Much has been made in the 20th Century of understanding the anatomical principles of a healthy piano technique, from which several different school arising. In my experience, the most prevalent in the world of American piano teaching is the Taubman approach, named after Dorothy Taubman and carried on by her student, Edna Golandsky.
While well-intentioned (the Golandsky Institute aims to give, “…musicians transformative tools for physical health and musical expressivity. By helping artists avoid injury, the Institute ensures that classical music will have a bright and sustainable future.”), I have several issues as a pianist and teacher with this approach, though I was trained in this method myself, about which I will dedicate a few future posts.
For now, I will simply end with a fable quoted by Alexander Libermann, a student of Busoni and Petri:
“One there were a turtle and a millipede. The turtle, slow and clumsy, was terribly jealous of the millipede, which moved with tremendous speed. One day, she wrote a letter to him: ‘My dear Millipede, for a long time I have watched and admired you. I love you, but I know it is hopeless, that I am old and ugly and clumsy. But if you will grant me just one favor it would make me happy for the rest of my life. Tell me, when you are lifting your 679th foot, and are stepping on the 326th, and are sliding so gracefully on the 991st, and are bending slightly the 927th, what are you doing at this moment with your 244th?’ The poor millipede started to think about all this, and he couldn’t move at all.”