Emma Berube

Hello Everybody!

Great lessons this week!

Georgia:

If you find time to practice between games this week, please have Georgia review The Rainbow, playing hands separate. Encourage her to name the notes out loud to support her sight reading. Remind her to play all notes for their full written value. 

Benji:

Today we focused on playing scales. At home, Benji can practice playing the C Major scale hands together slowly. Remind him to pay close attention to which finger he should be using for each note in both hands as the fingering patterns between the two hands are mirrored, even though they play the same notes at the same time. Remember, the first finger in piano is the thumb! Benji can also practice the G Major scale hands separate. This scale has one sharp! Benji should pay close attention to the keys to make sure he skips over F natural (the white key) and plays F# instead (the black key) Be careful not to play both as F natural does not belong in this scale! Please help Benji to review the notes in the first two phrases of Young Hunter in his book as well. We will continue with this next week.

Clara:

This week, continue to work on Musette in D Major. focus on bridging the gaps between bars in the A section. Use the technique we learned in class to help teach your hands how to navigate repositioning on the piano; at the end of one phrase play the right hand part and start the continuing phrase with the left, then switch. This will help make it clear to your ear how the two phrases are supposed to connect and make it more clear to your hands how they are to work together. Try playing the two phrases together after and record yourself so that you can listen to whether the lines flow together or if there is still a break in the line. Continue to review the B section hands separate. Practice that tonicization of e minor extra slow and name the notes out loud to help you navigate the chromatic line confidently. Choose a new song to start next week.

Thank you eveyone!

Looking forward to more great work next week!

Hello Everybody:

I hope you’re all staying warm this weekend!

Georgia:

For this week, Georgia is to continue practicing “Waltz Time”. The song is in good shape, Georgia is playing the phrases smoothly and accurately, but sometimes needs clarification on certain notes. To help Georgia connect the names of the keys to the names of the notes on the page, please ask her to practice the song slowly and to name the notes out loud as she plays the keys. Practicing the song this way will also challenge Georgia to watch the sheet music as she plays instead of her hands. She also has worksheet on the page after “Waltz Time” that she is to fill out for class next week. The sheet asks her to assign a tempo marking to each line of music, add the missing bar lines to each phrase, and play all three lines. Georgia should reread the definitions of each tempo marking on the previous page to help inform her choices. We will review this next week.

Noreet:

This week we reviewed the rhythms in I Am the King. When practicing this song this week, please have her use a metronome to help clarify how the various rhythms fit into each beat. Encourage Noreet to review this song at a slow tempo so has time to hear and feel how the rhythms fit together. She can also record herself playing the song. When she is done, have her play the recording back and read along with the sheet music as she listens to confirm if all the rhythms sound correct. If she notices an error, circle it, and practice that section on its own before trying to play the whole song again. Noreet is also to continue practicing “Moonlight Melody” now that we have clarified where fingers start in the song. Please practice the first and third phrase hands together, and the right hand of the second phrase only. We will look at the left hand of the phrase as well as the end in class together next week.

Eva:

Today we reviewed the notes in the first phrase of “Young Tiger” and reviewed the definition of a tie, what it does, and where it is used in “Young Tiger”. Please encourage Eva to play this phrase for you at home and to count out loud as she does to help solidify her understanding of the rhythms in the phrase including the tie. Please also help her read the second phrase of the song. You can use the flashcards if Eva wishes. We will review this next week.

Benji:

This week Benji can continue to practice “Classic Dance”. Please help Benji by reminding him that this song is played in “C Position” where the thumb of his right hand and fifth finger of his left hand rest on C. He should review this song hands separately before attempting to play it hands together as there are some tricky fingerings at the end of the first and last phrase. When practicing hands together, please help Benji by reminding him that even though the notes in the right and left hand are different at the end of the first and last phrase, he used the same fingers on both hands to play them (4,3,2). Practicing this fingering will help Benji to play the two different phrases at the same time. He should also pay close attention to the dynamic markings he sees in the sheet music. Please encourage him to circle these.

