Mezzo-Soprano Emma Berube (she/her) showcases a range of repertoire in art song, opera, and music theatre. From Bach to Debussy and Sondheim to Schwartz, she has an appreciation and expertise for a wide range of music that tells a story.
Emma achieved her Bachelor of Music from the Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University in 2023. During her time at Western she was involved in several theatrical, music theatre, and choral productions. Emma’s goal during her time at ABC is to connect with students through music and help them become proficient and confident musicians and humans.
Get to know Emma…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Reading, Writing, Spending time with friends and family
Musical Influences: Stephen Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown, Taylor Swift
Favourite Food: Strawberries
Least Favourite Food: Olives
Favourite Song: Evermore – Taylor Swift
Favourite Movie: Little Women – Greta Gerwig
Favourite Movie Music: Peter Pan – James Newton Howard
Favourite Musical Theatre/Opera: Company – Stephen Sondheim
Best Quote from your Teacher: “Run as Fast as You Can”
Favourite Book: The Secret to Superhuman Strength – Alison Bechdel
Latest Homework from Emma
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Assignments from February 13th
Hello! I hope you all had a fun snow day!
Noreet:
When warming up this week Noreet can continue to play her G Major scale hands together, pay close attention to the fingerings in as the scale descends. D Major can be played 2 octaves hands together. Practice the A Major scale hands together slowly. We are still working on Ice Cream and More Ice Cream. When practicing please remind Noreet that the eighth notes are twice as fast as the quarter notes. I’ve uploaded a video to the google drive to help Noreet has she learns to play two different rhythms in both hands. Please play this for her so that she can follow along. The same pattern can be practiced on her own with the metronome. Have her count out loud (1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and) as she taps along. Use the metronome when playing Ice Cream and More Ice Cream. Play these pieces slowly hands together. You can find the video here.
Vida:
Today we learned the F Major scale! Have Vida practice this hands separately for warm up. When she feels confident she can play it hands together. We continued with the song in her book. She can continue to practice the first two phrases, please help her read the 3rd and 4th phrases of the song. We can talk about any questions she has about the piece and address any problem areas next week in class. We also reviewed our note values and intervals. She likes the note value work sheets so I’ve uploaded a new one for her to work on this week. Please bring this next week and we will correct it together. You can find that sheet here.
Eva:
Hello Eva! Sorry we missed you this week. I’ve uploaded a new song called “Donkey’s Love Carrots” to the google drive for you to practice if you need more material for this week. This song has stepwise motion and some small jumps. If you wanted to try reading this at home together we can address any problem areas next week. Otherwise, continue to practice “Dancing with Frankenstein”. If you feel confident with the notes in this song, practice performing the song. You can find “Donkey’s Love Carrots” here.
Thank you everyone! I hope the weather is better for next weeks lessons. Happy practicing!
Assignments from February 6th
Hello Everyone!
Great lessons this week! Some really exciting progress and some great first lessons with new students. See your homework and practice recommendations below!
Noreet:
For warm up with week, please have Noreet play all her scales hands together. Practice a two octave G Major scale at 85BPM on the metronome, two octaves of D Major slowly, and one octave of A Major very slowly. All scales can be played 85BPM when Noreet feels confident in the scale. We reviewed Ice Cream and More Ice Cream on page 18 of her book. Please continue to practice both of these. These two pieces have Noreet play different rhythms in her two hands at the same time. Please help her by counting out loud slowly with her when practicing (1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and). Have Noreet point to the notes while she counts. Practice the right hand melody and left hand chords twice through separately before trying to play them at the same time. When confident, play hands together slowly.
Vida:
Help Vida to sight read the next song in her book. Continue to practice the difference in staccato and legato playing as indicated in the song. We will discuss and review any unfamiliar concepts in this song next week. Remember, this song has a B flat in it! Please practice Life is Better Loud hands separately. Remind Vida that the letters I’ve written in are chords not notes. Practice these chords in sequence with the left hand, these can all be found on the chords and triads page of her binder.
Eva:
Hello Eva! It was so nice to meet you and your mom on Thursday! For this week, please practice “Dancing with Frankenstein”. I’ve uploaded this to Eva’s folder in the google drive, you can find that here. Please help Eva to read this piece at home, The left hand starts on A and the right hand starts on a C. If she doesn’t recognize the next note, ask if its higher or lower than the one she just played, and by how many steps, the count up alphabetically to find the next note (moves up 2 steps from C = E). When Eva is confident with the notes, practice “performing” this smoothly (its okay if we don’t get here this week).
