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.
Dear First Year Music Education Student
Welcome to your first year as a music education major, which I promise will be a whirlwind of learning and performing that is both exciting and stressful. In this blog post, I offer four big tips for not only surviving but THRIVING in your first year. Understand How Learning Works Make It Stick, The Science of Successful Learning Two winters ago, I read an amazing book that changed how I viewed learning, “Make It Stick” by Peter Brown, Henry Roediger III, and Mark McDaniel. Here [...]
A Regular Teacher in a Not-So-Regular Place
Travel: An Interactive Museum Follow Naarah's adventures on Instagram @callender_abroad Imagine visiting a country with a culture completely different from yours: the food, mannerisms, and societal expectations. In this moment, this life seems exciting, like walking through an interactive museum. You’re encouraged by friends and fellow tourists to take a picture of everything (and don’t forget to use your travel agency’s company hashtag). All things around you are instagram worthy and in just a few days or weeks time, you will go back to the [...]
7 Suggestions for Better Time Management for Music Educator–Entrepreneurs
How To Confront Father Time as Educators What an exciting time it is for all educators! Another fresh year with eager and gifted students who are slightly nervous and shy. Yet, they're excitedly looking to you, the educator, to help them realize their dreams and potential through your creative tutelage and mentorship. It is indeed a glorious task we have as educators — to bring out the best in our students on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, and on a yearly basis. We all know the [...]
The Key to a Successful First Year
“The greatest use of a life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” - William James Being a first year teacher is hard. There’s a lot to think about and often too little time to prepare. You’ll meet more people and learn more names than you can possibly remember. And, most likely, get lost in your school at least once. If you’re moving to a new area or state, that’s a whole new layer to consider and figure out. The first year is exhausting—the [...]
Taking on the New School Year as the Model of Educational Excellence
The struggle is real. School is just around the corner, your classroom is taking shape, and you are in the throes of planning for the new school year and all of its possibilities. In addition to endless to-do lists, you most likely will be required to attend a few professional development sessions and staff meetings. When you are short on time with a long list of things to do, and you find yourself in a meeting that appears to have no relevance to you, you [...]
Back-to-School Giveaway!
To kick of Back-to-School 2019, we're giving away a swag-bag that includes a tote bag, a t-shirt, and a mug! (If you want to enter, head on over to our Instagram account.) Not only are we incredibly excited about our recent launch, but we're looking forward to our upcoming Back-to-School blog series. So, we felt a giveaway the right thing to do. We're looking forward to the 2019 school year. We're looking forward to publishing more books and posts. And we're looking forward to learning how to [...]
The Accidental Guitar Teacher
My Background In high school, I had a thing for guitar players. I remember playing in a cover band (I was the keyboardist), amazed at how my guitar player would pick up melodies by ear and translate them to his instrument. I loved watching videos of Joan Jett and other female guitarists but was too intimidated to pick up a guitar myself. Why? I was a classically trained pianist trying to become a pop keyboard player. I was used to being told what to play and how to play [...]
“Can I pick your brain?”
My Background I spent my first few years of teaching trying to “follow the rules.” Like many others, my undergraduate education was based on certain music principles and methods. As a new teacher, I was anxious to put four years of education into practice with real students in a real school. While things were going smoothly with my younger grades, I quickly came to the harsh realization that I wasn’t connecting with my middle schoolers. I was heartbroken. This was age-group for which I had a passion. [...]
Every Good Book Deserves Funds
"A new royalty statement is available for Sarah Gulish." I saw an email in my inbox a few weeks ago with this subject line. When I clicked on the link and went to my author portal, I scrolled down to see my payout for the 2018 year: $6.00. For a few hundred dollars in sales, I would only receive enough money to buy a fancy drink at Starbucks. Scratch that. I have a co-author, which means we split royalties. It looks like we'll be sharing the latte [...]
Playing with my eyes closed: experiential listening
Gareth Dylan Smith Drumming (with His Eyes Closed) When we’re teaching rhythm section workshops and other performance classes at the college where I work, my fellow teachers and I often tell the students to look around and pay attention to those with whom they are playing on stage. I believe this to be sound advice, since a lot of the time inexperienced ensemble players will appear to be in their own world entirely, disconnected almost completely from the music that could be happening if only they [...]