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A Home-Based Studio in Lendrum Place
About The Teacher
Heather Hindman is a piano teacher, musician, pianist and an award-winning professional composer with nearly three decades of teaching experience. She holds a Master’s degree in Music from McGill university and is also an Assistant Lecturer in Music Composition and Sonic Arts at the University of Alberta. She is trained to teach the Suzuki Piano method and all levels up to ARCT in the Royal Conservatory program. . A sought after adjudicator, mentor and specialist in contemporary music, Ms. Hindman’s deep passion for music and teaching means her students are immersed in an environment of creativity, inspiration, and diverse musical genres.
Her teaching balances encouragement with a demand for excellence, and a light-hearted environment with a commitment to regular progress to grow fine young musicians.
Heather has been involved in a huge range of music styles over her career. From jazz to pop to a thorough training in classical piano and pedagogy, she has a broad perspective that her students uniquely benefit from. She has sent hundreds of students to RCM exams, festivals, and even University auditions and placement exams in addition to her University level teaching in music creativity.
When not teaching and making music, she enjoys gardening, baking, hiking and the outdoors, going to concerts, and chillin’ with her family and sweet sheepdog Ralph.
About the Studio
Nifty Notes is a home-based studio located in Lendrum Place in south Edmonton. It has a separate entry to the welcoming basement studio with a well-lit waiting area, toys and puzzles for young children, a cozy couch and washroom facilities.
The studio has 2 upright Steinway pianos and a digital keyboard, and a large collection of teaching tools including rhythm instruments, games, spinners, dice, puppets and practice aids. Many students love to feed “Mr.Munch” each time they complete a task in class, or count colours on an abacus to win a game!
The studio has a large library of reference resources and music scores, as well as fun pointers, colouring tools and adjustable chairs and footstools. Each student is nurtured both at and away from the piano with these tools which help keep lessons engaging and motivating. Group classes for the Suzuki program occur at this location too.
Is this Studio a Good Fit for Your Family?
Students at Nifty Notes are committed learners who practice regularly and believe in studying music with the same values that we study math, literature or science. It is an academic and creative pursuit rather than another extracurricular activity, and deserves the same time and attention as school subjects. Students love learning and are motivated by progress, and participate in the larger music community of our city such as in workshops, festivals, studio recitals and exams.
Practice (and Parent) Expectations
Parents are expected to be highly involved even if they are not in the Suzuki program. Parents ensure a a student practices regularly and diligently at home everyday (and this is much harder to establish then you’d think!). Parents model a love of music by listening, taking kids to concerts and enjoying what their child plays. The lesson is merely a roadmap, but the real learning happens at home where a child, with the encouragement and support of a loving parent, masters new skills by daily practice. This mastery is what makes music “fun”, not by avoiding practice, but by learning to do something, and then being able to enjoy the fruits of that labour. If a student does not practice, they can’t play well, and then music study is always frustrating and difficult. It is never fun when you don’t know what you are doing. This is why regular practice is vital and expcted here, it sets your child up for success and is ultimately what establishes a love of music long term.
Practice expectations in specific time amounts vary from student to student and level of advancement. Generally a young beginner would start at 20 minutes daily, an elementary aged student 25-30 minutes daily, with senior students practicing 1-2 hours daily. There is no easy way around this, an instrument takes time and practice to learn. If these time commitments sound untenable, this studio may not be a good fit for you. In return for their practice efforts, Nifty Notes students play well! They win awards and play at festivals and competitions, some write and play music for family events, some develop the the skills to play music with others at church or in a band (even on other instruments!) and others simply enjoy playing at home with ease. THAT is what makes music fun!