Christian:
Hey Christin! I’ve attached a link to the google drive and uploaded Sailor’s Tale in case you don’t have it. Please find that here. Continue to practice this over the next two weeks. When practicing, warm up with the C Major and G Major scales hands separately, focusing on the proper fingerings (123,12345). When practicing Sailor’s Tale, practice your right hand and left hand separately, focusing on accurate pitches and rhythms. I’ve uploaded more sight reading resources if you get stuck. Start your practice by sight reading the whole thing start to finish, ignoring the rhythms if you have to. This will allow you to practice reading. Then practice small chunks of the song (e.x the fist 3 bars) focusing on accurate pitches and rhythms until you can play the phrase confidently and smoothly. You can feel free to practice a few small sections throughout the piece (e.x the first 3 bars and the last 3 bars). Use the free metronome if you find this helpful, this is a free resource on google. Should you feel confident you can then play both hands together slowly.
Happy practicing everyone! I look forward to more lessons next week!
Assignments from January 30th
Hello!
Wow! Awesome lessons all around this week friends!
Noreet:
We have Noreet’s book and her blue glove at the Conway location! It is tucked away safe on Barn’s desk ready for next week. In the meantime I’ve uploaded all the materials Noreet needs for practice this week to the google drive. You can find these here.
We reviewed the C Major and G Major scales hands together. C Major is in a great place and can be left off the practice roster for now in favor of other scales. Please continue to practice the G Major scale hands together with the metronome at 115BPM. Please pay close attention to the fingering in the descent. D Major can be practiced slowly hands together, and the A Major scale which we learned Thursday can be practiced hands separately (remember A Major has 3 sharps, F#, C#, and G#). We sight read new songs today! Please practice “Ice Cream” and “More Ice Cream” with the metronome set to 115BPM, hands separately until Noreet feels confident enough to try hands together. Please work towards accurate rhythms in the pieces specifically. There is an extra sheet we looked at together in class that has different rhythm patterns on it. Please review these with Noreet, help her count the beat out loud (1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and) and then clap the 4 different rhythms on the sheet.
Vida:
Great first day with the new book! When practicing the first song at home please take the repeat and practice the different dynamics listed in the music (first time though loud, second time through soft). Please help Vida with when reading the phrases with eighth notes split between the two hands. This is the first time we’ve seen them written like this on the staff, but the rhythm is the same as if played in one hand. If this is a challenge when practicing, practice these specific phrases with the right hand only so Vida understands the contour and rhythm of the phrase before going back to playing it between the two hands. We can review this in class next week. Also, please continue to help Vida distinguish between the staccato phrases and the legato phrases. Vida can also start to practice “Life is Better Loud”. Please practice the melody and chords hands separate until she feels confident enough to try the melody and the chords hands together. When practicing the chords, ensure Vida plays them in her left hand and that she knows the name of the specific chord she is playing, especially E Major vs. E minor. These can be practiced broken (E then G# then B) or solid.
Great progress all around this month everyone! Looking forward to our first February lesson next week!
Assignments for January 23rd
Hello!
We had some pretty good lessons Thursday evening.
Noreet:
Today we reviewed some scales and learned a new one as well! When practicing scales, please help have Noreet practice with a metronome at home. Google has one available online for free use. When playing the metronome please ensure it is set to 100 Beats Per Minute, the quicker tempo will help Noreet hear the beat more succinctly when practicing. You can count out loud with her (one and two and three and four and) to the clicks to help her hear the beat. Please continue to practice the C Major scale playing 2 octaves hands together. Noreet can start practicing the G Major scale playing one octave hands together. She can also practice the new D Major scale! Noreet knows that this scale has 2 sharps (C# and F#). Practice this scale slowly hands separately. I’ve asked Noreet to review page 11 of her book. Specifically to focus on playing accurate rhythms. Use the metronome here again to help her. Finally, continue to review Mr. Brahms’ Lullaby. Practice this slowly. Please help her to review the notes and ensure she is playing the correct ones. Should she get stuck, ask her if the next note moves up or down and by how many lines and spaces to help her get to the answer. We will finalize this next week in class.
Vida:
This week we looked at the Piano Adventures level 2A book. I’ve uploaded “Free Willy” to the google drive, see the link below! Please help her to continue sight reading this when practicing at home. Should she feel confident you can slowly start to play this piece hands together. I’ve also uploaded to corresponding work page Vida asked about at the end of the lesson. Please look at this together, help her to add up the beats in each whale and to clap each rhythm pattern you see. We will review this in class next week.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_EQwQJLHjerrQcN8iBRYAz_31kYz_zGU?usp=sharing
Thank you everyone for your work this past week! I look forward to our next lessons.
Happy Practicing!
Homework from January 16th
Hello Everyone! Some great work was done in lessons this week.
