Jolene is a wonderful example of someone who has courageously changed her life from being limited by injury and pain, to coming out the other end of retraining to play more advanced repertoire than she could before, pain free, and…
A little ray of Moonlight shining through Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu
I’ve had the great pleasure of working with a wonderful student through the retraining process over the last year or so. By wonderful, I mean positive, curious, interested, engaged, intelligent, and spent her energy keeping diligent and careful notes on…
The composer speaks: Part 2
Recently I was involved in a fascinating exchange with a composer. I was working with a student on a piece that contained some frankly unplayable measures in the current form. Now, it’s one thing to nut out difficult writing: I’m…
A retraining journey in progress: an inspiring and honest account
I’m excited to share this account of a retraining journey. Like many students, A (she has asked to withhold her name) had experienced pain for some years. She came for occasional lessons, had problems solved, but took time before committing…
To hold or not to hold? The composer speaks Part 1.
When first coming into contact with the Taubman work, people often struggle with the idea that it is okay to let go of long notes. I know I did. Of course we connect when possible (that is, when the hand…
A new addition
There’s a special reason why I haven’t posted anything for a long while. His name is Zander, my beautiful first born, who joined the world on July 13 of this year. Before his arrival, a colleague asked me to write…
Reframing “How long will it take to retrain?”
A nagging question I hear often as a Taubman teacher is around the length of the retraining process. The usual scenario is that a pianist brings to the process decades of habit, months if not years of pain, a good…
L’Approche Taubman la technique du piano
Huge thank you to Marina Alcolea for translating my article into French! http://pianoacoeur.com/lapproche-taubman-la-technique-du-piano/
Interview with John Bloomfield and Tim Topham on the Taubman Approach, Jan 2017
Giving pain a name?
Often, a pianist walks into my studio with a complicated diagnosis, and proceeds to give me a thorough rundown as to exactly which muscles and / or tendons are irritated. Meanwhile, I am observing how they use their hands and…