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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Efe – Jan 17th
Hi Efe! Wishing you and your family a great weekend. Here’s what I’d like you to work on this week.
This Google Drive will have all the required material for this week. I’m having a delay right now. Everything will be there during the day on Sunday, January 18th. Efe – Jan 17th
Regarding my notes on last semester’s student report, I’ve implemented a plan here that gets you to practice a half hour a day.
Experimenting with new Powerchords — 5 minutes
For these, remember to use fingers 1 and 4 on your Left Hand. — Only use fingers 1 and 4 for the powerchords I give you for now. (There are powerchords with more notes in the actual chord, but I’m not going into that this week. I just want you understanding the most basic type of powerchord for now; we’ll get to those other ones later.)
- Play them anywhere on the bottom 4 strings. (E, A, D, G.) Don’t go up to the B or high E string with these; we’ll talk about those strings next time.
- ^ This is to say: Find the notes of this scale on the bottom 3 strings only. From here, you have to play that chess-like game I told you about :) which is when you start from the root note (the chord’s letter name), and then move 2 frets sideways and then 1 fret up.
Smells Like Teen Spirit — 15 minutes
There’s a video of me demonstrating the main riff of this song at 60BPM; half the original speed. Dedicate some time to playing this riff on repeat; exactly as you see me doing here.
- Don’t worry about the percussive picking you see in this video. As I told you in class, I’ll be showing you that technique a little later.
- There are 2 pictures in this week’s Google Drive that pertain to this song. 1: the 4 main powerchords that are played in this song. 2: the G powerchord. Be mindful of this chord. So many guitarists overlook this chord in this song.
- Make sure you’re sticking to the exact same strumming pattern that I’m using in the video.
E minor pentatonic scale — 10 minutes
- The Backing Track: Backing track in E minor
- There is a picture of the additional frets I’ve added to this scale.
— Well done on memorizing this. Keeping playing around with this over the backing track.
— Feel free to add vibrato on any of the notes in this scale so far. Remember your term, the “wiggle” :) this is what I’m referring to.
— We’re forgetting about the B major chord for now. I was mistaken in attempting to push you to learn this chord; it’s a bit high-level for you right now. You’ll get there eventually.
— Play the E minor, E major, and G major chords over this.
Final words
A little bit of practice everyday is far better than a huge amount of practice in one day. I’m strictly stopping you from doing a ridiculous amount of of practice in one day, because I don’t want you to risk hurting your hands. This is, indeed, a risk that some guitarists overlook and end up hurting their hands with.
It was a good lesson today, Efe. Thank you for your hard work. See you in a week!
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.
