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.
3 Tips on how to sell your eBook
So, you want to sell your eBook but don't know where to start? Perhaps you're an author on our site, perhaps not. Perhaps you write music eBooks, perhaps eBooks on underwater Parcheesi strategy. Regardless, It's my guess that what we have found works here at F-flat is applicable for other sites and subjects. And, hopefully, I can help you get your eBook selling with just a few tips. And, if they all seem to you as "well, duh, that's obvious" kind of tips; I can tell you for [...]
Music beyond the classroom: Interview with guitarist, Haley Powers
You should Follow Haley on Instagram Do you follow Haley Powers on Instagram? You need to. Not only will you see beautiful, sun-drenched videos of her playing guitar and sharing her board setup; you'll be inspired to be a better guitarist and all-around person. Haley Powers is a guitarist/blogger living in Nashville. She shares her work to help guitarists learn how to play better and build their brands. Aside from playing with a number of bands, she also is a social media guru and provides inspirational [...]
Relief, burnout, grief, and a broken system: Why I left teaching
“I’m so shocked.” My previous principal spoke that phrase nearly 20 times when I told him I was leaving the school and the profession. I couldn’t help but wonder, “How can he be shocked?” None of my coworkers were. Though many expressed authentic gratefulness for my time and work at the school, nearly all seemed to feel a sense of relief for me. Others seemed to feel some small envy or regret: “Sure, there’s plenty of other things I’ve thought about doing, plenty of times I wanted to [...]
Five tips for presenting at a conference
Sarah at the ISME conference in Glasgow You've been teaching and researching and doing all of the things (all of them). You decide to take the plunge and submit an application for a conference. Your abstract is complete, you've edited your work, and you click submit. Then, after waiting for months, you receive an email that makes your stomach flip: "Congratulations! Your paper presentation/workshop/poster, has been accepted for presentation at the...". You're elated! You tell your friends and family the good news. And then, it hits [...]
Welcome to McDonald’s: Media and Child’s Play
Dr. Martina Vasil is the Assistant Professor of Music Education at The University of Kentucky. In this post, she shares lessons learned from a research project she completed during her doctoral studies. During that study, she observed children at play to learn more about their musical interactions outside of the classroom. When I set out to collect playground games in 2013, I had a deep concern that I would see nothing—that I would see children outside with tablets and cell phones not interacting with each other. How [...]
Music Beyond the Classroom: Interview with the band, TeamMate
To kick off our new series, "Music Beyond the Classroom," we caught up with the band, TeamMate, currently based in Los Angeles. TeamMate is a pop rock duo comprised of Scott Simons and Dani Buncher. Scott serves as keyboardist and Dani plays the drums. Both of them sing. They play an energetic brand of rock that is simultaneously catchy and full of depth. Not only are they great performers (Scott also performs as the keyboardist for America's Got Talent and music director for Little Big Shots), they are [...]
#WhatImTeachingWednesday
This year I stepped out of my comfort zone. I started an Instagram account dedicated to teaching middle school music (@musicalmiddles). Admittedly, I considered deleting it almost every day for the first week. I had seen countless teacher Instagram accounts, many with tons of followers and stellar pictures, but I had no clue what this realm would hold for me in terms of my own teaching. It was a risk I was willing to take to network, share, and learn from other music educators who [...]
Dear 16-Year-Old Self, This Song Will be on Broadway.
The other day, I was talking to my students about creativity. I find it interesting that many of them think that musical creativity is synonymous with the ability to play an instrument. "No!" I said. "If you asked me to create on the trumpet, I might struggle because I don't play the trumpet well. I won't be able to execute the ideas in my head." But, I explained, that doesn't mean I'm not a creative musician. It means I need another vehicle or I need others to execute my [...]
What the Flip is Flipping the Classroom?
The idea of flipping the classroom for me came out of necessity. For the past 14 years I had been teaching beginning band. And, every year I would search for the “best” way to teach it. As we know, all music programs are not created equal, and each beginning band program has its own unique scheduling requirements. Once I came across the idea of classroom flipping, my classroom began to evolve. In fact, my entire approach to teaching began to evolve. About 3 years ago, I was [...]
I don’t know anything about music. Why am I here?
It is I, David AllenPhoto by Johan Famel If you've been following F-flat Books on social media, I have no doubt you know my sister, Sarah. You may have noted her oft added title "Co-Founder of F-flat Books." And, those of you who are of a curious sort may have wondered "Wait... 'co-' means there's another founder. Who is this F-flatter in the shadows?! Intrigue!" Well, that's me, David Allen (nice to finally meet you all, by the way). I thought it time I stepped out [...]
Creativity in the Band Classroom: Start here!
Creating music is one of the four artistic processes that guide the national core standards for music education, yet many teachers report they spend very little time teaching improvisation and composition in their classes and rehearsals. Most of the best-selling band methods emphasize notation and theory over improvisation and few resources are dedicated to this important musical skill. As a result, musicians of all ages are often anxious about exploring, improvising, and composing music of their own. Therefore, the goal of Creative Activities for Young Bands is to supplement [...]
Reflections on a Teaching Sabbatical
"I'm on sabbatical." I said these words over and over again this past year, explaining to folks why I was suddenly home with my kids and not in the classroom. Since graduating from college in 2007, I have spent every year teaching. Teaching, conducting, writing, studying, planning. Repeat. I earned my Masters and PhD while teaching. I had three babies in four years while teaching, with very little maternity leave. My pace of life has been fast and furious. And then, this past year, I was granted [...]