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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Aubahn — Sep 19th
Hi guys!
Great meeting you today, Aubahn! Here is what to play this week.
G chord
This is the version of the G chord we played in class today. — I was saying use finger 3; but I’m changing that to finger 4.
- LH (Left Hand) fingers: index = 1, middle = 2, ring = 3, pinky = 4
- The horizontal lines here are the frets. The metal things on the guitar neck. — When holding the guitar, they are actually vertical to us
- Have your fingers curled onto the frets. Be nice and strong on the strings
- Have the fingers directly to the left of the frets
- The High E string is often written as a lowercase “e,” like I have it here
- Play this chord. Strum down and up repeatedly
Em chord
The E minor chord. This one needs you to hold it down sort of like a Spiderman move, haha.
- Based on the previous diagram, you can infer what exactly is meant by this one
- The numbers there are the LH fingerings
- The white dots are the open strings
- Play this chord. Strum down and up repeatedly
Memorize the string names
- E A D G B E — Lowest to highest
- “Eat A Darn Good Breakfast Everyday”
Posture
Here is the order of things to pay attention to when positioning yourself in good guitar posture.
- Sit down with your body slightly slanted; that is, your knees pointing left
- Put the guitar with the body on your right thigh
- Have the guitar head pushed somewhat forward from your left side — The idea here: have your wrists as straight and as free as possible to be able to move around and play things with plenty of space for both arms to do so
Stretching & Rest
Make sure to follow these directions too. Trust me, this is more important than most people realize.
Rest
- Rest your during and after a guitar playing session — 30 seconds to a minute is a fair amount of time for a break
- The fingers are more delicate than other muscles in the body so do not overwork them
Stretch
- Here is a video describing the main stretches to do during and after a guitar playing session. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=1XsLRQFV7rY — You don’t have to do so much during a playing session; just do it when it feels like it would be a comfortable moment for it. It’s a little more important to rest during and after the session.
- Also do the other ones I described: Neck movements & stretches, hip circles, body, arm, and leg stretches — again, primarily after a session
Additional tools
- When time and resources allow, please get an appropriately sized guitar strap. Wearing this will help ensure that you maintain good posture
- Get a tuner — There is a free app I use to help me tune my guitar; it’s called Tuner T1. You generally want to tune the guitar before every new playing session
I recommend at least ten minutes of playing everyday.
Have fun with this, Aubahn! Looking forward to our lesson in a week!
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.
Music for Little Mozarts
Lesson Book 1
Lesson Book 1 is pre-reading. Concepts taught are: How to sit at the piano; Correct hand position; High and low; Loud and soft (forte and piano); Keyboard topography; Bar line and measure, Quarter, half, whole notes and rests; and Repeat signs.
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.
