Towards Piano Virtuoso With The Taubman Approach

By Charles Patterson


Playing the piano is both an art and a science. It has always been considered an art that requires extensive practice to master, but the Taubman Approach has changed the perspective of music teachers and scholars. This theory came out of the realization that piano maestros use a particular formula to perfect their skill. In fact, there is a feeling that it takes trial and error to achieve the highest level of expertise.

Over five decades, Dorothy Taubman, a Brooklyn based pedagogue developed this approach with the aim of solving some of the technical problems that affected players. The idea was to find an ordered and rational way of playing with ease. Her suggestions have enabled ordinary pianists to graduate into world renowned instrumentalists.

The realization that pianists were influential artists was revealed to be important in advancing their skills. By understanding their positions and claiming them, it would be easy to achieve full potential. Remaining in the background meant that the pianist gave away his influence over the music.

One of the influential observations made was that children, whose play was intuitive and naive played with ease yet adults, who were more conscious, lost the childhood grace. She also sort to identify the underlying simplicity that was in the complex act of playing the piano. This led to the discovery of coordinated motions through which each part worked to produce the best results.

The analysis has produced some of the most life changing revelations. It was discovered that coordinate motions achieve accuracy with lease effort because the motions allow mid-range-response on the required fingers. This is a scenario that enhances kinesthetic judgment to enhance accuracy. Where motions are extreme, the tension of achieving accuracy enables the pianist to still manage.

Where movements are coordinated, each part of your finger acts to its best mechanical advantage. An example is where the forearm initiates motion because it is incapable of the speed produced by the large upper arm. Further, she concluded that to achieve freedom and precision, coordinate movements must be guided by the principle of maximum results with minimum effort. Breaking these rules and failure to obey these principles led to a painful and mundane playing experience.

What did the analysis reveal? One of the revelations was a common occurrence of musculoskeletal disorder that was related to playing the piano. Her discovery was that through coordinated playing, victims of this disorder found relief. Turning to coordinated playing also helped previously injured pianists to achieve higher mastery and prowess than they did before the injury.

In her revelation, a pianist finds relaxation after using the right motions. This does not hamper the ability of a player to resume since the right motions have already been ingrained. In her conclusion, it is correct diagnosis that solves technical problems other than extended practice. As such, students find challenges not because they are less talented but because they lack knowledge of the correct technique.




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