Clara:

For this week Clara should continue to practice “Barefoot on the Beach”. In class we worked on brining the song up to speed. The tempo marking in this piece is 96-116 BPM. Encourage Clara to practice with a metronome this week to help increase her tempo slowly. Remember; this song is in cut time, which means metronome will be indicating the half note. Please encourage Clara to review the section we focused on in class before either adding onto the section or backtracking to the beginning. She should work on bringing the song up to tempo in sections to make this more manageable. Only when Clara has practice each section of the song and has been able to play these sections at her chosen tempo should she then attempt to play the whole song from start to finish. When she is ready, please encourage her to record herself playing at different tempos and to listen back to help her determine which tempo she likes playing at best, and which tempo she likes listening to best (these could be two different tempos). We also sight-read the A section of Andante in G minor from the RCM level 1 book. Here is a copy of Andante in G minor for Clara to review and read if she wishes.

Thank you everyone!

Looking forward to seeing you all next week!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all stayed warm during the snow storm! I was happy to see some of you online via FarPlay this week. If anyone has any questions or needs help navigating the software, please let me know!

Georgia:

I hope you had a great snow day! Please continue to practice “Waltz Time” and we will review this next week.

Noreet:

Great digital lesson today! For this week please review the left hand of the first and third phrases of Moonlight Melody and the right hand of the second phrase. Remember, this song has some accidentals in it including sharp and natural signs. Noreet knows that one she sees an accidental in a bar, the accidental is applied to all notes on the same line or space until either corrected with another symbol, or until the bar line resets the note quality. We will review this concept next week in class. To ensure rhythmic accuracy as Noreet practices, please ask her to count out loud to ensure notes are played for their full value. But remember; this song is in 3/4 time! This means there are only 3 beats in each bar, so she should count like so: “1 and 2 and 3 and”. Resist the urge to add a fourth beat on the end! If there are any tricky rhythms during practice, please ask Noreet to cover the page to reveal one bar at a time to help her zero in on challenging moments in the music. We will review these in class next week.

Eva:

Today we reviewed the first phrase of Young Hunter! Eva learned that the lines underneath the 3 notes at the end of the phrase is called a Tie and is asking her to add the vale of all three notes together. Please encourage her to count out loud when playing this phrase to ensure she plays the Es at the end for their full combined value. For now, Eva is permitted to count this as a 10 beat long note. We will review this in class next week and learn the proper counts as dictated by the bar lines.

Benji:

I hope you had a great snow day! Please continue to practice “Classic Dance”. Remember, the first and third phrases of the song are identical. We will review the specific fingering for the end of both phrases next week in class.

Clara:

Get well soon Clara! If you feel well enough to practice this week, you can continue with Barefoot on the Beach. Remember; this song is in cut time! So each note will feel faster than it looks. We will review this next week. If you need more repertoire this week you can feel free to choose another song to start and we can juggle both Barefoot on the Beach and your other chosen song.

Andrew:

I hope you stayed warm during the snow storm! For this week, continue to practice the lip-roll technique and play around with the various colours and sounds different vowel shapes create in your voice as you practice Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.

Thank you everyone!

I’m looking forward to seeing you back in the studio next week!

Hello Everybody!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday!

Georgia:

Today we reviewed “Waltz Time”. To help Georgia feel the flow of the song, please remind her when practicing that often in the song the last beat of one phrase ends up being the first beat of the next phrase. So these two phrases will feel more like one long phrase. I have marked in pencil where this happens in the music. Georgia should focus her practice on these areas to make sure they are smooth and connected when she plays. She can play these phrases hands separate when practicing if this helps her focus on the fingerings and enables her to play more smoothly. We will try to put these phrases hands together next week.

Noreet:

Today we started “Moonlight Melody”. There are some accidentals in this piece (sharps and flats). Please help Noreet by reminding her that in order to sharpen a note she must raise the note by one semitone, and lower the note by one semitone to flatten it. We played through the entire song together in class, but if she struggles to play the whole phrase, ask her to focus on one bar at a time. We even covered up the surrounding bars so that the only one Noreet could see was the bar she found challenging. She can continue this method at home. Remember that once she feels confident with the one bar, she is to uncover the bar that comes before it and play the two together. This will help thread the bar back into the whole phrase. Should Noreet use this method at home, please mark the bars she zeroed in on by circling them or drawing in a star above the bar so that we can come back to these moments in the song next week.

