ARCT • Teachers’ Diploma (RCM) in-progress
Trained Music Together Teacher
Erin Plank (they/he) is a passionate young piano teacher. For their professional development, Erin received the highest exam scores in all of Canada last year for “Teaching Elementary Piano” with the RCM.
Erin’s main goal is to turn students into lifelong music lovers, not just pianists. I seek to provide them with the tools to practice efficiently at home, sight read a song at their friend’s piano, learn the melody to a song off the radio by ear, and nurture a technical foundation that lasts a lifetime so it’s “just like riding a bike” to play the piano. And even better, they’ll want to.
Get to know TEACHER…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Piano, weightlifting, playing with my cat, and hanging out with friends
Musical influences: Ben Folds, Brad Mehldau, Edvard Grieg
Favourite food: Fried chicken sandwich
Least favourite food: snap peas, because I ate too many as a kid one time and threw up and now I dislike the smell
Favourite music: Romantic era piano music, Beach Boys and similar era music, math rock
Favourite song: “How Dare You Want More” by Bleachers
Favourite movie: Sing Street
Favouirite movie music: main theme for “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” or anything Star Wars
Favourite musical theatre/opera: Wozzeck
Best quote from your teacher: “Don’t show the audience you messed up, they won’t know! Keep going!”
Favourite quote: “That’s what life is, Happy Sad”
Favourite book: Recursion by Blake Crouch
Best thing about teaching at ABC: Getting to reach and connect with so many lovely people!
Latest Homework from Erin
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Thursday September 21 Lessons – Erin P
Happy Fall everyone! <3 You’re sounding great, I’m lucky to have ears around you all.
Grace
To a Wild Rose – Start at last two lines of the song and practice hands separate a bunch to become fluent. Remember you do not need to maintain strict timing, at the climax of the piece at the top of page 2 you can slow down and place this chords with care
Chopin Prelude – Awesome !! Practice m16 by itself to secure RH trill over LH. Isolate ending cadence and repeat until you can play it with your eyes closed.
Liam
*New* Niimi Aandeg – Due to the syncopated nature of this melody, it kind of has to be learned slowly hands together. To make it simpler, I would reduce the entire LH into just As while doing this, and add the extra notes in later. Make note of which notes in the melody align with the LH, as there are few. Here is a recording at a slow practice tempo to use.
*New* Raiders in the Night page 1 – this is in 6/8. You want to feel 2 main pulses within each bar though to keep momentum going, not 6 little beats per bar. Be picky with the contrasts between staccato and legato, as well as dynamics, as early as you can.
Aria – nice work! Now put it hands together. Try to play the RH melody louder than the LH.
Great job with the scales! Be sure you are subdividing (feeling the 8th notes/16th notes) inside your head before you begin playing.
Jadon
Hot Potato – Ensure everything is light and bouncey, the hot potato is likely the piano keys which is why we don’t linger on them too long. Start slow and steady, then speed this up as fast as you can play in control.
Endgame – I’m glad you like this one! Show me whenever you have some progress :)
Warmup with your D Major scale to get your brain in that key before playing the piece.
Katarina
Landmark note worksheet – this worksheet reinforces the first (and most important) 3 notes on the piano you’ll ever learn. Bass F, middle C, treble G. Please complete it and bring it to lesson next week.
Muffin Man – this piece uses notes that say the note name inside of them. Focus on noticing the direction of notes and whether they step or skip.
Hot Air Balloon – this piece uses the 3 landmark notes that are in your worksheet. RH will play middle C with thumb, and finger 5 on treble G. Any finger in your LH can play F, the paper suggests finger 3. Remember to count 2 beats for half notes (the hollow ones).
Sara
Arpeggios – Keys to remember are, flip your hand quickly (limit time the hand is contracted), don’t pump your elbow up into the air, move laterally in a smooth manner. Tackle any of the keys that go White Black White, and go slowly.
Sonatina in F major – Work on the balance to the melody, so the accompaniment doesn’t drown them out. Really good job fixing everything else. Watch the LH when the RH starts the 16th note run, let go.
*New* Niimi Aandeg – Due to the syncopated nature of this melody, it kind of has to be learned slowly hands together. To make it simpler, I would reduce the entire LH into just As while doing this, and add the extra notes in later. Make note of which notes in the melody align with the LH, as there are few. Here is a recording at a slow practice tempo to use.
Victress Session – BEAUTIFUL! I loved hearing this today. Have fun polishing it up for one more week. I’d love to hear even more dynamics!
Maple Leaf Rag LH – your’re on the right track! Slow and steady wins the race.
