Avoid hand injury or recover: Dorothy Taubman

[uhoh7]

I thought some here may benifit from the work of Dorothy Taubman, lengendary piano players therapist and coach, who I accidentally discovered last year.

 

This first video cuts to the chase: how to move

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This is a playlist of Dorothy in action, filmed by various people.

 

 

She developed a cult like followng because of her results, and created an institute in Brooklyn, I think.

 

Here is the most famous video. It's long but an amazing movie :

20:49 is one of many especially interesting bits

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[uhoh7]

Taubman Approach reminds me of the "Barry Harris Method" where we have a widely influential figure yet a paucity of literature. Training of certified instructors is kept very close by Goldansky. Some critics use terms such as "cult-like". However most afirm the fundamentals which are public.

 

Interesting forum disscusion 2017

 

Pianoworld Article about the method

 

Dorothy Taubman died in 2013

NY TImes Obituary of Dorothy Taubman

 

Here are the fundamentals of "rotation" outside the branding:

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Same instructor in 2017

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Before I reached the Taubman approach I had arrived at the "old Russian school"

Here are two good ones in that vein:

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[Nathanael_I]

I studied with the Golandsky Institute's teacher in Oakland for a while - Edna Golandsky is carrying on the Tubman work and has done the piano world a great service. The instruction was excellent. I completely reworked my hand technique and learned how to play the instrument properly. It took about 18 months to undo all my bad habits, and I have been able to progress technically ever since. The proper foundation is obviously important. The method is solid, there is nothing cult-like or odd about it. Solid biomechanics. I'm sure other teachers get to the same results via their own skill and insight. This just has the benefit of being reduced to principles and a system. The certified instructors are all highly skilled classical pianists. Some overcame debilitating overuse injuries using the method. If you are wanting to work on technique, efficiency, etc, I would highly recommend it. They have thought more deeply about movement at the keyboard than any other method I know, but then, I'm not in any of the elite institutions in Russia (or anywhere else!).

[tnelson]

My piano teacher/coach recovered from potentially career-ending stress injuries in the 1980's, thanks to instruction in the Taubman Approach. She now integrates this approach into her jazz piano teaching (and performing), so I've relearned much of my keyboard technique over the 5 years that I've studied with her. There are quite a few jazz players who have benefitted from this keyboard approach, not only classical players...Ethan Iverson in an endorser, I think.

 

From my personal experience, it changed several things, compared to my playing of the previous 50 years or so (I'm in my 60's). First, no experience of hand/wrist/arm stress, regardless of whether a piano or keyboard has heavy, light, sluggish or uneven action. At least to me, the weight and condition (within reason) of the action become pretty much irrelevant. I can play for hours on any keyboard, without feeling stressed or tired. Second, I have more control over the tone I produce on an acoustic piano, and more control over the dynamics on any keyboard. Third, the Taubman Approach gives me a logic for deciding on efficient fingering, even on the fly during improvisation, so I can play passages more rapidly, smoothly and with better tone. Your mileage may vary, of course, but it's been a game-changer for me.

[jimkost2002]

Thanks to everyone for this FANTASTIC information! I had always heard about the Taubman method for years, but never delved into it seriously.

 

What I am seeing here is very similar to what Gyorgy Sandor taught at Julliard and described in his great book 'On Piano Playing'.

 

He studied with Bartok and got this approach from him. I also studied briefly with Albert and Miyoko Lotto, who were pupils of the great Sascha Gorodnitski, who was a proponent of this technique.

 

Thanks agan, all!

[uhoh7]

Thank you for great replies. I watched many many videos on "techinique", about a year ago, and finaly tripped unto Taubman. I'm about to push my own practice time to over 3 hours a day, and was reminded to find the links. Good thing, as I did not interalise the fundamentals, and this review probably will save me some grief.

 

A few things sinking in:

 

Find best hand postion: let your arm fall loose to your side. Note hand.

 

Hand is strongest when fingers are close, not straight and not tightly bent. Streching is source of many problems, on both sides, and should be done with great care.

 

Movement is the answer! Make hands move in all directions to keep "stacked" position from shoulder to top of hand. Move to reduce stretching! Move to avoid turning under! Movements are up/down, lateral, very important: fore/aft.....and

 

Rotation of whole hand in trills etc.

 

Caress the Key!!!!! Don't Stab!!! Lateral contact is superior to vertical contact. Leave the keys down in legato---with tension released, ie after the attack, only the pressure required to rest the arm should hold the key. Ilinca Vartig clarified this point to me in the last video.

 

I understand the Taubman flavor of good technique is most active in Austrailia and I will keep looking for materials. Please share any information on this subject you find interesting, Taubman or other. Here was the first teacher who made a strong impression on me technically, and inspired me to learn more about the Russian School. I know they didn't all have posture like hers

 

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Ilinca Vartic. Another wonderful, strong teacher. I think Taubman would approve of every word. Ilinca reminds me here not to stiffen my wrist trying to meet all the Taubman criteria.

 

Those hands.....her few brief phrases bring me to me knees, visually. Ilinca moves down the board like a warm-blooded 3-day event horse setting up for a new obsatacle some sharp morning. Now, for all I know, some might think it's wasted motion. Not on me, LOL

 

Update, and here is Ilinca, just last week on our subject:

 

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[RandyFF]

Wow, thanks for sharing! I was definitely taught the curled finger 'soldiers' approach to finger posture. As I struggle with the increased stiffness that has come with getting older, these kinds of tips and approaches are all the more valuable. It's gotten to the point where simple octave stretches and coordinating all the fingers between has become a challenge in a way it never was before.