B.Mus (Humber) in-progress
Adina is a singer-songwriter based in Toronto completing her Bachelor of Music degree at Humber College in vocal performance. Trained classically in piano since the age of 5, she has branched out into pop and jazz as well.
Vocally she is well-versed in many genres including jazz (she loves to scat!), musical theatre, pop, singer-songwriter, country, R&B, and acappella. She has 7 years of choir experience in both chamber and jazz styles. Adina has been writing and singing original songs since the age of 12, and has two singles as well as an EP out on all platforms under the artist name Adina V.
She has performed all across southern Ontario singing with the Toronto All-Star Big Band, as well as at various venues in the GTA with her own jazz duos and trios. As a member of the Cawthra Park Chamber Choir she performed at Roy Thompson Hall with the TSO for two years in a row. At Humber College she is part of the Vocal Jazz Ensemble led by Lisa Martinelli; this group performs advanced repertoire at events like the Ontario Vocal Jazz Festival.
Adina has been teaching music for the past 7 years and loves helping students meet their personal goals while fostering a love of music that lasts forever!
Get to know Adina…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: reading, puzzles, video games, painting
Musical Influences: Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Doris Day, Joni Mitchell, Taylor Swift, John Mayer
Favourite Food: Pad Thai
Least favourite food: eggplant
Favourite music: Indie rock and folk
Favourite song: All I Need by Jacob Collier ft. Mahalia & Ty Dolla $ign
Favourite movie: Matilda
Favourite movie music: The Pirates of the Caribbean theme
Favourite Musical: Dear Evan Hansen or The Last Five Years
Best Quote from your teacher: “It’s an amazing and wonderful experience to be able to be intentional about, in the moment, making music”
Favourite Quote: “Even as we are, we are becoming”
Favourite Book: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy – Stieg Larsson
Best thing about teaching at ABC: Sharing and fostering a love of music with students of all ages
Latest Homework from Adina
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Sunday, May 23, 2021
Nathalia
Recommended minutes to practice: 15 minutes a day
What to practice: F major triads (one hand at a time, solid and broken), Rockin’ Robin.
How to practice it most effectively: For the F major triads, you are always using notes F-A-C in different orders. RH uses finger 1-2-5 on first inversion, and LH uses finger 5-2-1 on second inversion. For solid triads, we play all 3 notes at the same time while broken triads go one note at a time, doing your best to connect between the inversions. For Rockin’ Robin, see if you can start gradually speeding up the first section! The second section can definitely be put hands together now; please RH’s A flats, and LH’s whole notes in bars 13 and 14 should hold through for the full bar. You may read ahead into the third section with RH only – use your Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge and FACE in the space sayings to help you figure out notes as well as all the skips in this section. Eighth notes are still swinging here, and to play these easier try to keep a lighter touch on the keys.
Sina
Recommended minutes to practice: 10 minutes a day
What to practice: Just a Second, Who’s on Third
How to practice it most effectively: Today we discussed a couple of important concepts. First, now that we are reading music on the staff, stem direction does not dictate which hand is supposed to play. Instead, if the note is below the middle line the stem will go up, and if the note is above or on the middle line the stem will go down. Secondly, we are now playing with two different distances! Seconds are notes that are right next door to each other and go from line to space on the staff; thirds, or skips leave one note inbetween them and go from line to line or space to space. For Just a Second, really watch how many repeated notes you have in a row. For Who’s on Third always be asking yourself whether notes are steps or skips, and which direction the melody is moving in. Both these songs are still in C position; remember that finger 1 is thumb, and finger 5 is pinky.
Tuesday, May 25th, 2021
Anaya
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes a day
What to practice: Biking, Just a Second, and finishing number 1 & 2 on page 55
How to practice it most effectively: For Biking, let’s try adding in the tempo (how fast or slow to play) instructions this week now that notes are comfortable! In Just a Second, we talked about how moving in seconds, or steps, is always going line to space or space to line, right next door. There are many repeated notes here – the pattern is 3 Cs in bar 1, then 3 Ds in bar 2, then 3 Es in bar 3, etc. Please still remember LH’s important note F (line 4) and RH’s important note G (line 2). Every time there is a slur, we move up a 2nd (except for LH’s ending bar – this is the one bar where the pattern changes).
Saskia
Recommended minutes to practice: 10 minutes a day
What to practice: “nooh-ah-ooh” warmup, As the World Falls Down
How to practice it most effectively: For the “nooh-ah-ooh” warmup, it’s the same one we’ve been doing just with an added “n” at the front to help you channel a more nasal sound. Spend around a second just singing the note on the “n” before hopping into the slide. For As the World Falls Down, at the ends of all verses try to sing the upper harmony instead of the melody which goes too low. The lyrics for this are “within your eyes”, “within your heart”, and “between the stars”. Please remember you don’t have to sing everything exactly the way Bowie does it – especially parts that are very breathy or accented – you can let your voice be open and natural. Here is a good karaoke to try this week: (the upper harmony is actually in this one since it’s got the background vocals still in it).
