How to multiply, musically!

Norman Munroe, Contributor

For primary school kids, mastering basic calculating skills are part and parcel of the learning process, and memorising multiplication tables is one of the key elements. Most people will, no doubt, recall their days as part of, with their classmates, what were effectively speech choirs, reciting the tables. And, of course, you naturally developed a rhythmic chant which, once you got into it, made what would have been otherwise just boring rote a lot more fun and was, consequently, much more effective in helping you remember how to multiply.

Now, musician Christopher Tyrell has capitalised on the fun rhythmic aspect of learning the multiplication tables and has composed a series of musical tracks that students can use to help them turn what could otherwise be a boring task of studying and memorising the multiplication tables on their own into just as much fun as group recitation in class.

home-grown idea

Tyrell said that his own child, Justin, provided the stimulus for the idea. Wanting a fun way to help Justin, at age two, to learn the alphabet, Tyrell set it to music. This, by all accounts, was a hit with the youngster.

"[After that] I said, 'why not do something else with the music'? Why not find other stuff to do with the music that is educational [so that] kids can learn? Because music is a very strong way for kids to learn," Tyrell said.

The tracks can be downloaded from the Internet, either through Tyrell's website www.cabbasounds.com, or from popular music website www.cdbaby.com. Titled 'Back To School Project: Multiplication Tables', the tracks have been recorded in a variety of traditional and popular Jamaican music forms, from mento to ska to rocksteady and, of course, reggae and dancehall. According to Tyrell, even adults can listen to the tracks, which, as he describes it, are fun to listen to. The tracks can be downloaded either singly or - no pun intended - in multiple amounts.

"There are 24 tracks and each track has the times table in full and the second one is a singalong to the first one," Tyrell said.

Released earlier this year, the tables, which feature multiplying from one through 12, have already gained some degree of popularity. In fact, Tyrell said that efforts are under way to package and sell the tracks on CD, along with a book with the multiplication tables, so that kids can follow along reading the tables as they practise.

Tyrell, who is the drummer in the 'Jamaica Rocks' cultural group now on tour in Japan, is hoping that the project will achieve even greater success, and that it will become more popular not just in Jamaica but also further afield.