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 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 for the Week of December 12th
Hello Everyone!
Good lessons all around today!
Noreet:
Noreet showed me her progress with Mr. Brahams’ famous lullaby. She has memorized the melody so next week we will work on reading from the book and correcting any mistakes. We learned the beginning of Jingle Bells today! I’ve written in the first note so she should be able to read the music as she goes; it might take her a while to remember the notes but she is capable of figuring them out. We also talked about note values and tempo today. Noreet knows that her eighth notes are twice as fast as her quarter notes (these are both used in jingle bells). Encourage her to practice the song slowly to keep reading the notes as she goes as what is written isn’t always what she hears in her head. She can continue to practice the chords for jingle bells as well. We also talked about note values and tempo today.
Vida:
We reviewed her scales today. Vida has become very comfortable with the sound of her C Major scale and wants to play it as fast as possible, so we used a metronome in class today. When practicing use the metronome (online) and set the BPM (beats per minute) to 140. Encourage Vida to play along to the clicks she hears; this will help her play at a quick tempo but ensure she has enough time to play each correct note/key accurately. We talked a lot about a few theory concepts today. We went back to the solfege (do re mi) that she learned in school to talk about intervals and how different intervals when played together create chords. I’ve given her a bit more of the melody for Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Encourage her to sight read this. We can review Everybody Wants to Rule the World next week, but have her pick a new song as well.
Thank you for your work this week! I will see you all next week for our final week of lessons before the holiday break.
Happy practicing!
Homework, December 5th Lessons!
Hello Everybody!
There was some really, really great progress this week friends!
Noreet:
Noreet has finished learning a Minuet for Mr. Bach’s Children! She can continue to play this should she wish, but we have moved onto Mr. Brahms’ Famous Lullaby. It is VERY important that she does not hear this played for her just yet, as we are working really hard at reading the notes and not playing from memory. Have her sit at the piano and plunk out the notes in the left hand only as she reads the music. Play up to the indicated star marked December 5th. We also learned the G Major scale this week so she can warm up with both C Major and G Major in both hands.
Vida:
Vida is to continue playing both the C Major and the B Major scale with both hands for warm up. When practicing Everybody Wants to Rule the World, make sure she plays the song slowly and encourage her to read the notes that are written to avoid repeating bars and making small mistakes. She can start to practice playing both the melody in the right hand, as well as the chords in the left hand at the indicated bars. We also learned the B minor chord today as this is used in the song. She should practice this chord in particular as it requires a bit of a stretch.
Thank you for all of your hard work!!
I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s progress 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.