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Q&A With Marcus Blackwell

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Marcus Blackwell
Creator and CEO, Make Music Count LLC
Location: Powder Springs, GA United States
Joined: Sep 9th, 2013

About (request update)

My name is Marcus Blackwell, Jr. and I am originally from Windsor CT where math and music were always two passions of mine. I was classically trained on the piano from the age of five taking lessons at the Artist Collective a music conservatory in Hartford CT. I then continued on to learn jazz piano all throughout high school. Since I was raised going to church every Sunday, I developed the ability to play gospel music on the piano from only listening to it. This lead me to play the organ at 16 as the youth choir director at Archer Memorial A.M.E.

My interest in mathematics has as much an impact on me as my interest in music. I attended the Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science during high school which prepared me to major in mathematics in college. Although I was talented an excelled in math in school I was hesitant to major in math at Morehouse College in Atlanta GA. However, during my first year I read a book that described a pianist composing a musical piece from math movements of a chess game. This was interesting to me and I believed that I could make a similar connection between math and music, but I would need the math background to do it. I graduated from Morehouse College with a B.S. in Mathematics and worked for GE Energy as a Lead Modeling Analyst and served as the Music Director at Elizabeth Baptist Church at the Fairburn location.

After three years with GE Energy I transitioned to teaching my new curriculum entitled Make Music Count full time. Make Music Count was created after I realized how exactly I learn and play the piano. As a pianist and organist who play�s music by ear I realized that I built my music chords by applying mathematics versus simply listening and playing what I heard. I learn different notes and progressions to play by using numerical structuring and then match what I derived with what I hear in songs. I then realized that not only was this a way to teach aspiring musicians with no musical understand how to play the piano, but it would definitely get students who are intimidated and struggle in math interested in learning again. This is a method that can break down the barrier that prevents students from learning math. In my curriculum math is immediately seen as fun because the end result after solving a math equation is playing music.

Education (request update)

Morehouse College class of 2009

Undergrad Major: Mathematics

Claim To Fame:

I have created Make Music Count LLC a mathematics curriculum taught through music that is designed to help students that struggle in mathematics. With each lesson the objective is to successfully play a song on the piano. But the musical notes that you need to play the song are derived through solving math equations that range from addition and subtraction up to solving two step algebra equations. In the 3 months I have been working as an entrepreneur for my company Make Music Count LLC I have secured 5 schools in the greater atlanta area that will offer my class as apart of this school years enrichment and after school programs. Please visit my website www.makemusiccount.org for the list of schools I teach in and a great video to see my class in action.