Question #1 : What is the Taubman Approach to piano playing?
Answer : A consistently proven approach to piano playing that ensures virtuoso playing and injury prevention after a time of consistent study with a qualified teacher.
More Information: The Taubman Approach is the ongoing examination of the healthy bodily motions that are needed to play a musical instrument well (in this case, piano). The approach is named after the late Dorothy Taubman, a pianist who dedicated a significant portion of her professional life to uncovering the much sought-after questions of: ‘How do virtuoso musicians play so well?’ and ‘How can I communicate this information to curious people?’ Over time, these questions were solved through logical answers which, in turn, led to incredible results!
What Mrs. Taubman did not expect to get from her discoveries was that not only did her work transform musicians into virtuosos, but that her discoveries also cured injuries caused by excessive playing of a musical instrument. These results established the two main benefits to studying the Taubman Approach:
- Uncovering the motions needed for a virtuoso technique
- Playing as long as one wants/needs to without fear of injury
With these discoveries, Dorothy Taubman gained an incredible following: piano students from all over the United States requested to study with her, many of whom were already studying at some of the nation’s top music schools. This newly found popularity and demand culminated in the founding of the Taubman Instisute in 1976 at Amherst, Massachusetts. This institution was headed by Mrs. Taubman herself and had the goals of:
- Teaching the Taubman Approach to musicians AND
- Training Teachers to teach the Taubman Approach to their students
In 2003, the Taubman Institute changed its name to the Golandsky Institute (named after Edna Golandsky, Mrs. Taubman’s longest serving and most faithful student). Today, the Golandsky Institute continues to offer pianists (including Kyle) access to the Taubman Approach through the following ways:
- Private study with a Certified Taubman Teacher
- Workshops and Symposiums that aim to show the Taubman Appraoch to a wide audience
- Teacher Training Programs aimed to certify piano teachers in the Taubman Approach
To learn more about the Golandsky Institute, please click here.