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.
Remote music teaching: How I’m surviving COVID-19
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 varying interests in music. Some students wanted it to be a choir class, some played instruments and were hoping for it to be band class, some played string instruments, some were just in the class because it was the only [...]
Remote music teaching: An honest review of Moosiko and SmartMusic
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 which I teach. On March 13th, I started scrambling. I sent out a message on a large Facebook forum inviting members to share their emails with me for a large resource roundup. At the time, I was hoping to help [...]
Remote music teaching: Using social media for connection
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, family, and eventually my students turn into scrolling zombies with many of these habits trickling into my life as well. If you were to have a conversation with me about social media, I would express a strong dislike for it. [...]
From a Place of Privilege
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 out, was already on the case — she had already begun to amass free resources that we could disseminate through this web site. #blessed This hashtag, a favorite of our father, feels very apt. Perhaps you are unaware, but I [...]
How to practice during a pandemic: Just keep swimming
The current pandemic has thrust the global population into a period of uncertainty unrivaled in recent history. Music students at universities around the world are being forced to abandon the structure that has helped to frame their success and are now required to adapt their habits to fit the new realities that accompany distance learning and social distancing. While much of the conversation surrounding music students has been largely focused on the loss of milestone events such as concerts, recitals, and graduations, one factor that has been largely [...]
#musicservicelearning
As I watch the education world move to an all online learning, I’m struck positively by several things. First, I love how people are embracing this opportunity to explore new learning platforms! I find it amazing that so many companies have made materials free for teachers during this hard transition. In the face of many deflated and concerned collegiate student comments on social media, I admire the leadership of colleagues across the Nation who rally together to remind students that learning can and should continue, even if in [...]
Teaching Music Online: Strategies and Resources
(Note: this post will continue to be updated with resources as they come in) As I write this post, I am looking at a dozens of text messages from other teachers in my school district. We just received news that we would be closed for at least two weeks to try and halt the spread of COVID-19 in our county in Pennsylvania. As other face similar situations around the globe, I hope this resource roundup can serve to provide much needed help to music teachers who are [...]
Music Beyond the Classroom: Interview with Film and Television Composer, Will Blair
Will and I go way back. I still remember the first time I heard his Philly-based band, East Hundred, in 2008 and fell in love with the song "Slow Burning Crimes." I was playing in a band at the time and female-fronted groups were hard to come by in our city. We bonded over our similar styles and I had the privilege of learning from Will and the rest of his group when we shared the stage. Even after East Hundred broke up, I followed Will's career-from experimental [...]
From Perfection to Authenticity, Orchestra-style
At what point in the music-learning process can creativity be introduced? Maybe when the D-major scale can be played in-tune? Or, could we begin tapping into musical exploration from the first baby steps of plucking strings? A classically-trained violist, I took over 15 years to take the terrifying plunge from the safety of traditional perfection into vulnerable improvisation. Instead of being the “man in the arena,” in the words of Teddy Roosevelt (resurrected recently by Brene Brown), I was the critic in the comfort of the stands making [...]
Music Beyond the Classroom: Interview with Stage Manager, Sami Slovy
For this installment of our music beyond the classroom series, we caught up with master-of-all-trades, Sami Slovy. In 15 years, Sami has built a name for herself as a well-respected person in the music industry. She's worked as a tour manager (Neko Case, Trombone Shorty), production manager (Beach House, Haim), and has an impressive list of credits as a stage manager. I have a personal goal of highlighting more women in the music industry and am so grateful that Sami offered her time and expertise for others looking [...]
I wrote a song a day for a month. Here’s what I learned.
Are you a songwriter? Do you want to be a songwriter? I've thought a lot about songwriting this past year. Last spring, I taught a course at Temple University for undergraduate music education majors called collaboration and creativity. One of the assignments was to write a song. For many of my students, it was the first time they had ever written a song before. Ever. When I tell people outside of music ed about this, they are shocked. "Music ed majors don't have to write songs in college? [...]
Viral teaching: How the coronavirus has changed my work
The start of corona It would be extremely difficult to turn on the TV, radio, or even YouTube without seeing some form of announcement or article about the novel coronavirus -- not so lovingly called “corona” for short by some of us who have found ourselves closest to it. The virus struck in the middle of what was supposed to be the most joyful week, not just in Chinese culture, but in several cultures across Asia. It is a time when family members who have left their hometowns [...]