At a Glance:

  • Client: Geoff Gould, an award-winning music educator and top 10 finalist for the Music Education Grammy Awards.
  • Challenge: Bridging the gap between in-person and remote learning to keep students engaged and collaborative in a blended classroom environment.
  • Solution: Integrating Flat for Education's intuitive interface and powerful collaboration tools to create flexible, interactive lesson plans.
  • Key Results:
    • Fostered a dynamic learning environment where meaningful discussions and collaboration happen both in-person and remotely.
    • Transformed his curriculum with innovative, replicable lessons like an interactive jazz study and a global music exploration.
    • Increased student enthusiasm and engagement, with a minimal learning curve for even the youngest students.
    • Enabled a rapid feedback loop, allowing students to apply new concepts and receive immediate feedback on their compositions.

The Client: Geoff Gould, a Visionary Music Educator

Geoff Gould is not just a teacher; he is a celebrated music educator and a top 10 finalist for the Music Education Grammy Awards. His passion for music and innovation has made him a leader in his field. By integrating Flat for Education into his teaching, Geoff has developed a teaching philosophy that prioritizes student creativity, engagement, and adaptability, proving that music education can thrive in any learning environment.

The Challenge: Beyond the "Post-COVID" Classroom

In the evolving landscape of digital learning, Geoff faced a common problem for many educators: how to seamlessly blend in-person and remote instruction while maintaining high levels of student engagement and collaboration. His challenges included:

  • Bridging the Learning Gap: Geoff needed a platform that could maintain a consistent, high-quality experience for students, whether they were in the classroom or learning from home.
  • Encouraging Meaningful Interaction: How could he replicate the deep, one-on-one discussions about music composition when he couldn't be physically present with every student?
  • Maximizing Time: He needed a tool that was so user-friendly that even young students could get started in minutes, saving valuable class time.
Empowering students to co-create music and provide peer feedback with live collaboration.

The Solution: A Dynamic Platform for a Dynamic Teacher

Geoff found that Flat for Education was the ideal tool to solve these problems. The platform’s key features allowed him to create a flexible, interactive, and replicable curriculum that could be used by any teacher.

Fostering Real-time Collaboration

Flat for Education’s collaboration tools became a cornerstone of his teaching. They allowed Geoff to seamlessly interact with students on their compositions, providing real-time feedback and guidance. This transformed his remote discussions, as he notes:

"Even with this new post-Covid World that we are living in, I can assign something for them sitting right here in my office and still have meaningful deep discussions about what we are creating together, student by student."

A User-Friendly Interface

Geoff praises the platform’s simplicity, which is crucial for maximizing classroom time. He highlights the fact that students are just "three clicks from when they sign in on Google to be in their Flat for Education Dashboard, ready to compose or to work on an assignment." This minimal learning curve ensures that students get straight to the creative work, without technical distractions.

Innovative, Replicable Lesson Plans

Flat for Education became the engine for Geoff’s most creative projects. He used it to create:

  • Interactive Jazz Lessons: An assignment that celebrated Ella Fitzgerald by having students scat sing over a jazz backing track and upload their recordings to the class stream.
  • Global Music Exploration: A project where students used Google Maps to explore historic music landmarks and then composed a melody inspired by the location in Flat for Education.

To replicate this with your studets, let's explore the step to create this assignment:

  1. First, you need to create an empty score and sync it with the YouTube video of a jazz backing track:
  1. Second, you need to create a performance assignment using the score you just created with all all the assets and resources your students need to succeed.

The Results: A Classroom of Engaged, Enthusiastic Students

By using Flat for Education, Geoff has not only enhanced his students' musical skills but also created a more interactive, engaging, and productive classroom environment.

  • Unprecedented Engagement: Geoff's students are highly enthusiastic about music, driven by the platform's ability to provide instant access and a rapid feedback loop.
  • Empowered Composers: Students can immediately apply new concepts and hear their compositions, which deepens their understanding of music theory.
  • Adaptable Curriculum: Geoff’s lesson plans seamlessly bridge the gap between in-person and remote learning, ensuring that music education is always accessible and dynamic.

Conclusion: A Creative Tool for the Modern Music Classroom

Geoff Gould's success with Flat for Education illustrates how the right tools can revolutionize music education. By embracing a platform that prioritizes engagement, collaboration, and simplicity, he has proven that it is possible to create a dynamic learning environment where students thrive, regardless of the challenges they face.

Get started on Flat for Education

Musically Yours,

Flat for Education

By using Flat for Education, Geoff Gould proves that great music notation software can revolutionize education, keeping students engaged and connected in any learning environment. Thank you for your time and expertise!