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 June 6 Lessons – Erin P
Liam
Minuet – Great! Remember to keep your rests precise, and to sustain the final RH half notes and whole notes. Remember no hesitation between sections.
Sonatina – 2-Note slurs are almost all there, look to the page.
Walk the Talk – rhythms are dynamics were Awesome today!
Witches and Wizards – Connect descending D C Bb A line to the G at the beginning of the next section so it’s a full cohesive line.
Prelude VII – BEAUTIFUL! This was your best performance of this today.
BIG improvement on sightreading, keep it up!
Technique I can tell you’re clearly putting in the work. Pay extra attention to F major (RH fingering) and B minor scales this week. B minor RH remember to still use standard fingering 123 1234, finger 3 on that D is integral.
Sara
I’ll hear your entire set next week. Today you were very accurate and had fixed everything from last week. I love the dynamics you are doing and the mature artistry that is showing in your playing. I like the new Cloud Dance tempo. Continue to check tempos with metronome.
You can use this to practice sightreading, as there isn’t one for level 4. Great job on ear training today.
Marco
I AM SO SO PROUD OF YOU!
*New* Castle in the Sky – learn hands seperate where the melody begins, and the next 16 bars. Key of Eb major/C minor, so all B, E, and As are flat. I labelled some chords for you. Remember to count the dotted quarter notes 1+2+ (as they are 1.5 beats).
Next week we will make a plan for Ecstasy of Gold…
Daniel
I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!
*New* Epic – this piece uses power chords in the LH that go A, F, G, C (vi, IV, V, I) and often use a dotted quarter note rhythm. I have drawn vertical lines to show you which RH notes line up with the LH rhythm. Tackle any section you like, the chord progression remains the same. Listen here
Saturday June 8 Lessons – Erin P
Hakim
Bee – You do such a good job of keeping the beat in your brain when playing the RH melody, now just play your LH on each beat, like a metronome. I drew vertical lines to show you where all the LH quarter notes fall.
Zum Gali Gali – Great work. Look to the page to confirm notes in the legato sections.
*New* Scary Swing – The key signature makes all Bs and Es flat. The 16th notes span an octave range, do not try and just stretch your hand, but instead pivot at the wrist like your fingers are a radar scanner. Once your thumb has played, let it go and pivot your wrist to help out your thumb. I labelled the chords, if it has a minus sign it’ll sound minor, plus sign will sound major.
Maria
First Loss – watch the F#s. The LH only has 3 different positions, all of which go root-5th-octave. Great reading today.
Noreet
*New* Forest Drum – Listen to it here. This piece introduces the concept of a half rest = one symbol that means two beats of rest. The intro to this piece goes “play , play , rest , rest”, creating the Drum effect. Both hands are in D minor position. Don’t move your RH from this position and let the finger nungers guide you in playing this melody. At the top of page 2, the LH shifts down to C position and back up (the paper says Shift when this happens).
Continue to practice your C major contrary motion scale, and your G major scale. Remember, same standard fingering, just with F# instead of F.
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.
Piano Safari