See if the app “Chet” is in the Google Play Store. It will be very beneficial for ear training.
Marco
What Lies Ahead m21 – to end. The chord progression remains the same even when it becomes a rocking back and forth pattern rather than solid notes. Explore it hands separate for the first few times, then put it hands together.
C F G major scales – we will learn the minor ones next week. For now, just review these with both hands using consistent fingering.
*New* Zum Gali Gali – The rhythms and articulation are the star of this piece. It is in D minor and it is very bouncy and playful. Emphasize the contrast between staccato and legato sections. Count carefully, as the parts will need to slot together. (Remember, What Lies Ahead is your priority this week, but I still know you can handle this too!).
Daniel
*New* Niimi Aandeg (found in repertoire book 1) – Due to the syncopated nature of this melody, it kind of has to be learned slowly hands together. To make it simpler, I would reduce the entire LH into just As while doing this, and add the extra notes in later. Make note of which notes in the melody align with the LH, as there are few. Here is a recording at a slow practice tempo to use.
Final Countdown – Play the LH as written, and reduce the RH to just the top melody notes for now.
Bb major scale – The fingering can be found in this image>
Keep Zum Gali Gali playable, but it isn’t your prioirty right now. 80-90% of time should be spent on the other 2 pieces.
Marita
I think you would benefit from using a 5 minute timer for every piece. Put it on, and spend 5 minutes for each piece using your practice strategies like breaking it into chunks, different hands, going from the back to front etc. Let’s unleash all that potential on these awesome pieces!
Atacama Dessert Pg 1 – this piece is beautiful! Watch your F#s. Some repetition will really bring this to life, because you play it well once you’re in the groove.
On Your Mark – This piece is a lovely G Minor, that can be sped up.
Crazy Comics m1-8 – go slow and either count out the beats or say Right Left Right Left Together to teach your hands their choreography. You’re doing a great job of playing some notes smooth, and some staccato, which really brings the fun.
Greta
It is so nice to meet you! I didn’t state my pronouns today but they’re He/They.
You’re working on After the Battle – When playing it the first few times, go hands separate, noticing the F# in the key signature. When you’re comfy with both parts, try hands together slowly. A recording and a backing track can be found by clicking the links.
We’re going to have a great time together! Thanks for being open and honest with my getting to know you questions :) This first month we’ll be exploring Halloween music and some other supplemental stuff as we learn more about where you’re at, but then you can go ahead with purchasing the RCM level 1 books.
Saturday September 23 Lessons – Erin P
Happy first day of Fall everyone! <3 You’re sounding great, thanks to your hard work and practice!
Noreet
*New* Little River – This introduces a new Italian music word = “Legato”. It literally means “bound” like “bound together” which is why we connect the notes sound together without a break. When you play this piece, your fingers will walk on the keys, not jump, so there is no break in the sound between them. Think of how someone might sing this piece, they wouldn’t breathe between every single note. At the end of each line, do a graceful “wrist float off” with your hand.
Review Firefly for fun – Great work playing Firefly front to back today with my duet! You can keep playing it this week, because it’s fun and satisfying to play something you know AND your brain and fingers get stronger by doing so!
Note reading Maze worksheet – This sheet reviews C position notes. One side is treble clef (RH), and one is bass clef (LH). Complete and bring next week :)
Gerardo
The Swing – Now you know this entire piece! Today we did spot practicing on the parts that are different in each phrase, as well as the position changes. This is a great practice tool = doing the tricky parts more so they get easier, and can be played the same speed as the “easy” parts. Break it into chunks and repeat them for fluency, then put it all together :)
Happy Birthday – Today we learned how to voice lead the chords! This means choosing an inversion of the chord that requires the least movement of the hand. Practice using your convenient inversions of the C7 and Bb chord while playing through this. Once that’s comfy, you can try other rhythms or patterns.
All white-key-start major scales – Warm up with these for one more week. Next week we will move onto broken triad patterns.
Preferred Books for Erin Students
Click to buy them here, and they’ll come right to your house! What could be easier?
BOOK TITLE
COMING SOON
Faber Piano Adventures
The 2nd Edition Level 1 Lesson Book introduces all the notes of the grand staff, elementary chord playing, and the concept of tonic and dominant notes. Students play in varied positions, reinforcing reading skills and recognizing intervals through the 5th. Musicianship is built with the introduction of legato and staccato touches. This level continues the interval orientation to reading across the full range of the Grand Staff. The 5-finger approach is presented here in a fresh, musically appealing way.