Increasingly, the internet or “Dr Google” is becoming the default go-to when we seek information. A colleague surmised recently that when we were children, we went to school to access the knowledge, which usually meant teachers or the library. Nowadays,…
FAQ: How can I stop my student playing with a low wrist?
As many of you know, the fundamental principle of the Taubman Approach is that the fingers, hand and forearm operate together in synchronicity. One tenet that emerges from this underlying foundation is that if the wrist is low, this critical…
FAQ: How do you help a student with legato versus staccato?
A question teachers often ask is regarding helping students learn the skill of one hand playing legato while the other plays staccato. Basically, the student needs to feel that at the moment of playing, both hands go down. The staccato hand…
FAQ: How can I play this passage faster?
It’s surprising how often I am asked over email or in a Facebook thread to give advice on how to play a passage faster. This is almost impossible to diagnose over text, without seeing the person interact with that particular…
On separate hands versus hand together playing
One of the many misunderstandings around Dorothy Taubman and the Taubman work is the issue of separate hands versus hands together practice. In contrast to the common practice of learning (and memorising) the right hand, then the left hand, and…
FAQ: My student won’t curl their fingers, what should I do?
There is often confusion over language in describing technique. One example is the action of pulling in the nail joint, called “curling” in the Taubman Approach,but described by others as curving. In Taubman language, “curving” relates to the natural contour of the…
FAQ: Will taking turmeric cure my RSI?
Some people have shared that they have found turmeric to be helpful as an anti-inflammatory in overcoming RSI or other playing-related issues, although still admitting to discomfort and pain. While I find this interesting and am glad that turmeric was…
FAQ: My student has hyperflexible joints. Will this cause problems in playing the piano?
Firstly, many small children have collapsed nail joints, which most tend to grow out of with time. This is different to true hyperflexibility or hypermobility. Taubman always believed that with the former, it was better for the last nail joint…
Article on the Taubman Approach in Spanish.
http://pianoacoeur.com/es/enfoque-taubman-tecnica-piano/ Huge thanks to Marina Alcolea for the translation.
Developing equal hands.
Recently, I was working with a student who has had ongoing difficulties with her left hand, forearm, and upper arm. Apart from her pain symptoms, she described her left hand as feeling like a “clumpy sloth”, weighed down by an…