Taubman ideas

If you are bothered by irrational beliefs on piano technique, I think you will have quite a lot to be upset about. ocd

I guess some people don't know about one of the most basic tenets of the Taubman philosophy, which is that whenever you move from one note to another, a rotation occurs - a slight supination/pronation for moving to the outside, a slight pronation/supination for notes moving to the inside. I'm not sure if they believe this rotation occurs for a single note as well, or only when you pass from one note to the other. When you start with a Taubman teacher they will have you do that rotation on every single note you play. Interestingly enough, this practice can have a very positive effect. I remember working with an adult beginner in Paris who had studied for two years with a Taubman devotee, and he was one of the best-prepared adult beginners I have ever seen. His hand had a really good relationship to the board - of course there was still a lot of work to do (for instance he couldn't phrase at all because he was so busy rotating on every note) but his hand had a comfort and stability that I found very appealing. He had found that elusive quality, suppleness that has a core of stability, stability that hadn't become rigid. I think this was largely due to that rotation practice. It did something positive to his neuromotor system. Rotating everywhere seemed to teach his hand how to stand up well somehow. Of course rotation occurs in many other valid guises in piano technique, but I do understand how this bizarre, dogmatic and obsessive application could seem rather strange to the uninitiated... And I must say that I have never taught that way and I doubt very much that I ever will. It's just too confusing and misleading, despite the possibility for positive effects from it... AFF

First thing I tried out after watching the DVD first time was the part with rotation/swiweling the concepts became conscious so to speak. I'm sure rotation occurs somehow whatever you do so any restriction on rotating will create tensions. In the book- I recall- there is an interesting part on phrasing some mesures from Chopin Polonaise F#minor? by what I understand as some kind of rotation- very effective!! To feel the benefits of rotation I guess one needs to keep up the arch.. By the way there are cameras that can shoot thousands of pictures per second is there some "pianistresearch" done with these? Eric

Not exactly true - there's no rotation on every note in fast work, and there need not be any rotation on many notes even in slow playing. Rotation is convenient for leaping, for stretching, and for passing the thumb under or passing a finger over the thumb. Even in these cases you must not overdo it: it's more a question of letting it happen (stopping yourself from inhibiting it) than making it happen. However it IS true that restricting the possibility of rotation could lead to tension - if done improperly... Did I talk about rotation there? I don't remember... but there it would be a wrist movement through a group of three notes under a slur - like I said, the rotation is incidental and I experience it more as a lateral wrist movement. If I try to rotate I'll probably overdo it. EXACTLY! By the way there are cameras that can shoot thousands of pictures per second is there some "pianistresearch" done with these? Eric I haven't come across them... All the best, AFF

My problem with the videos by Golansky is that her tone is ugly and she makes a huge accent at the beginning and end of the double thirds. Furthermore, all of the "Taubman-ites" I know are about the most unmusical pianists I have come across. They are obsessed with analyzing every little movement of their own (and everyone else's) playing, and don't, in my opinion, see the forest for the trees. I think some of the concepts are valid, but great piano playing is a combination of strong, independent fingers, combined with proper relaxation and balance. One without the other simply does not work. Where are the great artists who espouse this method? I haven't heard one yet...

Strangely enough, there was at least one really fine pianist who swore by Dorothy. He is now dead but I heard a Schumann Fantasy recorded by him that was really fine in many respects. Nathan something or other was his name. But he could play great before he went to Dorothy, as could Ilya, whom I heard at the Warsaw Chopin competition in 1995. I agree with your criticisms of most of the Taubman products. At I go into a detailed and quite negative evaluation of what she's doing... but I do try to give credit where credit is due... In short, she did devise an original and effective way of helping seriously injured pianists get back on their feet. She then decided that these methods were for everybody no matter how healthy or unhealthy - a questionable decision at best... AFF

I look forward to checking out your site! Thanks.

Strangely enough, I'm actually finding the rotation fantastically useful at the moment. I'd tried it at times before and didn't get anything terribly spectacular. However, when doing it more recently, I've realised that it's extremely valuable for working on the suspended chain state I've been looking at. With that in mind between strikes (rather than the immediate surface of the rotation movement- as if it were a goal in itself) I've found this is an excellent way of getting balanced fingers that support a released arm with the very least effort possible. I think it's actually little to do with sounding the keys- but rather more about how the preparation for each note tests the previous supporting finger. I think this is where most of the benefit comes. I find I can get almost as much use simply by raising the fingers and tapping them down, although a little rotation certainly adds something to the benefits. One thing that occurred to me is that if this is simply to prepare responsiveness in the forearm, the direction in which they explain the rotation makes no sense at all. When you start playing from the fingers at speed, any rotation that comes from freedom of response to the key is going to be in the opposite direction to that which you practise. I suppose this doesn't really matter as long as you learn responsiveness from rotating in the opposite direction. However, if the explanation were taken literally it would have you fighting the arm's natural responses rather than allowing them to take place. This makes it all the more baffling to me that they portray it as a literal thing that becomes understated, rather than preparation for the end product. I actually see a potential danger from trying to take it literally. eg. they suggest rocking outwards from 4-5. However, when the fingers take over in something rapid, the natural response of a passive forearm would be slightly inwards (as the 5th knuckle slightly raises).

Exactly! AFF

I think there is indeed a rocking outwards motion from 4 to 5. If I remember correctly Alan mentions it in "Honing". This outwards rotation helps the 5th finger reach the bottom of the key. The inwards rotation also happens there, AFTER the 5th finger has reached the bottom of the key, preparing the hand to go back up the scale. I think the key issue as you mention is freedom in the forearm - activate the fingers and let the forarm freely rotate to follow the fingers, rather the "forcing" the fingers into the key by rotation. Please correct me if you think my understanding is incorrect/incomplete. Zack