Musicast

Ever wonder how to balance the interests of your students with the curriculum you teach? Do you feel ever feel stuck in the confines of your curriculum?

On this week's episode of Musicast, we sat down with Natasha Henry-Rodriguez to talk about her unique experience as an educator and her new book, "Navigating Music Appreciation through Interpretation."

We hope you all enjoy Natasha's insight into cultivating and leveraging how music weaves its way through our culture to create meaningful experiences for our students!

You can learn more about Natasha's work on her Instagram:

On this week's episode of Musicast, we're looking at starting off the school year on the right foot. Even after 18 starts, there is always something new and exciting about the beginning of the year. Getting off to a 'Good' Start can help define the year to come, and the challenge for some teachers is to make sure you are keeping it fresh for yourself, your students, and your colleagues around you!

We are thrilled to kick off season FIVE (!!) of Musicast with a big announcement.

This season....(drum roll, please)...

...we are welcoming a new host!

We are so thrilled to have educator Jen Divasto join the Musicast team as the new host for season five. Listen to this episode to learn more about Jen, her work as an educator, and what she hopes to bring to the podcast!

It's the FINAL EPISODE of Musicast, season four!

Wow. It's hard to believe that we've had four seasons of engaging conversations on music and music education. In this final episode of Musicast, I sit down with my brother David (co-founder of F-flat Books) to talk about the next season of F-flat.

Listen and learn about:

🎸The why behind our new children's book (Rosie Rocks!!)🎸 How we decided to move into print and wider distribution

🎸 The process of learning new things while trying to stay true to the F-flat values of equitable practices.

Huge shoutout to @vickyweberbooks who has been FULLY INSTRUMENTAL in helping us make this big, scary leap in our business. Vicky has made this process so much easier.

Second huge shoutout to @fwillismusic . "Edward's Rhythm Sticks" was the first children's book we ever created in 2020, and his willingness to take a chance on our tiny company changed the trajectory of our work forever.

We are closing the door on our first year of running F-flat Books full-time and couldn't be more excited about what's coming. So, if you've been supporting our journey and our work, YOU HAVE MADE THIS POSSIBLE!! Thank you.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Order our book!

https://fflat-books.com/featured-titles/rosie-rocks/#

Learn more about Vicky Weber:

https://www.vickyweber.com/

Learn more about Franklin Willis:

https://www.fwillismusic.com/

Learn more about our mom's business!

https://www.facebook.com/Petghans/

It’s the second to last Musicast episode for the 2023-2024 school year! In this episode, I sit down with music educator, Adam Chitta. Adam is the founder of “The Chitta Sound,” an organization that provides tools and professional development for teachers to help better reach their deaf and hard of hearing students.

After receiving a hearing loss diagnosis as a child, Adam was able to become a successful musician (alongside his twin brother!), music educator, and advocate for students like him. In this episode, he shares his story and how he had to advocate for himself in order to pursue a career in music.

You can learn more about Adam at his website:

https://thechittasound.com/

And, if you're in Texas, check out his workshop this summer through TBA:

Friday, July 26th from 5:00-6:00 PM. Deaf Students CAN be Successful in the Band Classroom and Marching Field! 

Finally, Adam provides in-person and virtual visits to observe and discuss DHH accommodations for students. He also provides professional development through his website. Use the contact form on there to get in touch!

In this fun episode, Musicast creator, Marissa Guarriello, sits down with students from Freedom High School to talk about a class they are enrolled in. “Marking Musikfest” is a unique way to connect students with music industry skills. 

Students used Sonic Bids and chose 10 different bands. Then, they selected favorites and offered them contracts for Musikfest, the largest free music festival in the United States.

Listen to the students share about their process, the artists they booked, and listen to the music throughout the episode. 

If you’re an educator and you want to learn more about connections between education and industry, consider visiting the “Musikfest Industry and Education Conference” on August 1st and 2nd in Bethlehem, PA. 

You can learn more at the link below! 

https://www.musikfest.org/lineup/musikfest-music-industry-and-education-conference/

Some of the best teaching ideas stem from identifying problems or gaps in current methods. In this podcast episode, Crystal Boyack talks about just that! Through struggling to find a beginning method that worked for her string players (including her own daughter), she decided to create her own, and "Wee Violin" was born!

Crystal describes her approach to learning to play and love music, and how she incorporates a variety of musical cultures from day one.

You can learn more about Crystal's work below:

https://www.crystalboyackmusicstudio.com/

Grab her books here:

https://www.crystalboyackmusicstudio.com/weeviolin

And, follow her on instagram:

@crystalboyackmusicstudio

I don't know about you, but this is the time of year when I feel overwhelmed with digital clutter and need to do some serious spring cleaning! Enter Theresa Hoover.

Last summer, Theresa delivered an incredible workshop at our annual symposium. She provided ideas for using Google Apps to enhance and streamline teaching. All of us were furiously taking notes and asking for more!

In this episode, I sit down with Theresa to discuss her history with tech, how she became part of #teamgoogle, and learn more about her workshop series, which debuts on April 26th.

You can learn more about Theresa's work here:

https://offthebeatenpathinmusic.com/

https://passthebatonbook.com/

Grab her book here:

https://fflat-books.com/product/empowering-ensembles-with-technology/

And, learn more about her PD sessions on our Learn Site:

https://learn.fflat-books.com/

In this episode, we sit down with musician, author, educator, and all-around incredible human Ashley Shabankareh. Ashley shares about her life and work and how she collaborated on our latest release with longtime friend Mia Ibrahim. 

Mia tragically lost their life in December 2023 and “Embracing Arabic Popular Music” is a resource that honors and celebrates their work in music education. Learn more about how this project developed and how Ashley and others are continuing to find ways to encourage culturally responsive teaching that honors and elevates all cultures, not just a select few. 

You can learn more about Mia and Ashley’s book on the F-flat Books website. 

And, connect with Ashley here: 

https://www.ashleyshabankareh.com/about

In this episode, Sarah sits down with author, musician, and educator: Yeshima! Yeshima has been an F-flat author for years and is currently doing some amazing work in the areas of project-based learning and therapeutic drumming. In this episode, Yeshima shares about their past experiences and how they started music as a clarinetist (and got kicked out of the band!!) and gradually found their way to percussion.

Now, Yeshima has provided a ton of resources for teachers looking to connect students with work that impacts the world. You can learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode at the link below:

Drum Smart Website:

https://drumsmartllc.com/

Drum Smart Insta:

instagram.com/drumsmart101

Project Based Learning Resource:

https://fflat-books.com/product/project-based-learning/