Our 14 Annual Piano Boot Camp
The Dragonfly sisters, Linda and Sue Gould, are your hosts for this immersive piano camp focusing on lead sheets, creativity and improvisation at the piano.
Piano Boot Camp welcomes mature piano players (16+) of all levels, plus professional development classes for Piano Teachers.
Beginners, intermediate and experienced classical players, are welcome. We guarantee at the end of the week you will be playing pop, jazz and classical lead sheets… with inspiration!
Victoria Classes are 9:30 am - 4:00 pm for 5 days (includes a catered lunch)
Golden Classes are half days 10:00 am - 12:30 pm for 5 days
Dates still being finalized but will be around the end of July or beginning of August.
What To Expect
Learning to play the piano with chords and lead sheets is a new skill for many pianists who have largely been taught to be note readers and interpreters of the masters. When you have your own creative skills, the classical music world opens up as does the jazz and pop worlds. Piano Boot Camp immerses you in this experience and you will emerge with a new confidence at the piano.
Beginner classes work on basic beautiful lead sheets with 3 - 4 note chords and voicings. Using these lead sheets, we focus on foundational piano skills, active listening, starter improvisation, and ensemble playing. Ideal for beginner pianists, singers, and other instrumentalists who wish to have a basic command of the piano.
More Advanced classes work on interpreting lead sheets, critical listening, improvisation, more advanced piano chords, licks, comping and ensemble playing. Ideal for piano players who can play hands together comfortably and those that have taken traditional piano exams from grade 4 - 10 (and beyond).
Piano Teacher only classes. Feel comfortable with the new RCM lead sheet options for exams, prepare your teen students for jazz band at high school, teach retired adults to play the music from their youth. In addition to the lead sheet and improvising classes, there are pedagogy classes for piano teachers only. You will gain experience teaching lead sheet chord voicings, teaching improvisation (even if you haven’t done it before!) and teaching adults and teens in a group setting.
NEW this year: bring your own keyboard... what do all those buttons on our keyboards do?
We’ll have classes on how to get the most out of your keyboard for playing and teaching. In addition, you will have the opportunity to try the new narrow key pianos which allow small handed pianists to experience playing the big chords than only large handed pianists can play.
Feedback From PREVIOUS BOOT CAMPS
Testimonials
Linda Quinn (student)
Take the plunge. It is a very supportive, non judgmental environment. I was surprised that there was always something new to learn and how quickly the hour flew by.
Barb Schindel (teacher)
I have taught voice/piano for over 30 years and have taught Play Piano Chords Today for over 10 years. I use the tools in my personal teaching - This is a revolutionary resource to enhance any music teacher's Studio!
Julianne Wolfe (teacher)
Your program is such a lovely way to introduce adults to playing and having fun. Those who go through your books continue to enjoy and learn from lead sheets, and also are more ready to read the bass clef and enjoy classical music as well.
Anne Glommen (student)
No more daunting pages of black notes - a single melody line and a few chord notations are all one needs for immediate satisfaction. This method of teaching has brought so much joy to my piano playing.
Phyllis Straatholf (student)
The classes have been fun and totally stress-free. If I had had this type of instruction early in my piano playing, I would likely have never stopped playing.
Irma MacKay (student)
I was hesitant to begin piano lessons again as a senior. However, I have learned so much in the 18 months that I have been taking lessons from Linda and am amazed at how well I can now play the piano.
meet the dragonfly sisters

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Linda and Susan Gould are award winning pianists who have been performing and teaching music for over 40 years (each).
They hold Bachelors of Music with Distinction in Piano Performance from the University of Victoria in addition to Jazz studies with Randy Halberstadt, Karel Roessingh and Lynn McNeil. Linda was on faculty at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and Mount Royal College in Calgary and Sue was on faculty at Banff Centre for the Preforming Arts.
Together and separately they have travelled extensively performing and educating in communities large and small.
They love Piano Boot Camp and it's opportunity to gather like-minded pianists together and immerse in a week of music making.
They can be found performing with a variety of ensembles including the Music Mosaic piano trio, the Selkirk Trio, Paulson Gould duo, and the Dragonfly Sisters duo.
Sue is the Music Director and conductor of the Purcell Mountain Orchestra and Linda is author of the 4 volume chording course, Play Piano Chords Today.
And yes, they are real life sisters!
Previous Boot Camp Experiences
Galina Coffey Lewis (Author)
I have fallen in love with playing the piano again!
After not having a piano lesson for over 10 years, I found Linda Gould. What a treasure she is!! And her teaching methods are so creative, so magnificent, so holistic and so enjoyable; I have fallen in love with playing the piano again. Linda is the most creative teacher I ever had.... Her teaching methods utilizing "Play Piano Chords Today" books, and her summer "Piano Boot Camp" are so much fun and I can hardly wait to go to my piano lessons.


John Pope (Vancouver)
I am so glad I did!

After retirement, I decided that I wanted to try to learn to play the piano again. I had taken piano lessons for a few years as a child, but really struggled with it. I didn’t enjoy the music I was required to play and my progress was slow.
When I found this piano camp for a week in the summer I thought I had nothing to lose except my pride so very nervously I decided I would attend.
I am so glad I did! They made every student feel comfortable that week. Even though we were at different skill levels, they were able to make the classes relevant to each of us and did it in such a fun and positive way. Of course I came back the next year!
I often think now, when I’m playing the piano, how much my enjoyment has increased because of taking the risk of attending my first Piano Boot Camp.
Boot Camp memories

Painted Piano at McNeil Bay

Play Piano Chords Today Piano Boot Camp

Play Piano Chords Today Piano Boot Camp

Painted Piano at McNeil Bay



We kept going through the pandemic!
