Wiggly Fingers Piano Studio
“To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.” –Ludwig van Beethoven
Meet The Teacher: Elsie Hoover
Elsie has always had a passion for music ever since she saw Canadian pianist Glenn Gould play the piano on television. Since then, she has been playing piano since she was 3 and teaching music since the beginning of high school. Elsie has studied with Russian pianists Tatiana and Joseph Fridman (Edmonton, AB), Dr. Joachim Segger (King's University, Edmonton, AB) and Dr. Kim Dae-jin (Korea National University of Arts, South Korea) and Dr. Leonel Morales (Sommerakademie, Salzburg, Austria) during the Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria in 2015. She has won numerous provincial and national awards and often adjudicates throughout the province. Currently, Elsie is on-call as a substitute piano accompanist and vocal coach at Grant Macewan's Musical Theatre Department and plays intermittently as a freelance musician in Edmonton and surrounding areas.
Elsie firmly believes that music should be fun, enjoyable and therapeutic first and foremost. Her teaching philosophy is grounded in an enjoyment of piano playing - it makes dexterity and musicality much easier to accomplish! Because of her intense piano background, Elsie is determined to teach her students using the skills she was taught from highly accomplished pianists, but in a healthy and non-toxic way. She believes that kids are capable of autonomy and self-determination without treating them harshly. Elsie believes that positive reinforcement of good technique and musicality will ensure that kids will eventually love playing the piano without the need for reminders from their parents.Her current students are a testament to this philosophy. Her students have won/competed in the Edmonton Music Festival and Alberta Provincial Music Festival in the past.
Student Curriculum
Beginner Students (ages 4-6)
Elsie uses Music for Little Mozarts, a piano curriculum that promotes sight-reading and an appreciation for classical music. It involves solfege, dancing, coloring and music notation reading.
Beginner Students (ages 6-12)
We recommend Piano Adventures for older beginner students; it prepares them for learning music and has lots of songs in the classical, jazz, pop and Disney genre.
Beginner Students (ages 12 and older)
We use Piano Adventures Accelerated for older students, so that they feel more accomplished when they start and it also eliminates beginner frustration. In the first lesson you can be guaranteed you will learn a song by the end of the lesson.