Noreet:
Today we reviewed our C Major and G Major scales. Continue to warm up with these as you practice at home. Try playing both hands together slowly. We sight read “Cathedral Chimes” and “Sounds from the Gumdrop Factory” today from the Piano Adventures 2B book. A copy of “Gumdrop Factory” has been uploaded to the shared google drive in the “student-specific resources” file. Continue to practice this piece hands separately at home, paying close attention to the note values and rhythms in the piece. We also talked about sharps and flats on the piano and how the black keys have 2 names (e.x C sharp – C# and D flat – Db) I’ve also given a fill in the blank sheet to be filled out.
Vida:
Today we reviewed our C Major and B Major scales. Start practicing B Major hands together at home, and continue to play C major hands together. Vida can also practice C Major in contrary motion (right hand plays the scale ascending while the left hand plays the scale descending) if she feels confident. We also played “Sounds from the Gumdrop Factory” today from the Piano Adventures 2B book. A copy of this song has been uploaded to the shared google drive in the “student-specific resources” file. Please help Vida as this song shows both the right hand part and the left hand part written together. Practice each hands separately paying close attention to the note values and rhythms in the piece. Use the metronome at home to help with the eighth notes.
Thank you everyone! I’m excited to play more songs from different books next week.
Happy Practicing :)
Homework from Thursday December 19th
Hello Everyone!
We had some awesome lessons today!
Noreet:
Today we reviewed Jingle Bells. There has been a noticeable improvement since last week, especially in her sight reading! Today we talked about chords and learned our G Major, F Major, and C Major chords to accompany the melody of Jingle Bells. I’ve written in the chords for Jingle Bells in the boxes below the melody (right hand). The chords and the melody line up where Noreet should play both hands together. The chords themselves are written on a different page. We talked about playing the “root” note (“G” in G Major, “F” in F major, and “C” in C Major) with the 5th finger of the left hand and building the chord up from there. She should practice playing these chords and switching from chord to chord without the melody first until she in comfortable enough to try adding the right hand back in. Play hands together when confident. We also reviewed the G Major scale today so Noreet can warm up with both her C Major scale and her G Major scale. Practice playing C Major with both hands at the same time. The fingering of when to cross her 3rd and 4th fingers are different for the two hands. The goal is to practice making her fingers do two different things at the same time. Some really great progress today!
Vida:
Today we reviewed rhythm and our note value pyramid! We revisited the metronome and practiced clapping along to the beat and clapping eighth notes to the beat. Practice this at home with her. Continue to warm up with the C Major and B Major scales with the metronome. Start at 140 BPM and play each note to the beat, then challenge her to try 90 BPM and play eighth notes. The goal is to find the “pocket” where two eighth notes fit into one beat. Vida also played “Do Re Mi” from the Sound of Music. Keep encouraging her to play this as it will help us when reviewing intervals in the New Year. We reviewed Everybody Wants to Rule the World and sight read the bridge of the song. When reading at home, take turns pointing to the notes and naming them. Start by pointing to each note and asking Vida to name it, then switch and ask her to point while you name the note. This will help her associate notes on the staff with the correct letter names. You can slowly play along while you do this. When practicing Everybody Wants to Rule the World, start with the melody/chord page at the front of her book and then add on the notes for the bridge before going back to the chorus on the first page. Great listening and reading today!
Thank you everyone for your work these past few weeks!
A reminder that we are closed December 24th-January 1st. Lessons will resume the week of January 4th. Our first class in the New Year will be January 9th 2025!
Happy Holidays everyone, I will see you in the New Year!
Assignments from February 15th
Hello! We saw some really great progress this week!
Berke:
We reviewed and warmed up with our scales. Practice G Major hands together, focus on the fingering particularly in the descent of the scale. We learned D Major, this scale has 2 sharps F# and C#, this can be practiced slowly hands separately this week. We played through Mozart’s minuet in F Major. We’ve started playing parts of this hands together slowly. When practicing this piece, please remind Berke that both the right hand and the left hand start on F. Continue to practice both the right and and left hand separately, specifically the left hand as this is not the melody. Remind Berke that the B in measure 2 is to be played flat. When practicing this piece hands together, start with measures 4, 5, and 6. We practiced these in the lesson. Playing these three bars hands together smoothly, accurately, and confidently is the primary goal for this week. When Berke is confident with this he add on measure 3 or measure 7 (Berke’s choice). Practice either of these bars hands together on their own until comfortable and confident add on measures 4-6. Also, we discussed the importance of accurate fingerings when playing the minuet. Please print Mozart’s minuet for Berke as he would like to write in the fingerings under the notes. Have him bring this to class next week and we will correct it together. Finally, I’ve uploaded a sheet titled “Notes on the Staff” to the drive to help Berke with sight-reading. The sheet labels the notes on the staff and where they are on the keyboard. He can use this to help read if he gets stuck. You can find both the minuet and the sheet here.
