| FAQ |
How do you define “technique?”
The word “technique” means the method or means we use for accomplishing a complex task. It is usually applied to complex tasks in the arts (painting, playing a musical instrument), sports (tennis serve, golf swing), and laboratory science (identifying genes, measuring air pollutants). A technique may be easy or difficult to learn, safe for the user or unsafe, efficient or not. An efficient technique results in the task being performed with minimal energy used, that is, only the amount of energy needed for the job. In piano playing, an efficient technique is a well-coordinated technique. It means that: The player is aware of the state of her/her body and senses when muscles are contracted or released and how the body is aligned. The player knows which muscles are needed to perform a particular task and can control their use. The player knows which muscles are not needed for that task and can inhibit or prevent their contraction. The player understands that efficient performance of the task involves awareness and control of all parts of the musculo-skeletal system, which is to say “whole body” coordination. In both music and sports, the whole body contributes to performance. A player who has a well-coordinated technique plays with ease, with free, resonant sound, and with reduced risk of future injury. Pianists who have learned the Lister-Sink Method have a well-coordinated technique. |
