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.
Why Self-Care and Rest Should be a Priority to College Music Majors
As a Music Education major, I am not a stranger to the extraneous workload, unbalanced and crazy class schedules, and a lack of clarity in when/how to take breaks. It can be argued that music degree programs are some of the most demanding in the University curriculum. In return, as "music people," we come out with a better understanding of life, music, and more life lessons than others. But at what cost if we don't prioritize our mental health? I strongly believe that if we do not [...]
Sigur Ros, Burnout, & the Joys of Making a Good Playlist
I have roughly 200 playlists in my Apple Music library. Not the algorithmic ones that our benevolent tech overlords provide for us - my very own creations. 200 of them. Perhaps that’s more than any sane human should have. Most of them are for me. Some are large, eclectic collections to put on shuffle. Others capture a specific mood or encapsulate a certain genre. Many are re-workings of existing albums, enhanced by what I thought was superior sequencing. A few are, in fact, gifts for friends and [...]
Research to Practice: Understanding and Moving Through Burnout
It seems like information about teacher burnout is everywhere right now. I’m not sure if it is because we’re still facing COVID-19-related difficulties in the classroom or if we’re just less afraid to talk about the less glorious side of teaching. [...]
My Instruction Philosophy
My focus is not to train students to just reproduce prepared material. I want students to understand what they play, not just play it. When instructing beginners or introducing a new subject — dumb it down, leave stuff out. Make it easy as possible. Once the student acquires some skill & confidence, they will be emotionally ready to progress to more challenging study. Making it difficult in the beginning can discourage and invite students to quit. If the student has a sincere desire to learn, but is [...]
Research to Practice: Embracing Differences
It is through treating our students as individuals that they can learn to meaningfully connect to music. That means that we, as teachers, should seek to make music classes not just about our own musical interests, but about the musical interests of our students too. [...]