My first teaching video was inspired by a group of fourth grade flute players and their enthusiastic eagerness to learn how to play ‘Firework” by Katy Perry. As one might expect, once I taught the tune to my Monday 9:00am flute group, word spread quickly and the demand [...]
F-flat Books has partnered with #musicservicelearning, an organization led by Dr. Marci Major and aimed at providing valuable learning experiences for music education majors while helping others affected by COVID-19. Each week, MSL students will share completed and ongoing projects from around the world. Masterclass Project - written [...]
First of all, I am going to ask us all to take a breath. Yes, seriously. Take a deep breath. Doesn’t that feel better? As of late, I find myself doing most of my work while holding my breath all the time. I do this as I am [...]
I am a music education college professor who teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. I also keep a foot in the schools by teaching one day a week at a PreK–6 Montessori school. What you are about to read is my specific response to the crisis in which [...]
The guiding principle of the Kodaly philosophy is that only the best is good enough for a child. When virtual learning becomes the best delivery method for instruction, educators look for innovative ways to maintain quality music education. We land on our feet, and re-imagine some aspects [...]
On Friday, March 13th I spent my last day in public spaces. It’s funny to look back. I knew that there would be a couple of weeks in isolation, and I even looked forward to the change of pace! However, I never imagined that we would be facing [...]
This has been an interesting year for me. I just started at a new school this year with the goal of establishing a performing arts program. Prior to this year, they really had nothing...one ‘music’ class was offered that was just basically a hodgepodge of students that had [...]
Like many other music teachers, I am in the strange position of being a (sudden) virtual teacher. On March 12th, 2020, the governor for our state of Pennsylvania held a press conference in which he announced the immediate shutdown of all schools in Montgomery County, the county in [...]
Tiktok from a Freshman orchestra student Social media for school has always scared me a little bit. I grew up on social media- in high school, Facebook was new and all the rage with Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and so many more to follow. I watched friends, [...]
About a month ago, when it was becoming clear what was happening with COVID-19, I called my sister (who happens to be my F-flat co-founder). I had a slew of suggestions, loose ideas, and questions concerning how we could best help during this pandemic. Sarah, as it turns [...]