Gianna
Recommended minutes to practice: 15 minutes a day
What to practice: Monster, writing the “Why” + Nature song
How to practice it most effectively: For Monster, please use F as a guide note in the first chorus so you sing the melody up an octave (it’s much too low where Shawn Mendes is singing). As always, try your best to enunciate your consonants clearly because there are a lot of lyrics in this song! For the new song you are writing, make sure you write your lyrics in a notebook so you don’t forget! Next week we will combine question ideas and solidify the melody more on the piano.
Ken
Recommended minutes to practice: 15 minutes a day
What to practice: Snake Charmer
How to practice it most effectively: This is our last song in this book! Now that you are playing on a real piano, please play using dynamics (especially the p ones!). This piece is in G minor position but includes a C# for RHas well as the Bb. Remember that accidentals last for the whole bar. LH, please use a bouncy wrist to make sure your quarter notes are really staccato. Also, double check what the bottom note is (sometimes it’s G and sometimes it’s A). For bars 19-22, press the pedal down and crescendo until the RH A-Bb-A – this is a big dramatic moment in the song!
Steve
Recommended minutes to practice: 15 minutes a day
What to practice: Peter Pan’s Flight, Aardvark Boogie
How to practice it most effectively: For Peter Pan’s Flight, please don’t go too fast right off the bat – you must remember that LH comes in together with RH on most beat ones. This week try including some dynamics as well as the ritardando at the end. or Aardvark Boogie we have some new rhythms! There is often an eighth note on the and of 2 tied to a beat 3 quarter note – make sure you hold through the tie. LH’s pattern includes both a C natural and a C#. As long as you’re counting with “ands”, you can play the whole piece hands together!
Gabe
Recommended minutes to practice: 15 minutes a day
What to practice: Prince of Denmark’s March, Porcupine Dance
How to practice it most effectively: For Prince of Denmark’s March, please make sure you’re counting out loud using “ands”; in bars 9 and 13 especially, count with all the “ands” in the bar (even on quarter notes, so you make sure you’re holding the correct amount). This week, add in the dynamics: page 1 is forte and page 2 is piano. Continue taking the D.S. al Coda as you’ve been doing! For Porcupine Dance, remember your bouncy wrists the whole way through – the pattern is really coming along well.
Isaac
Recommended minutes to practice: 20 minutes a day
What to practice: Pyranese Melody, Burlesque in G major (hands separately)
How to practice it most effectively: For Pyranese Melody, please take bars 2-4 then 6-8 and isolate them RH 2x, LH 2x, then hands together 3x in order to get super comfortable with those shapes. Bar 5-6 for RH is actually an A major triad just like LH, except that RH is in 2nd inversion, meaning there is a 4th on the bottom. For Burlesque in G Major, please play LH quarter notes detached. There are always a few notes that come up time and time again like the low D and bottom line G. In this piece we play with many 16th notes, meaning we do a “1e+a, 2e+a” counting. Please make sure eighth notes are holding for the “1e” part of the beat; quarter notes will feel quite long in this piece! RH, be aware there are lots of double hit/repeated notes.
Wednesday, July 28th, 2021
Diya
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 minutes a day
What to practice: 5-note major warmup (going up), 3rds sliding warmup (going down), Loyal Brave and True (karaoke), Half-time Show
How to practice it most effectively: This week for your 5-note major vocal warmup, try using just the vowel “ah” (no consonants) and go up and back down. Please keep your vowel and throat nice and open to avoid any strain. The new warmup starts on E and C, with the top note playing first. You’ll start on “ya” then slide down to the lower note on an “ah”. Each time, the two notes move down by a semitone to the next closest note. For the beginning of the verses in Loyal Brave and True, your starting note is an A flat below middle C (pretty low! Try your best). Please play yourself this note before those sections. A section to isolate is on the word “loyal”, since there are many notes on the same vowel. This starts on middle C; try to sing this word/phrase slowly a few times before singing the full karaoke. Anytime there is the “wa-ter” or “ar-mor” melody, make sure you flip from your chest voice to your head voice for the full effect. Our one piano piece will be Half-Time Show so we can get all the details like holding whole and half notes their full values, playing those 3 notes all together in bars 3 and 7, and doing the down-up staccato articulation in the last line.
Dvorah
Recommended minutes to practice: 10 minutes a day
What to practice: C 5-Finger Warmup (page 5), and Firefly
How to practice it most effectively: The C 5-Finger warmup uses both hands playing together in C position – see if you can look mostly at the music, trust that your hands and fingers are in the right spot! The first two bars are steps while the third starts skipping. As the week goes on, you can try to speed the warmup up little by little. For Firefly, the melody goes between the two hands in C position. Please be extra careful watching your steps versus skips. The bass clef saying we learned this lesson was: Good Birds Don’t Fly Away – these are the 5 lines from bottom to top (G, B, D, F, A). See if you can have this saying memorized for next week!
