I was that kid once. Growing up, math wasn’t just my least favorite subject; it was my nemesis. I wasn’t “naturally good” at it, and that feeling of falling behind creates a specific kind of anxiety that sticks with you. Even now when the kids I work with need help with their math homework I dread it.
Sometimes the cycle of struggling with math can repeat itself with our own children. Neither of my kids are especially good at math.
Sadly, when a child misses a foundational concept, the gap between them and their peers starts to feel more like the Grand Canyon. Kids can sometimes feel like they are “dumb” for not grasping math concepts like their peers.
Working with students in the 1st through 5th-grade range, I experience this struggle almost daily. Out of my entire group, I only have two students who actually claim to love math. The rest see it as a chore, a source of stress, or something they “just aren’t good at.”
Is the problem really math itself, or could the problem really lie in how math concepts are delivered?
I am a big believer that if you make something fun children will look forward to it, including learning.
Image by Fathromi Ramdlon from Pixabay
Did you know that music can enhance learning by reducing anxiety, boosting your mood and improving memory. Take for example the “ABC” song. I think everyone learned their ABC’s simply by learning the ABC song. If you are around the same age as me you might have learned a lot through the catchy songs from School House Rock. Those songs helped us to learn about bills, conjunctions, prepositions and where our money goes.
I recently learned about a unique program called Make Music Count, and it has the kids I work with, dare I say, excited about math.
If you’ve been looking for a way to bridge the gap between “I hate math” and “Can we do more?“, this might be the breakthrough you’ve been waiting for.
What Exactly is Make Music Count?
At its core, Make Music Count is an award-winning math curriculum that uses the piano (keyboard) to teach mathematical concepts. But it’s not just “music class with a bit of counting.” It is a creative intervention where solving a math equation is the direct key to playing a hit song.
Instead of staring at abstract numbers, students solve problems to identify notes on a keyboard. When they get the answer right, they play the note. When they solve the string of problems, they find themselves playing the melodies of artists they actually love like such as Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, or even throwback favorites like the Backstreet Boys and Alabama.
By turning math into a “secret code” for music, the fear of failure is replaced by the drive for a musical reward.
It might sound like a gimmick, but seeing how excited the kids are work are when I put out the keyboard and workbooks tells me that it’s the real deal, most especially when I hear them playing notes that form a song.
The Physical Experience: Keyboards, Microphones, and Workbooks
Make Music Count sent me their keyboard and workbook set to test out with my students at work. Let me tell you, the moment I pulled out a keyboard and a working microphone, I was the most popular person in the room. Ha Ha.
The setup is tactile and engaging. I started the first day by just letting the kids get acclimated with the keyboard. They explored the keys and experimented with the microphone (because what kid doesn’t love a mic?).
The next day, we got down to business with the workbooks. I explained that these weren’t regular worksheets, that these were the “sheet music” to their favorite songs. To play the song, they had to solve the math problems. The excitement was palpable. They weren’t just “doing subtraction”; they were unlocking a Taylor Swift song.
The workbooks show what ages they are good for, but you know your child better and their skill level.
A Lesson in Teamwork (and a Little Healthy Competition)
One of the best things that I witnessed wasn’t just the kids doing the math and playing music, it was the social-emotional growth. Because the students were so eager to hear the songs come to life, they started helping each other. I watched kids who normally struggle with math sitting side-by-side with their peers, working through problems together so they could take turns on the keyboard. It transformed a solitary, stressful task into a collaborative game.
The older kids (7+) caught on very quickly and occasionally had some disagreements about who got to play the next song first. I had to implement a timer to keep things fair, but as a teacher/mentor, that’s a “problem” I’m happy to have. When was the last time you had to set a timer because kids were fighting over who got to do more math? Probably never.
The workbooks contain an explanation about how to figure out the keys in the front of the book, followed by pages of math problems. There are not a lot of problems on each page, making it appear more “do able” and less intimidating.
The Next Level: The All-New Make Music Count App
While the physical workbooks and keyboard are more than enough to enjoy this program, the people over at Make Music Count recently overhauled their app.
I tend to keep my personal phone separate from the kids, so we stuck to the books. For a parent at home or a school with tablets, the app is a game-changer. It recently received a “super cool” makeover with a brand-new look and some seriously smart features such as:
1. A Personalized Learning Journey
The new home page and journey page show students exactly how they are mastering each subject. It feels like a video game where you level up your skills. There are even new rewards to earn in the store, allowing kids to personalize their experience as they progress.
2. Built-in AI Intelligence
This isn’t just a static app. It features a built-in AI that generates math questions on the fly based on real-world math standards. It uses a smart placement test to see where a student is struggling and adapts the difficulty in real-time.
3. The Teacher’s Assistant
For educators, the app now includes an AI assistant to help manage student progress. With 12 different intelligence systems working together, it recommends what a student should play next based on their specific mastery level, ensuring they are always challenged but never overwhelmed.
Why This Matters for Your Child
The beauty of Make Music Count is that it removes the “math block.” When a child is afraid of math, their brain essentially shuts down when they see a variable or a fraction (mine does too – ha ha). By introducing the piano, you bypass that fear. The focus shifts from “getting the answer right for the teacher” to “getting the answer right so I can hear the music.”
I’ve seen students who are “afraid” of math jump right in because the keyboard makes it feel safe. It’s easy to explain to older kids, and while the younger ones might need a little hand-holding at first, they catch on quickly once they hear the result of their hard work. And let me tell you, I love seeing my work kids’ eyes light up and huge smiles go across their faces when they can hear the end result of their work. You can sense how proud they are of their accomplishment, and that is certainly a very positive thing.
I have even seen kids practicing the songs after they learned them and teaching the songs to other kids. Even though sharing their newfound musical knowledge with others bypasses them doing the work themselves, it’s still great to see the kids working together and having fun.
Turning what used to be a negative thing (math) into something fun and positive (learning to play a favorite song) is definitely a win-win in my book.
How to Get Started
If you’re looking to change the relationship your child has with learning math, you can customize how you bring Make Music Count into your home.
- Individual Workbooks: You can buy books focused on specific areas where your child might be struggling, including Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Fractions, and even Algebra.
- Learning Kit Bundles: These are the best value and include the keyboard and a selection of 2, 4, or all the workbooks.
Make Math Count: The Program I Wish I Had
As I watch my work kids intentionally requesting the math workbooks and the keyboard, I can’t help but feel a little envious. I wish this had existed when I was in school. Maybe I wouldn’t have spent years thinking I was “bad at numbers.” Maybe my own children would have had an easier time with learning math too if such a program was available when they were still in school.
I need to stock up on batteries at work because I have a feeling we’ll be using this program every day for the rest of the school year.
We live in an age where learning doesn’t have to be a struggle. We can use art, rhythm, and technology to make the difficult things fun. I wish more schools would incorporate them into their curriculum.
If you want to turn the math “meltdowns” into “melodies,” I highly recommend checking out Make Music Count. Don’t forget to follow them on social media to see the program in action. It truly is music to a parent’s ears.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
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