Problem Solving Questions

$35.00

Issues Relating to the Basic Technique, tightness in the hands and control at the keys

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Description

  • Questions:
    • A lot of pianists seem to know by now that the Taubman Approach can be of great help when it comes to getting rid of technical limitations, and pain and other piano related problems. Many also seem very eager to learn the approach to overcome their issues. Yet still, my experience is that people want a quick and easy solution and are often not willing to take the time and effort to go through basic training. How should we as teachers of this work handle this, and how do you teach a person that clearly wants to get rid of problems and play with ease, but at the same time don’t realize the fundamental need of proper basic training?
    • I had a discussion with an inexperienced student about arm weight, and about the fact that the arm needs to come down very freely in order for the technique to function well and to overcome key resistance. I also explained that the arm should not feel heavy. The person was not able to understand this, and felt that in order for the arm to come down in a way that didn’t feel heavy (in fact the person almost felt pain in the fingertips when trying this), the only solution was to hold up/control some weight from the shoulder. How do you explain the concept of arm weight to an inexperienced Taubman student, and do you use the term free fall? And what are some ways to work on this subject in order to get the student to understand this?
    • When crossing the thumb under the 4th finger: where exactly is it supposed to be? Is about between the 3 and 4 right?
    • What happens with the elbow while we shape? Should it stay in the same place?How would you explain “shaping from the forearm” without involving the elbow?
    • How would you teach dropping onto the 5th finger?

Video length: approx. 49 min.
Includes PDF Handout