Hellene Hiner was born in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia, in February 1961. Soon afterwards, her family moved to Ukraine.

1968. At the age of seven, she entered a Music School to learn piano, and graduated from it with honors in 1976.

1976-1980. At the age of 15, Hellene Hiner entered the Zhitomir (Ukraine) Music College to study music theory, music history, and piano. Her favorite subjects were the pedagogy, psychology, and methodology of music. She graduated music college with honors and a Bachelor's degree in music theory, music education, music history and piano.

1980-1982. She worked as a teacher in a Music School as the head of the Theory department.

1982-1987. Mrs.Hiner entered the Kharkov (Ukraine) Music Conservatory (University of Arts) to receive her Master Degree in music, accomplishing her 16-year-long Russian classical music education. She wrote a thesis, "How to teach children to understand and appreciate advanced forms of music." The thesis was appraised with top marks, and the committee of the conservatory recommended that it be published.

1987-1993. Mrs.Hiner worked as a teacher in a Music School, and continued the development of her method of teaching young children to music fundamentals. 

She invented a unique system of ear training and writing musical dictations. She also developed a system of teaching young students music improvisations and creating music. In 1991, her students composed an opera, "Kolobok," and one of her pupils received a medal in the regional contest of young composers.

1993. Mrs.Hiner moved to Houston, Texas, USA

1995. Mrs.Hiner founded "Little Mozart" - a Developmental Music Program. She taught piano in several private schools to children of ages 2.5 - 13 in groups and individually. 

She developed a way of teaching 2-5 year old children to play piano exercises in order to improve their eye-hand and two-hand coordination, created special cards and charts for children of ages 2-5 to learn music notes, and invented some music games to identify fast and slow music, major and minor, intervals and chords.

1998-2003. Mrs.Hiner became an employee of the Montessori Cottage School System. With the parents' help, she organized a school music studio with a piano and 20 piano keyboards, and involved all of the students of 1st-6th grades in her piano program.

She created flash cards, text books, and invented piano key stickers with the symbols of music note names: Do-"Door", Re-"Rain", Mi-"Mirror", Fa-"Farm", Sol-"Salt", La-"Ladder", Ti-"Cup of Tea". She placed the same pictures under the music notes to help children to read the music score and play piano, and to sing everything they learned and heard with the sounds of Solfeggio. She turned the music staff sideways, and added colors to the existing pictures, helping young beginners relate every note on the Grand Staff to piano keys. She printed out the "sideways" songs for the children to enjoy, playing off of the music score by matching the keys with notes.

Though focused primarily on the basic music education for a wide range of children beginning from the age of 3, she successfully brought up many students to the advanced level of piano mastery. Such students as Diana Nguan, Jack Dettling, Taylor George and Carolyn Davidson received high places in different Houston competitions for young pianists.

2001. Mrs.Hiner started the creation of a computer version of her teaching method, the "Soft Way to Mozart" piano teaching software, consisting of interactive computer games through which every child can learn music at his or her own pace in the school or home environment. 

She developed a teaching method and program to start from the transformed vertical music staff with added colors and shapes, simple and effective for beginners, and gradually transform it back to the traditional horizontal black and white music notation. In March 2002, Mrs.Hiner applied for an US patent for her piano and music teaching method and program.

2002. Mrs.Hiner founded the "Do Re Mi Fa Soft" company, whose purpose is to further develop her piano teaching method and learning software, and to help bring real music education to public and private schools, colleges and private households. 

"Do Re Mi Fa Soft" presented the "Soft Way to Mozart" method and learning software in conventions of different Texas teachers' organizations such as Music Educator Association, Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association, and the Houston Area Association for the Education of Young Children.

2004. The State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) has approved "Do Re Mi Fa Soft" as a provider of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) activities. Mrs.Hiner developed "Soft way to Mozart" music curriculum suited for schools and music studios.

At present, Mrs.Hiner continues giving piano lessons at her private piano studio for children in the Houston area, though now her main occupation is in applying her new ideas and vast teaching experience into learning materials, books, and software, and providing workshops for teachers. Being the director of "Do Re Mi Fa Soft", she keeps close contact with the schools and music studios that use the "Soft Way to Mozart" piano teaching method and learning software.