The F-flat Books Blog is a community-run blog exploring a variety of topics in music teaching and learning.
Browse posts by category or check out the most recent posts below.
Musicast Episode 2: Wanda Vasquez Garcia – Equity and Expectancy
Wanda is currently the general music teacher at the Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer in Lafayette, Colorado, and the children and youth choir director at First Congregational Church of Greeley, Colorado. As a K-5 music educator, she believes music is a very effective way to learn about cultures. [...]
The “New Normal”: Silver Linings of Going Back to School
Silver Linings I’m an optimist at heart, so some of you are going to hate the cheery tone of this post, particularly since there are a million difficulties and things to complain about right now as we do our best to teach music during a pandemic. But, here you have it. As a teacher to both preservice music teachers and children PreK–6, I have been surprised at some of the positives that have emerged from the past six months, both in the context of my profession and in [...]
Musicast Episode 1: Williams Goldsmith – “Dreams Don’t Work Unless You Do”
Williams Goldsmith is a 17-year-old guitarist, producer, and singer from Massachusetts. He started out playing rock and metal music, but in recent years has gotten more into pop, R&B and hip-hop. He has independently released an EP and 3 singles of varying styles, reflecting his varying music taste. He hopes to innovate and one day leave a lasting impact on the music world. [...]
The “New Normal”: Teaching Music to Students with Special Needs in Pennsylvania
Have you ever had a year like this year? I would say that not EVERYTHING of this year has gone wrong, but many, many things have not gone according to plan in my life. I am sure you all relate. Was there a graduation, wedding, or baby shower you couldn’t attend? Was school up in the air for many months as the thought of starting virtually OR in person caused you worry and anxiety? Same. Here. It was August when I first heard we were going back to [...]
The “New Normal”: Teaching Elementary Music in Prince Edward Island, Canada
Heading back to the classroom on Prince Edward Island I love my beautiful province. It is tiny, surrounded by water, and a protected haven from the chaos of our present health crisis. Prince Edward Island has managed to stay safe from community transmission of COVID -19. With strict border controls and self -isolation requirements in place, we currently have no active cases of the coronavirus. Yay!!!! So… it must have been easy to go back to school, right? Definitely, not the case. But we are back to [...]
Using Podcasts in Music Education
Are you a podcast listener? If so, you have probably listened to a podcast or two about music education. There are so many great examples out there. However, this post is not about music education podcasts (we'll save that for another time). This post is about using podcasts on music to create lesson plans that engage students in active listening. I've been teaching at the secondary and collegiate levels for years and have recently started incorporating podcasts into my curriculum. Now, as many of my students are attending school virtually, [...]
Musicast Launch! – Episode 0
Founder, CEO, public school music teacher, and mom extraordinaire Sarah Gulish joins us to talk about the past, present, and future of F-flat books , what it's like to run a business, and the integration of Musicast to the company! Sarah Gulish holds a Ph.D in music education from Temple University. For over a decade, Sarah has taught secondary level music at Lower Moreland High School located in the state of Pennsylvania in the U.S.A. She also serves as Adjunct Professor of Music Education at Buffalo State University and Temple University. Her teaching centers on creativity and improvisation in courses focused on new music learners [...]
The Familiar and the Uncertain: Teaching in Fall 2020
THE RUN Last week, I started on my usual 5 AM run. I laced up my shoes, donned all of my safety gear, and started on the route I had planned. I had my Spotify playlist on blast, trying to wake myself up as I took my initial steps. It had rained the night before, leaving a heavy layer of mist and fog. Even my industrial-strength headlamp wasn’t cutting it. I began to feel disoriented. It was still pitch black outside. The familiar homes and signs that would [...]
Do You Know Why Your Piano is Black and White?
In early July, I read a poem that stopped me in my tracks: "If I were a racist," by Nate Holder. Through captivating language, he expressed what it felt like the music education profession had been dancing around for years. I read it over and over again, noting the areas of discomfort and the personal shortcomings it revealed in me. The words cut deep and allowed me to question my pedagogy and place as a music educator. "...If I were a racist, I wouldn't address outdated policies Or [...]
On Writing Stuff and Getting Paid
This post was prompted by my recent observation in an exchange of text messages with a friend that I earned more from giving one presentation at the 2020 first annual F-FLAT Books Back to School Symposium than from royalty payments all of last year with Routledge (with whom I have published six books to date). I realized upon checking my facts that actually the $90 FABSS presenter’s fee was marginally over half my 2019 royalty earnings from Routledge, but I think the point still works rhetorically. It is, [...]
Dear, Mr. Stakeholder,
You hold the stakes and the stakes are high. I, too, have held precious things. I’ve weighed the options and made the snap judgments beside the long-furrowed brain circles, when right and left seemed equally tied. I’ve held my breath. As a first-year teacher, walking through halls full of faces foreign to me. Hearts untouched and lives untapped. I held my breath. Would I be enough? Would I know enough? Would I even show enough to say when I didn’t know the stuff? Would the music we made, [...]
What Writing a Book is Really Like…From a First Time Author
I've done a lot in my online music education business over the last 4 years. All of it has taken a lot of hard work and dedication. I just figured out how to make it happen and took it all one day at a time. But, for some reason, when it came to me writing a book, it was a different story. I felt a calling to write my book Make A Note: What You Really Need To Know About Teaching Elementary Music for years, but when it [...]