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 Erin…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 March 21 Lessons – Erin P
WELCOME BACKKKKKK! So lovely to see you all and here you had a lovely March break! <3
Liam
Sonatina in G major – first part continue HS. Last line HT. The grace notes are supposed to be light short accents, not crunchy solid minor 2nds, so ensure you are just adding a little note before the main one, not smushing them both down the same time.
*New* Ragtime pg1 in piano pronto – the LH is on 2 and 4, like the hihat of a swing beat. The RH uses a short-long-short rhyrhm. Listen to the melody (beginning at 1:00) with lyrics here.
This week, start at the TOP of your scales/triads and go downards and then go back up. Sometimes just flipping it around helps the brain, and you’ll likely get more practice of the descending this way.
Katarina
Catch a Comet unit – both pieces. Count aloud. Here is a fantastic follow along video for the longer piece.
Next week we will play the game from this unit.
Marita
Nightingale – excellent reading today! Now you can add in the G minor middle section as well. Great job with the written fingering.
Sara
Maple Leaf Rag – sounding really nice and clean!
This week I would like you to look at each of your 5 planned exam pieces (Air in Bb, Sonatina in C, Nighttime, Cloud Dance, Ballade) and see what ones need the most “dusting off” and come next week telling me what you discovered and then we’ll make a plan together.
https://www.musictheory.net/exercises/ear-interval/afrdyyngneyyyyyy
Marco
Superman Theme – Great job adding in all the little 3rds and 6ths for harmony! The rhythms are pretty crazy for this piece, tied triplets and such, so listen to the recordings and play how it sounds best. If feeling confident, add in those LH constant Cs.
Cranky Cat – m1-16. Watch your F# in the quick little “trill”. Keep going in the bridge, first learn it with the hands taking turns.
*New* Jump Pop Hop – this one is easy note wise, but trickier to get all notes perfectly even and shaped in an interesting way. Lines 1,3,4 are parallel motion, while line 2 the hands move contrary to each other.
Keep all technique prepared.
Daniel
This week I would like you to look at each of your 4 planned exam pieces (Minuet, Periwinkle, Breezy, The Wind) and see what ones need the most “dusting off” and come next week telling me what you discovered and then we’ll make a plan together.
It is important to have the page open and be really looking at it this week, since you have played Periwinkle and Breezy a lot for fun, perhaps something’s have evolved and changed and are no longer completely accurate to the page, keep an eye out for this!
Keep all technique prepared. Great job on the formula, work to eliminate the repeated note you do the first time the hands split directions.
Greta
*New* Minuet in F – A section. Each circle of notes is a triad, feel free to play them blocked (all three notes at once) at first if that helps you to start. A minuet is a dance, and though it is not a waltz, it’s still in 3 and maintains the strong-weak-weak beat idea. LH is entirely detached. Listen here.
Maintain all your technical requirements.
Saturday February 24 Lessons – Erin P
Hakim
Pumpkin Boogie – This piece is in ternary form which is a fancy word for saying there’s an A part, B part, and then the A comes back. You are doing a great job of the RH rhythm!! Careful reading is important because this piece uses both B naturals AND B flats. Listen here.
G major scale hands together – do this one with both hands starting on G and going upwards. Same fingering as C major.
C major triads – Today was the best you’ve played these for me! Great fingering and nice note accuracy. Keep at it!
Maria
Viva La Vida – Great work! I would play both parts hands seperate along with the recording to “get it in your fingers”. Internalizing the LH groove is half the battle.
Shakira
Chopin Waltz – you took a picture of this one. Everytime a finger number appears in a circle, it means you move to that new hand position.
G Major scale – This uses the same exact fingering as your C scale does, except it starts on G and has one black key – F#. It will go GABCDE F# G.
Noreet
The Juggler – This piece has a LH melody, which should be louder than the RH accompaniment. Be sure to follow the written instructions for doing the
C Major Contrary motion scale – remember only one thumb under motion in one octave. 123 12345 going outwards.
C Major triads – play these broken (one note at a time) and solid (all 3 notes at once). CEG, then EGC, GCE, then CEG again. RH fingering will be 135, 125, 135, 135. LH fingering will go 531, 531, 521, 531.
Grace
To a Wild Rose – gorgeous! You can start polishing this and exaggerating the dynamics more. For example if there’s multiple diminuendos in a row, you may have to start each phrase a little louder than the previous one so you actually have room to get quieter. I think your tempo is perfectly fine.
Preferred Books for Erin Students
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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.
Piano Safari
