Bachelor of Fine Arts (York University)
Katie Thurman is a singer, pianist, accompanist, and teacher based in Toronto. Her passion for music has been with her since childhood, and she is excited to have recently completed her undergraduate degree in music at York University.
Trained classically in piano, she continues to explore other styles including pop and jazz, as well as write her own compositions. Her vocal training is in both classical and musical theatre styles, as well as lengthy choral experience both in and out of school.
Katie spent 6 years singing with WIBI A Cappella, a collegiate-based group, during her time at York, and is proud to have competed with them twice in the ICCA (the very competition the Pitch Perfect films were based on!). Currently, she sings with the Toronto-based That Choir.
Katie loves all types of music, but spends most of her time listening to pop, indie, and alt-pop records.
Katie also writes her own songs and is working towards putting together an EP. Aside from music, Katie’s other passions include baking, film, and psychology. She loves teaching and is always pushing herself to grow pedagogically and musically!
Get to know Katie…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: baking, watching movies/TV, writing, yoga, hiking
Musical influences: Classical: Natalie Dessay, Maria Callas/Pop: Arcade Fire, Lana Del Rey, BANKS, Florence & the Machine, Rhye
Favourite food: Pasta
Least favourite food: Seafood
Favourite music: pop & alt-pop, indie/folk, dance, and all things Celtic
Favourite song: currently “Favourite Boy” by Half Moon Run
Favourite movie: Eighth Grade
Favourite movie music: A Single Man, music composed by Abel Korzeniowski?
Favourite musical theatre/opera: Les Misérables
Best quote from your teacher: Vocal teacher: “Just go for it! We want to hear ‘Katie-and-a-half'”.
Favourite quote: Motivation comes from work
Favourite book: The Handmaid’s Tale
Best thing about teaching at ABC: I like sharing my knowledge with students, and I learn from them too!
Latest Homework from Katie
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Saturday, March 1st
Nova
Benny Greb’s Rhythmic Alphabet
–Play our sentence in steady time, no break sbetween the letters
–Try putting the different letters on different parts of the drumset
Groove 1 FAST
–This week, play the first section (4x) switching between 8th-notes on the HH and 1/4-notes on the ride to give your RH a break!
–Create fills to play every 16 measures
Three types of creativity:
1) Reproducing
2) Responding
3) Imagining
Use this to guide you in creating drum beats and fills on the song “Baby Beluga”
–Sing the melody in yoru head, and see how you can reproduce, respond to, or imagine alongside it
Jonah
==Xylophone==
Warmups: see Xylophone Warmup Sheet in the Google Drive PLEASE PRINT
–This week, add in Bb Major and D Major***
Bruno Mars: Locked out of Heaven CHORD CHART EXERCISE
–I added some more to this this week! PLEASE PRINT***********
G Blues Scale: G-Bb-C-C#-D-F-g
Next time: Back in Black on the xylophone
==Drums==
Warmups:
–Paradiddle combo exercise with bass drum playing quarters. Accent the beginning of each paradiddle
Paul Simon: Late in the Evening
–You can find the chart for this song in your google drive personal folder
–This week we learned the main beat. Continue getting it clean and up to speed
Jared
Warmups:
–Stick Control ex 14-23 (80bpm***)
Igoe’s Groove Essentials – Groove 1 slow (track 1)
–Same assignment, but now move the RH to the ride and put LF hihat “chick” on a) “2” and “4” (b) “1 2 3 4” and (c) “1+2+3+4+”
Funk Groove Eleven FAST (in google drive)
–Learn the beat up to speed
–use fills handout to practice fills at this speed
–begin looking at groove variations
Tracie
Warm-ups:
–Triplet ex. (85bpm, 1min)
Benny Greb: Rhythmic Alphabet
–Have fun creating words
–Use the four words on the handout from today to help you create some fills. Try putting each letter on a different drum
Groove Essentials: Groove 1 (find chart and backing track in the Freq. Used folder)
–Good work on variation A this week! Keep it up
–Try using some of your Rhythmic Alphabet words from above to create drum fills that you can play in this song
Montell Fish: Don’t you Love Me
–Play the main groove up to speed
Mateo
Warmups (30 sec each) **pulling your thumb back:
–8 on a Hand
–Single Stroke Roll (RLRL…)
–Double Stroke Roll (RRLL…)
Drumset Musician p27, ex. 10-12**
–Aim to keep the flow of the eighth-note pulse STEADY
–try looping these exercises, so that the crash after the fill becomes beat 1 of the beat again
–count aloud!
Tommy Igoe’s Groove Essentials, Groove 1 SLOW
–Drill Variation A this week, making it fit tidily along with the recording
Survivor: Eye of the Tiger
–This week, learn everything up until the Verse on p. 2
–See handout for help with the fills
Koel
Warmups (1min each):
–Triplet Ex. 130bpm***
–Sixteenth-note exercise 95bpm***
–Sixteenth-note exercise ON THE BASS DRUM goal tempo: 70bpm
—-Try adding the sixteenth-note subdivision into your metronome to help with your rhythmic precision
Tommy Igoe’s Groove Essentials: Groove 11 SLOW (track twenty-one)
–Variation B still needs a bit of work to get up to speed
–Variation A good
–This week, see the 16th-note fill exercises (in gdrive) for fill inspiration
—-Use ex. 18, 21, and pick two more to play at the end of every 8-bar phrase during the backing track (sorry, I uploaded this now)
Duke of Edinburgh
–Koel logs the hours
–Smart goal: measurable, achievable, and in a timely manner (end of school year)
–SMART GOALS: 1) triplet exercise up to 140bpm 2)sixteenth-note exercise up to 110bpm 3) Master six new grooves from the Tommy Igoe Groove Essentials book (2x rock, one funk, one r&b/hiphop, one jazz, one world) 4) Learn one new song
Preferred Books for Katie’s Students
Click to buy them here, and they’ll come right to your house! What could be easier?
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.
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.
RCM Voice Repertoire
A Comprehensive Voice Series serves as the official resource for voice assessments of the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program. Featuring an outstanding selection of voice literature and supporting materials, this series offers a truly enriched learning experience to help ensure student success. As in previous editions, Resonance encompasses a rich and varied selection of Repertoire, Vocalises and Recitatives that students of all ages and voice types will find appropriate to their musical interests and level of technical ability.
Vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer
The vocal workouts in this much-anticipated follow-up to Peckham’s The Contemporary Singer are based on Berklee College of Music’s highly effective vocal method. This volume will help vocalists develop the voice through good vocal health, warm-up exercises, advanced techniques, stage performance advice and more. Includes companion online audio for ultimate interactive education!
Alfred's Teach Yourself to Sing
Learn to sing and open up a brand new world of musical knowledge with this exciting method from Alfred Music. Beginning with the fundamentals, you will learn about equipment used by singers, vocal health, and getting acquainted with reading music. You will then move right along to breathing, vocalizing, proper warm-ups, and singing songs, lesson by lesson, all while continuing to increase your knowledge of reading and understanding music. You will learn to sing an array of musical styles including pop, jazz, classical, and musical theater. Near the end of the book, you will be introduced to the idea of individual interpretation, which will help you color your songs with your own unique style. The book features a chord and scale chart for reference during and after your lessons.