Great class today! Some really great progress, I look forward to seeing how we improve next week.
Assignments from February 1st
Hello Saturday Friends!
Great lesson today!
Berke:
We learned a new scale today! Berke can now practice G Major, one octave, hands separately. He can also practice C Major with two octaves! Please help Berke by reminding him that both of his thumbs should be on C when he finishes the first octave before he starts the second. This anchor point will ensure proper fingering. We sight read more of Mozart’s Minuet in F Major. Our focus today was proper hand placement and fingerings to allow for efficient playing. Continue to read and practice this at home. Make sure Berke is practicing both the right hand melody as well as the left hand base line. Proper hand placement and fingering are imperative with this piece, please make sure Berke is starting the right hand with his 3rd finger and that the second note in the first 3 bars is played with the 5th finger. This will ensure Berke has enough fingers left to come back down the keyboard as the melody descends. For the bass line, Berke should start with his 5th finger so that he has room to climb with the keyboard. Ensure the C in the 3rd bar of the bass line is played with his 1st finger (thumb) so that he can reach the octave below with his 5th finger. Finally please make sure Berke plays the Cadential Movement at the end of both the first and second phrase in the bass line with his 1st, 3rd, and 5th fingers as practiced in class.
Cadential Movement: Acts a musical period at the end of a phrase. Creates resolution in the phrase.
Great progress this week! I’m looking forward to hearing Berke play more next week.
Assignments from January 25th
Hello!
What a great Saturday full of lessons!
Berke:
Today we reviewed our scales. Please continue practicing C Major hands together, paying close attention to the fingerings of the descent of the scale. Start to practice G Major hands together slowly. When practicing the triads at the end of the scale please ensure Berke plays these with his first, third, fourth, and fifth fingers. The chord should always start with the first finger (thumb) in the right hand, and fifth finger in the left hand. Practicing proper fingerings will help to ensure Berke’s fingers do not get tangled in ascending and descending scales. We also started to sight-read a new piece today! Berke expressed an interest in playing Mozart, so I have chosen Mozart’s Minuet in F Major. This is a selection in the Level One Royal Conservatory Repertoire book. Please help Berke to sight-read this at home up to the end of the second phrase. Should he get stuck, ask if the next note moves up or down and by how many lines and spaces. This will help guide Berke to the answer as we continue to learn how to sight read. You can also rely on the note names sheet I sent home the first week. A copy of this sheet as well as the Minuet and the C Major triads has been uploaded to the google drive. You can find these in the link below.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bJUyXO3FeNBIdhir_V72u45oNlDvneD1?usp=sharing
Thank you for the great lesson today! Happy practicing!
Homework from January 18th 2025
Hello! We had a very productive class today!
Berke:
We reviewed the C Major and D Major scales. For this week please practice with a metronome. This is available online for free via google. For the D Major scale please practice these hands separately at 75BPM (75 beats per minute). We also reviewed the C Major scale and tried playing it hands together today. Continue to practice the C Major scale playing both hands together at home slowly. Use the metronome and play at 60BPM. We also discussed intervals, triads, and chords. I’ve sent Berke home with a sheet with information on intervals and triads, this will also be uploaded to the google drive in Berke’s file for reference if need be. Practice playing all 8 intervals on the piano with both hands. Berke can also continue to practice the C Major chord “broken” (all three notes played individually) and “whole” (all 3 notes played at the same time). Finally, Berke has expressed interest in learning Mozart’s Turkish Waltz. I think this is a great goal to work towards. Please check online if there is sheet music available to download or purchase online and I will do the same so we can work on it next week.
Great lesson today! Happy practicing!
Preferred Books for Emma’s Students
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Faber & Faber Piano Adventures
The 2nd Edition Primer Lesson Book introduces the keyboard, note values, and the grand staff. Students play in C 5-finger scale patterns, develop recognition of steps and skips, and learn letter names independent of finger number. Musicianship is built through the use of dynamics and coloristic experimentation with the pedal. The book is organized into units which represent the major concepts and skills. As new units are introduced, earlier concepts and skills are constantly reviewed.
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.
Belting - A
Written for ages 5 and 6, My First Piano Adventure captures the child’s playful spirit. Fun-filled songs, rhythm games and technique activities develop beginning keyboard skills.
The Brown Scale Book
This essential resource includes all major and minor scales, triads, arpeggios, dominant sevenths, and chromatic scales organized by key. A favorite for decades, The Brown Scale Book belongs in every student’s library.