Oliver
Recommended minutes to practice: 15 minutes a day
What to practice: Ferris Wheel (review song), and Young Hunter
How to practice it most effectively: For Ferris Wheel, the last detail to work on is really connecting between skips in bars 1-2, 5-6, and 13-14. There should be a split second where both notes/fingers are playing at the same time before the earlier one lets go. For the ending, see how it sounds when you hold the pedal down for the whole last line (the entire length of the bracket). For Young Hunter, start this piece hands separately – RH please use your Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge and FACE sayings to help; you are in a new position (E position). For this piece, let’s do the repeat. The middle line is a back and forth pattern for both hands, and the last line is just like the first! Once notes are feeling comfortable, please add in the bouncy staccatos.
Linda
Recommended minutes to practice: 20 minutes a day
What to practice: Minuet in A Minor, Bb major chords of the scale, and I’ll Be Seeing You (melody)
How to practice it most effectively: For the Minuet in A Minor, be on the lookout for recurring patterns with certain intervals and notes. This one just needs a bit more time to become fluid between bars. As a warmup, please play all the 4-note chords of the Bb major scale – a good way to do this is to think of the letters first (all white keys), then cross-reference with the key signature (Bb and Eb). The qualities of the chords will always be: Imaj7, II-7, III-7, IVmaj7, V7, VI-7, VII-7b5 (we prefer to use Roman numerals when labelling because too many numbers would get confusing!). Once you’ve played through these chords of the scale, go through I’ll Be Seeing You and mark which chords in this song are of the scale (diatonic) – you’ll notice a fair number of them are not, not because of the roots, but because of the qualities not aligning with the Bb major key signature. When playing the melody of this piece, don’t worry too much about fingerings or rhythms, it’s more about the notes and intervals.
Ken
Recommended minutes to practice: 20 minutes a day
What to practice: F major scale hands together, Interval warmup (page 19), 7th St. Blues, and Land of the Silver Birch
How to practice it most effectively: Keep it up with the F major scale hands together – please remind yourself of your key signature/accidentals before beginning the scale! On Bb, RH plays with finger 4 and LH plays with finger 2. For the Interval warmup, you can do the transposing into G and F major, as well as even try putting the hands together if you’d like! 7th St. Blues is a short song which you can slowly speed up throughout the week. Bar 2 and 6 have syncopations with accents on them. The main song this week is Land of the Silver Birch: please start this piece hands separately (especially for RH) paying close attention to the rhythms. The repeat sign takes us all the way back to the 2nd line of the piece. Towards the end of the week you can try this one with the pedal for a cool sound.
Preferred Books for Adina’s Students
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Alfred's Basic Piano Library Lesson Book 1A
This easy step-by-step method emphasizes correct playing habits and note reading through interval recognition. Lesson Book Level 1A begins by teaching basic keyboard topography and fluent recognition of white key names in relation to black keys. It focuses on simple rhythms and prepares students for intervallic reading with entertaining songs that focus on “same,” “stepping up” and “stepping down.” It then introduces lines and space notes in treble and bass clefs, melodic and harmonic intervals of 2nds, 3rds, 4ths and 5ths, and graduates to reading on the grand staff. It also introduces the flat and sharp signs. This course is most effective when used under the direction of a piano teacher or experienced musician. Songs Include: Balloons * Batter Up! * The Donkey * A Friend Like You * Hand-Bells * A Happy Song * Horse Sense * Totem Pole Song * It’s Halloween! * Jingle Bells! * Jolly Old Saint Nicholas * July the Fourth! * Just a Second! * Love Somebody * Merrily We Roll Along O’er the Deep Blue Sea * Mexican Hat Dance * My Clever Pup * My Fifth * My Robot * Old MacDonald * Old Uncle Bill * Play a Fourth * Raindrops * Rain, Rain! * Rockets * Rockin’ Tune * Rock Song * Sailing * Sea Divers * See-Saws * Skating * Who’s on Third? * Willie and Tillie * Wishing Well * The Zoo
Alfred's Adult Basic All-In-One
Alfred’s Basic Adult All-in-One Course is designed for use with a piano instructor for the beginning student looking for a truly complete piano course. It is a greatly expanded version of Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course that will include lesson, theory, and technique in a convenient, “all-in-one” format. This comprehensive course adds such features as isometric hand exercises, finger strengthening drills, and written assignments that reinforce each lesson’s concepts. There is a smooth, logical progression between each lesson, a thorough explanation of chord theory and playing styles, and outstanding extra songs, including folk, classical, and contemporary selections.
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.
The Real Vocal Book
The Real Vocal Book has many of the selections from Volumes 1 and 2 of the instrumental Real Books, but now with complete lyrics added to the pre-existing melody line. This edition features 300 essential songs arranged for low voice, including: Alfie * All of Me * Autumn Leaves * Bewitched * Bluesette * Don’t Get Around Much Anymore * Fever * Georgia on My Mind * Misty * Moon River * My Funny Valentine * Satin Doll * and more. Looking for a particular song? Check out the Real Book Songfinder here.