Eva:

Today Eva chose a song from her new K-Pop Demon Hunters Book! This semester we will continue learning songs in Eva’s method book as well as work towards playing “Your Idol”. For this week when practicing “Your Idol” have Eva review the right hand of the first phrase on her own first and then play the song and encourage Eva to play along to what she hears. Remember; this song is in e minor so it has an F sharp. Please help Eva by reminding her that in order to sharpen a note, she needs to raise the note one half-step to the right on the piano. You can help guide her through a little bit more of this song if Eva wants. We will continue exploring this song next week. Please also review “Young Hunter” with her as we will review this next week as well.

Benji:

Today we reviewed “Haunted Mouse”. Please help Benji by reminding him that all of the quarter notes in the song should be played at the same speed. If he needs to slow down the quarter notes in the beginning of the song to ensure they match the quarter notes in the last phrase he is allowed and encouraged to do so. We also started “Classic Dance” This song is in C-Position. Benji learned today that this is when the 5th finger of his left hand and his 1st finger of his right hand are both resting on a C, one octave apart, and his other fingers line up with the notes above it up to G. When practicing this song encourage Benji to use the labelled fingerings for the last two bars of the first phrase. These two bars are played in contrary motion which means Benji’s hands will move towards each other as he plays. While the notes for both hands are different here, the fingering is the same for both hands. Benji’s left hand starts this section on a D and his right hand starts on an F. He should practice playing the following notes with his fourth, third, and second fingers in both hands. We will review this technique next week.

Clara:

Today we reviewed the William Tell Overture. We also listened to different version of the piece for Clara to compare. Please find links to these videos here and here. We will further discuss their differences next week. We also started “Barefoot on the Beach”. This song is in cut time! Clara learned that “cut time” is 2/2 time. This will mean the half notes are worth one beat and the quarter notes are worth half a beat. Overall, everything on the page is faster than it looks. Please remind Clara of this when she is practicing, especially if she chooses to practice with a metronome! We will review this next week.

Thank you everyone!

Great first week back! I’m looking forward to seeing what you all bring to class this semester.

Hello Everybody!

I hope you’re all staying warm and well this winter season!

Georgia:

This week for warm up Georgia can start playing her C Major scale hands together slowly. Review the fingering and pattern hands separately before trying hands together. When playing Purple Cow this week, Georgia should count out loud (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +) to help her see when the right and left hands line up. This will also help her see the “pick up” in the melody of the B section. We also started reading the Waltz in class. Please encourage Georgia to sight-read this on her own at home and we will continue to learn this piece in class next week!

Noreet:

This week Noreet performed all of Ode to Joy with note and rhythm accuracy! She can continue to play this song as a part of her repertoire at home if she wishes. In class we focused on rhythmic accuracy when playing I Am the King. Noreet is encouraged to count out loud (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +) when playing to help highlight the rhythms as she sees them on the page and to help her accuracy when playing them. Should she find a certain bar or rhythm challenging, encourage her to say and/or clap the rhythm out loud before trying to play it again on the piano. Noreet can also feel free to draw lines to indicate the MACRO beat ( 1 2 3 4) in any challenging bar for clarity. Please use Pencil when doing this so we can correct in class if necessary. 

Eva:

Eva can play each phrase of Classic Dance with tonal, rhythmic, and technical accuracy! When playing this song at home, encourage her to play all three phrases connected so that there is no gap or pause in the song where there shouldn’t be. If this is challenging, encourage Eva by asking her to play the end of one phrase and the beginning of the next phrase so that she can see where the two phrases connect. Eva can also continue to work on Young Tiger. We reviewed the first phrase of this song together in class. When practicing this song at home pay close attention to the staccato symbols and the tie at the end of the phrase. The line between the three ‘Es’ at the end of the first phrase is a tie. Eva should play the E for the combined value of all three notes! We will review this concept in class next week. Finally, please bring Eva’s notebooks next week so that we can correct them and add onto them. 

Benji:

Hope you’re well and looking forward to seeing you next week! Please continue to practice The Haunted Mouse hands together, paying close attention to where the right and left hands overlap!

