Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Taubman Technique

Does anyone else have teachers that follow the Taubman technique/method? My teacher is a big proponent of the Taubman method... and claims that it has improved his playing even after his study with top pianists while at Eastman and Michigan. Tomorrow I will be attending a masterclass given by Kendall Feeney, who is a top teacher of the Dorothy Taubman's method.

I recommend a search...Taubman has been discussed many, many times here.

Help! Taubman people come to the Teacher's Forum, I need some backup. I'll be nice to you.
https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubb...res%20and%20Hand%20Shap.html#Post1193209

My teacher teaches Taubman technique and I'm very happy with the results. I'm not sure it's all that original when you break it down to its essentials and I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but my personal experience has been very positive.

My teacher studied with Barbara Taubman. Her instructions on technique begin a long way before the fingers reach the keyboard--- truly speaking, they go from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head--- and yes, include how the fingers, hands, wrists are held and how they move. On top of that is the musicality of the instruction... so, it is a lot to keep in mind.

I'm not an expert in Taubman, but as I understand it, the first idea is to protect the body from keyboard-caused injuries, which are a plague on so many pianists. I can say that it has been of help to me in that way.

This instructor has a genius for zeroing in on my weaknesses as a player, and helping me to get them out of the way. We know what a wide range there can be between one instructor and another, so it's hard to be more specific.

We are music makers with our entire being and our entire experiences in life. We should always keep that in mind. We should always have an eye out for ways to improve our progress in music which is very much contributed to by all areas of our lives.

Attitudes count. Behavior counts. Accountability counts. Time management. Priority setting. All kinds of things.

We look to our fingers and our brain when searching for answers in music making, but we are spiritual, emotional, intelligence, breathing humans, and every thing counts in music: our neurological system, our physical and mental wellness, our energy level, you name it, it belongs to us.

We need to look at our weaknesses and strengths in every capacity that we have. Head to toe, inner world, outer world. The company we keep, the things we hold in esteem, our problem solving, our ability to dream.

I think everything comes under examination, and rightly so.

It's about living the life best lived and creating our own dimensions.

Taubman is one contributor to make us aware, there are also many others, and we should seek them out because we share the objectives with them and then contribute greatly to our pursuit of fully understanding who we are and what we have and proceeding with respect and understanding toward our journey in life and in music.

It starts with awareness.

Betty Patnude

One of my teachers was heavily influenced by Taubman, and another was influenced by Matthay. Both approaches are very helpful in bringing a natural ease and awareness of physiology into one's playing.

I started taking lessons from a Taubman teacher a couple months ago. It's a very different technique than how I learned piano originally. I think it's going to make a huge difference in how I play.

Mary

I don't know about Taubman's technique, but now I'm curious. Is it similar to what I described as natural technique over on the teacher's forum?

Dear Pianobuff:
Thank you very much for your recent post. I wanted to offer this to you in addressing your curiosity. I too was very curious. I have studied the Taubman Approach and was fortunate enough to work directly with both Dorothy Taubman and Edna Golandsky for more than 25 years. After searching for many years and attending some of the top music schools in the United States I was often exposed to the concept of " Natural Playing" . What Mrs. Taubman has discovered helped me to achieve a level of technical naturalness and musical result that I was unable to attain otherwise. Although the approach includes many insights and discoveries that other pianists and teachers had made through the centuries, her unique way of combining essential elements without losing the overall picture remains astonishing to me to this day.
I can honestly say that I am fortunate to now pass this on to pianists and watch them accomplish things that would not predictably happen otherwise. It came as a big relief to have an approach to natural playing that was logical and practical.
This was not a quick miracle cure but at least for me I was not spending countless hours wondering how to do it. I just spent the time implementing the approach and seeing my technique and musicianship grow.

Dear Piano Buff,
Having read the response from pianoprofessor57, I can emphatically corroborate his experience with my own. Nothing in my prior years of study with outstanding and notable pedagogues matched the completely logical, detailed and physiologically sound principles of the Taubman technique. The results have surpassed any expectations, regarding both "technique" and musical expression, and there are solutions for any and every problem. This makes teaching an exciting and fulfilling experience for both teacher and student.

I have never heard anything bad about Dorothy Taubman from those who have studied with her. I can say the same thing about Edna Golandsky, who continues in the spirit of her legacy.

By the way, there are many new youtubes you can watch about Taubman. They have been officially placed there by Edna Golandsky and they explain some of the Taubman principles. Just put in "Taubman" or "Golandsky."

best wishes,
Valerie

Here we go again...

Well said, Kreisler. There is nothing magical about playing the piano. We're all human, we all have fingers, muscles, arms, elbows, etc. Thus, a more scientific approach towards playing the piano, such as Mattay's and Taubman's, is warranted. (This is not to say "musicianship" is to be ignored...)