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, February 7
Jack
Jack was very motivated to play his four beat pattern today. It was encouraging to see his willingness to incorporate bass drum into his new beat. We will build upon that momentum to start talking about how to go from one drum groove to another. Then we will start creating phrases of a song.
Nova
We continued working on INSOMNIA by Eve. We were able to work through the groove from intro to verse. However, I encourage Nova to practise it more just to make sure it is dialled in. I have printed the rest of the page. I would like Nova to try out some of the fills as well.
Adam
Adam showed great progress on Enter Sandman. I have notated more of the song on the handout. When practising at home, I encourage him to use the Drumset Musician sheet to warm up. The latter part of Enter Sandman is more or less very similar material, with slight shift in the bass drum to fit in with the guitar rift. For this week, practise the new beat notated at the bottom, and try to play it in repetition. If Adam doesn’t quite understand how it works, he can listen to around 1:10 on the song as a reference.
Nicolas
Nicolas is showing great discipline with learning the xylophone. Recently we have been starting each lesson with some scale practises. I have pointed out to him that rather than using his arm, he should look to engage his wrist movements more. In the meantime, he should also think to keep his hand low, so the ball of the mallet is closer to the keyboard, improving accuracy. Additionally, I encourage him to practise scales more at home, while paying extra attention to his movements. It is always the best time to improve your technique when doing the easier stuff. Then we moved onto Hymn of Freedom, which I encourage him to zoom down to smaller trouble spot then playing the rest together. There is no point always starting from the beginning. If you end up hitting the trouble spot and playing it wrong again, pause there. When everything is fluent and locked in, play the whole thing, with repeat. THEN see if anything is not flowing properly and fix that next spot. Repeat that cycle and the song will be mastered in no time.
Jonah
Jonah is swift to learn Fly As Me. We have been warming up with rudiments in class, and Jonah is very good at all sorts of flam rudiments. However he has a tendency to want to play it faster, but while doing that, he tenses up quite a lot. I encourage Jonah to aim for relaxation when practising rudiments, as that is what ultimately takes the speed up a notch while improving the sound quality. This class we worked on the Middle 8 section. Jonah was fast to identify that the underlying groove is the same as the previous few, except the material are assigned to different instruments. With that in mind, I would like him to keep that similar feel to the groove, light and laid back. Additionally, pay extra care and attention to bar 45 and 49 as those two are quite some tricky licks. We will work on outro chorus next class. We will also introduce some improvisation exercise.
Preferred Books for Katie’s Students
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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.