Clara:

Clara can continue to play the Rossini hands together. Encourage Clara to record this song so she can hear if there are areas where she would like to improve. Please also find a professional recording online of this song for Clara to hear. Having a musical comparison of the song should help Clara say more about what she likes about her own playing and which techniques she would like to learn or improve upon. In class we dictated Joy to the World together! I have uploaded a digital copy of Joy to the World as well as Silent Night in Clara’s student folder on google drive. You can find those here! Clara can continue to dictate Angels We Have Heard on High and Hark the Herald Angels Sing on her own using the blank staff paper provided to her. Please bring this back next week and we will correct it together. 

Thank you everyone!

Looking forward to seeing you all next week for our last lesson of 2025!

Hello Everyone!

Great work all around this week!

Georgia:

This week we reviewed time signatures, note values, and rhythms. Please have Georgia fill out page 21 in her Alfred’s Method book for homework. We will correct this next week. We also discussed how the staff is continuous from the bottom line of the bass clef to the top space of the treble clef. When practicing Purple Cow, if Georgia is confused about which notes are where, please remind her that the notes written in the treble clef are all above middle C on the piano while the notes in the bass clef are below middle C on the piano. Georgia should review the notes for Purple Cow hands separate and then slowly try playing the song hands together. When playing hands together please remind her that the rhythm in the right hand is slower than she thinks it is. 

Noreet:

Today we reviewed I am The King. When practicing this song at home, please help Noreet by reminding her to start the song with the 5th finger of her left hand on G as this song is played in G position. Noreet should practice playing this song hands together while being mindful of the rhythm of the song. If there is a bar or a phrase she struggles with while practicing this week, remind her to slow down and count out loud to help her hear where the shorter or longer notes fit in the song. Noreet can also review Ode to Joy. Please help her when practicing this song by reminding her that the right hand of the 5th phrase should be played an octave higher than the rest of the song. 

Eva:

Eva has a new notebook specifically for the notes in “Young Hunter”. Please have her answer the questions in the book and bring it back next week so that we can correct it together. We also reviewed Classic Dance and staccato playing. When practicing Classic Dance, please help Eva with the last 2 bars of the first and third phrase by reminding her that she needs to use the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd fingers of both hands to play the notes. These two bars should also be played staccato. Feel free to try the duet this week to encourage Eva to practice. 

Benji:

Today we reviewed The Haunted Mouse. Benji can confidently play all the notes in this song. I have added numbers above some notes in a few phrases. These numbers refer to Benji’s fingers! When practicing this week please ensure Benji uses the correct fingerings as labelled to play the song. (1 is Benji’s thumb, 2 is his index finger ect..). I’ve also highlighted the first two bars of The Haunted Mouse to help Benji visualize the rhythm. The first note of the song is an A played by Benji’s right hand. Benji has to hold this note for 4 beats. However, the phrase in the right hand starts on beat 2. So these sounds should overlap – while Benji plays the A in the left hand for 4 beats, he should also play the quarter notes at the same time. Refer to the highlighted bars in the music to see how these phrases fit together. 

Clara:

Today Clara learned that Dominant 7th chords are built on a Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, and minor 7th. There is a dominant 7th chord in the first bar of the second phrase of the song Clara is working on. Together we analyzed most of the chords in the song, identifying and labeling them so that Clara understands which chord she is playing when, and the function the chord plays in the song. This week Clara should practice playing the song hands separately so that she can focus on building the chords she sees in the music. You can help reinforce some of the concepts that we discussed in class by asking her to name the chords she is playing. 

Andrew:

When practicing this week try warming up with a lip roll! Remember this technique is focused on air flow. While making the buzzing sound with your lips (you can press your cheeks together with your hands if this helps you create that sound) think of saying “oo” while breathing out. You can also warm up with a hum before trying some vowels. Refer to your voice recording for scales to practice. When practicing Empty Chairs this week, try singing the 5th verse on “V-Aye”. (Refer to recording if necessary). Use this exercise to focus on brightness in your tone and an openness in the palate. Practice the 3rd verse on a light and airy “oo” to help track the air support needed to sing the higher parts. If you can successfully do the lip rolls, use this technique for the whole song to train the air support needed. Remember to breathe and if you feel light headed take a break!

Thank you everyone!

I’m looking forward to our last few classes before the winter break!