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.
Music Beyond the Classroom: Interview with Violist and Social Media Influencer, ThatViolaKid
When I told my students I was interviewing Drew Alexander Forde for my blog (AKA ThatViolaKid), their jaws dropped. One even said, “Wow. You’re not a boomer!” Drew, a dynamic personality and incredible musician, has won over music fans with his engaging social media presence. A Juilliard grad, Drew might be playing a classical quartet one day and sharing the stage with Kanye the next. He embodies the fluidity and creativity that is needed to carve out a space in the music industry today and I wanted [...]
Music citizenship and urban education: Thoughts from grammy-nominated educator, Courtney Powers
As a native Philadelphian, I love the opportunity to celebrate the good things that are happening in my city. Teachers like Courtney are what make our urban school succeed. When I saw that Courtney was a semi-finalist for the Grammy music educator award for 2020, I asked her to share some thoughts via a blog post. In this post, Courtney describes her philosophy on music citizenship and her approach to urban education. Thank you for all you do for students! -Sarah Gulish What is Music Citizenship? Music [...]
New Teacher Series: Tips for concert season
Concert season- it’s one of the most exciting, nerve wracking, busy, and fun parts of our jobs as music educators. It never falls at a good time of the year and is guaranteed to be at least a little stressful. In every year of my career so far, I have been new to at least one building (including this year!). I’ve found some tips and tricks that have worked well in all of my positions regarding concert planning and execution. Although all of your concerts will be [...]
Reflections on 2019 from a new business owner
Have you taken the enneagram test? It’s basically a personality test. The idea underpinning the test is that each person has certain personality traits that are inborn, and can be boiled down to 9 specific types of personalities. I took the enneagram a few months ago thinking it would be fun. What would it say about me? What kinds of cool things would I find out about myself? Instead, it sent me into a tailspin. I scored most strongly in type three: the achiever. As I read the [...]
Music Beyond the Classroom: Interview with Ben Gundersheimer (“Mister G”)
For the next installment of our Music Beyond the Classroom series, we caught up with Bend Gundersheimer, affectionately known as "Mister G" to all his fans. Ben is a true entrepreneur and manages his performing career with a successful writing career while he continues to tour and record. His website sums up all of his roles in the music industry as a"Latin GRAMMY Award winning artist, author, activist, and educator. With 10 albums of original songs composed in four languages, Ben tours internationally as a solo artist and [...]
Redefining the “dream job”: My journey back to teaching
If you had told my 20-something year old self that I would walk away from my “dream job” at the age of 30, I never would have believed you. When I was 23 years old, I was so fortunate to land the job of my dreams. Teaching high school chorus was the job I had thought about since I was in the eighth grade. I imagined myself being in that position until my retirement. However, life had other plans for me. The reality of teaching high school High [...]
Teaching Trans Singers: Rethinking the Basics
Theresa Thomasulo In recent years, it has become increasingly common for choral teachers to have transitioning and gender-fluid singers in their choirs. A quick online search will reveal some excellent literature centered on vocal pedagogy and transitioning voices. However, we should also consider the statistics surrounding mental health risks among transgender youth. While we may think that we are accommodating and inclusive of all our students, we need to take extra steps to ensure that students across the gender-identity spectrum feel safe, comfortable, and happy. [...]
What’s on my desk
While we are in the business of selling eBooks, it doesn't mean that we don't love our physical books! During my 12 month teaching sabbatical last year, I had more time to read, discover, and write. I've taken some of my favorite books and placed them on my desk, hoping that the lessons I've learned from these texts will stay with me when the days are long and I'm running out of inspiration. If you are looking for some good books to read over the upcoming holiday [...]
Music Beyond the Classroom: Interview with Latin Grammy winner, Jose Valentino Ruiz
This week, we're highlighting Jose Valentino Ruiz in our music beyond the classroom series. Not only is Jose one of our authors at F-flat books, he is an incredible musician who wears many hats. University professor, Latin Grammy and Emmy-winning producer and engineer, multi-instrumentalist, dad, husband---these all describe this incredible human being. The first time I met Jose, I was so impressed with his ability to communicate with passion and expertise. If I could bottle his energy, I would! Check out what Jose had to say about [...]
Allow me to introduce myself
There was a subtle but noticeable change when I received my PhD. I was not treated the same. I noticed parent emails were slightly more forgiving, and my opinion seemed to be more valuable than before those three letters followed my name. I noticed a similar change with my friends and colleagues from my PhD program. We were no longer students, we were experts (or, at least we were supposed to be). “What do you do?” Once I started attending and presenting at multiple conferences each year, I [...]
Music Beyond the Classroom: Interview with C.J. Blair
For the next installment of our Music Beyond the Classroom series, we're interviewing master-of-all-trades, C.J. Blair. In a whirlwind career in the music industry, C.J. has worn many hats: guitarist, guitar tech, front of house sound, engineer, and, most recently served as the production manager for Khalid's national and international tour this past year. From setting up a show at SNL, to managing a tour overseas, his work has taken him all over the globe. We asked him to share more about his work and how he got to the [...]
Writing is all about editing
Some people seem to think that it stops with the writing – you throw down a flurry of words in a whirlwind of creative enthusiasm and walk away. NO!!! Initial writing often involves pouring out emotions and ideas. If you’re writing on something you care about, chances are it’ll come thick and fast. Now is not the time for deliberation and over-thinking. Just write the things down, get it all out, and be sure to come back later to fix all your mistakes. However, editing and reviewing [...]