One person addressing the problem of piano-related injuries is Dorothy Taubman. By reputation and an article of hers I read she appears to be an important resource in learning to play without pain. I have not found any method books she has authored, only a videotape listed on my web page. However, there is a Taubman Institute that can be reached at 518-239-4756 for teacher recommendations. Below are a few comments I've gleaned on the 'Net . . . -Paul Marxhausen (Note: Web site now available at www.taubman-institute.com) ======================================================================= Date: 14 Mar 96 16:58:30 EST Subject: Dorothy Taubman As a former Faculty Chairperson of the Dorothy Taubman School of Piano, I would like to add my perspective of this outstanding pedagogue's work to your Web page. Dorothy Taubman was one of the first voices to be heard acknowledging that pianists often played with pain. For many years, physical problems at the piano were associated with a lack of talent. Mrs. Taubman said that the problem was not a lack of talent but a lack of technical knowledge. This idea has become more acceptable in recent years because of the public statements of injured artists such as Leon Fleisher and Gary Graffman. It is exciting to learn about Dorothy Taubman's enormous body of knowledge. Over a period of five decades she has clarified how our hands and body function according to physiological principles of movement and has related this information to the mechanical principles of our instrument. These two areas have been joined in a comprehensive approach to piano technique that permits one to play without stress or strain. For people interested in learning more about Mrs. Taubman's work, there is a new series of videos available. A five-part video-tape series of Taubman Lectures, presented by Edna Golandsky, has recently been released. Included with these videos is a 28 page addendum by Ms. Golandsky. Also available is the video, "Choreography of The Hands", which presents an overview of Mrs. Taubman's philosophy with Mrs. Taubman on screen. Of course, the very best way to learn about this work is to study with a Taubman teacher and/or attend a two week Institute offered annually at Amherst College. This year the dates of the Institute are July 7th to July 20, 1996. For more information about any of the above please call Enid Stettner, the Executive Director of the Taubman Institute, at 518 239-4756. (After receiving your message I thought I'd better clarify that my e-mail is listed under my husband's name. So, if I can be of any help to you in the future, please know that you are addressing Patricia (Pat) King). Thanks. ) ======================================================================= There are probably reams to be written about RSI and piano playing, but I wanted to mention the Taubman method, which has helped many injured pianists. My RSI is from the computer, but I worked for a while with a Taubman teacher at the piano, and was able to transfer some of that to the computer. Part of what I learned (at the piano) was to use the weight of my arm to play the key. The only muscles needed were the ones that lift the arm up; relaxing those allowed the arm to drop and play the note. I found that when I was working correctly at the piano, my arms and hands felt warmer. Also on a piano, as opposed to a computer or some electronic pianos, there is some resistance to the key, which "cushions" your landing. Of course, it is possible to strike it really hard and "hit bottom" and send shock back into your arms, which can be damaging. There is a lot more to it, of course, including making sure you are sitting at the right height, etc. Ann Becker ======================================================================= Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 17:51:56 -0800 Subject: Re: Dorothy Taubman method - info, opinions? I am an amateur piano player and developed tendonitis in both hands. The only obvious cause was my push to learn a new classical piece (before that I had been mostly playing popular stuff) with unending repetitions of a passage that was troubling me. The doctor said to quit playing immediately and find a teacher who could analyze my playing mechanics to pinpoint the problems(s). Searching for a teacher who would take on this challenge led me to a teacher who uses the Taubman method (although apparently you are not supposed to call it a method but a "body of knowledge". I have been going to weekly lessons for about 2 1/2 months. Taubman certainly does have both supporters and critics. The approach focuses on using the forearm and forearm rotation as the main movement and rejects the use of finger independence and finger movements. Taubman also emphasizes that if you playing correctly it should not hurt, you do not need to build up endurance, and that exercises -a la Hanon - are a waste of time and perhaps dangerous. In fact, the Taubman view, is that playing the piano correctly is theraputic. I can't speak to its medical benefits, but I do know that my teacher emphasizes pain free playing and views any discomfort as a sign that the movement is incorrect and we work on it until I find a position that feels good. Even those days when I go to a lesson and my hands hurt, they never hurt during a lesson and I leave feeling better - so maybe it is theraputic. This approach really requires re-learning how to play - and after 40 years this is not an easy thing to do! The first lessons are spent on 5-finger exercises and