Nicole Van Hoey
About
Nicole Van Hoey is an experienced pianist and Suzuki-certified piano teacher who is passionate about bringing the ability to express oneself through music to all ages and all types of learners. A hallmark of her teaching is flexibility, finding each student's unique path to music-making filled with joy.
Nicole studied classical piano under MaryAnn La Lumia Hoffman in Youngstown, OH, and continued her education with jazz theory studies after earning her Piano Guild International HS Diploma. In addition to teaching piano, Nicole enjoys chamber music coaching, piano arranging for small groups, and collaborative playing with violin soloists and studios.
As a member of the Music Teachers National Association and its local Northern Virginia chapter, as well as the Suzuki Association of the Americas, Nicole stays abreast of the latest piano teaching methods and repertoire. She is so excited to share in your musical journey and guide you along the path that is best for you!
Teaching Style
My teaching philosophy focuses on joy and flexibility to form lifelong musicians, because not every student response best to traditional methods, but every student should have the opportunity to develop piano experience and musical expression. I aim to imbue each lesson with warmth and confidence so that students learn to enjoy making music at each stage of learning.
A typical private lesson with me may involve work on body mechanics---warmups to prepare muscles and prevent injury; scales and exercises---to get fingers moving together and independently, not for speed but for dexterity and accuracy; theory---as games, activity sheets, score study, or hands-on keyboard practice to build comfort from the foundation up, one step at a time; and repertoire---including just-right material, sightreadable music, and stretch/by-request tunes. Every person is different, so every lesson is different, even from week to week.
Curriculum
I maintain a variety of method and supplemental texts in my studio to allow me to select a best fit for each student. Rather than placing every student into the same box of a single method, I prefer to get to know each student and build an effective teaching plan to meet their goals, desires, and learning styles.
Common beginner books for teens in my rotation include Alfred's All-in-One Adult method, the Supersonics or Wunderkeys Pop/Older Beginner Chord-based approaches, and Agay's Joy of First Year Piano. Younger students may begin lessons in the Alfred Premier, Bastien New Traditions, Suzuki, or Little Fry music series. Even outside the traditional Suzuki approach, I incorporate its best practices of listening, learning technique from the very start, and playing rote tunes to develop musicality alongside note and rhythm reading. Warmups for all ages come from Andrea Dow's technical exercise or Burnam's Dozens a Day books.
For all students, I provide different types of audio and visual support to individualize learning. Examples used regularly in my studio include You Tube recaps for audio learners, PianoShow.me tutorial diagrams for visual learners, and Google Doc written directions for language lovers.
Credentials & Affiliations
Music has always been a part of my life. With piano lessons beginning at age 5 years, I have more than 40 years of personal piano study. Under teacher Mary Ann La Lumia Hoffman, I earned a National Federation of Music Piano Guild International HS Diploma, and I continue to learn new skills, tunes, and genres. I have more than 20 years of teaching, coaching, and collaborative performance experience that encompasses work with individuals, small-group chamber ensembles, and Suzuki and classical strings studios.
I am a teacher member of the Suzuki Association of Americas, having passed the comprehensive piano audition and earned Book 1 certification with Jane Reed, and of the Music Teachers National Association and its local Northern Virginia chapter. My continuing education focuses on adapting pedagogical techniques for different types and ages of learners, and I am in preparation stages of earning my recreational music-making teacher certification with MTNA. In addition to teaching privately both in person and online, I serve on the Board of Directors of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra.