working up to 2 octave scales. Then on to a classical piece (for me a Mozart Sonata) for passage work. Eventually (will I live this long?) I will get to start playing music again. In the strictest sense, you would need to re-learn all your repetoire using this new method - not a happy thought at all - my teacher said you should really avoid playing any old pieces for at least two years and then could return to them. But, they should probably not feel comfortable and using this new approach, I would be learning new pieces and more difficult pieces than before so I wouldn't miss the old ones. I have decided to give this 6 months and since I can't really play any pieces of consequence anyway with my hands hurting, at worst I am only losing the price of the lessons. We have spent hours on the simplest movements and listening to the difference in the tone - so in one way this approach is a real revelation - I never had a teacher who spent time like this. I am obviously new at this whole subject and hope I haven't put forth any mis-information about Taubman. If you like, send me some questions and I can get answers from my teacher. By the way, Taubman has not written a book - although there is a video available called "Choreography of the Hands" which is basically invterviews with Taubman and some of her students - it is really a testamonial. You really need to have a teach explain this I don't think you could get it from reading. Janet Wentworth ======================================================================= My exposure to the Taubman method is limited. I took about 10 lessons with a Taubman teacher here is Los Angeles. Her teacher trained with Taubman, so I was getting the method two generations removed. Her fundamental premise as I understand it, getting more of the body involved in each movement, is wise. Note that "getting more of the body involved" is fundamental to Feldenkrais as well. I have three concerns about the Taubman method: (1) dogmatic: my teacher said "you WILL use your arm like THIS" and basically nagged and corrected me constantly. There was not the concept of using my kinesthetic sense to DISCOVER what movement is natural for me. (2) anti-exercise: my teacher gave me almost no exercises and insisted that I only practice the technique on actual music. She gave me no suggestions for how to use repetition. I think that Taubman correctly recognized that repetitive exercises without attention don't do much good, but she tried to solve the problem by eliminating exercises instead of exploring how to use more attention during exercises. (3) focused on arms: my teacher focused entirely on my use of my arm from about the elbow on down. I believe that it is important and very rewarding to work with the whole body. I have recently been conducting my own explorations of piano technique based on my Feldenkrais-type movement practice, and I think that I'm making faster progress than I could with any dogmatic method. However, the Taubman method certainly contains a lot of wisdom and can probably help most people. Mike -- Mike Mossey Subject: Re: Dorothy Taubman Date: Fri, 12 Jan 1996 16:52:35 -0800 (PST) > > THanks for the comments. I think I'll go fish for some more opinions > on Taubman on the piano newsgroup and include your remarks plus any > others in a summary on the music injuries Web page. > > paul marxhausen ```` ``````` ````````````` ```````````` ```````````` `````````` Ok, if you make a public statement of it, can you include this statement: This represents my experience of the Taubman Method only; it is easily possible that your experience will be significantly different. I believe that every exploration of movement, including the Taubman Method, has potential benefit, and it is always possible that a method disagreeable to one person can be perfect for another. -- Mike Mossey ===== Subject: Re: Tendinitis Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 22:50:17 -0700 I've had chronic wrist, arm and finger problems for years. In March I started taking Taubman Method piano lessons and my pain is gone. I can now use the computer, mouse, and piano without pain and my playing has never been better. If you're interested check out: www.taubman-institute.com for more information. It really worked for me. Changed my life. ======== Since I have received several email messages regarding proper and healing movement, thought I'd share with everyone the source from where most of my hand saving experience came from. The Taubman Institute primarily trains pianists to achieve a natural, virtuoso technique. Through moving properly, you avoid incoordinate, injurious movement which aids in moving freely, correctly and painlessly. My Taubman teacher has also worked with typists, drummers, harpists, bakers, golfers and seamstresses. I also found my teacher to be more knowledgeable, a better listener, determined to find a solution, and more compassionate than any of the occupational and physical therapists I have seen. Not that she was a substitute for, but, she was the icing on the cake, the missing link, the corrective, restorative, countermeasure that nobody else could offer. So, if you are desirous to add a Taubman session to your arsenal of hand healing hunts, contact them at the email address below. Tell them where you live and ask for a list of CERTIFIED teachers in your area. Call that teacher and see if they think they can help you. They are very eager to help. I, personally, am not affiliated with them in any way other than being a student, thereof.