How does the Lister-Sink Method compare to the Taubman Technique?

Dorothy Taubman, with the help of Edna Golandsky and her associates, played a key role in raising awareness of the importance of injury-preventive technique. The Taubman Institute and the Golandsky Institute, as well as the many Taubman teaching assistants throughout the US have made a major contribution to defining the causes of playing-related injury and to teaching systematic ways of eliminating or preventing those injuries. The Lister-Sink Method also defines and teaches injury-free playing and has many points in common with the Taubman Technique, but there are also several significant differences. Here is my perspective on how the two approaches compare:

Similarities:

• They agree that injuries from playing are unnecessary and preventable
   through understanding anatomy and applying sound biomechanics
   to playing.

• Both teach how to use the hands and arms in the most biomechanically
  advantageous ways.

• They agree that piano playing requires a coordination of all the parts of the
   arm, not parts in isolation.

• Both emphasize tension-free playing, which as noted above, means using
  only the muscles needed for the task and only to the degree necessary.

• Both acknowledge the forearm as the primary lever for playing.

• Both emphasize optimal alignment of the forearm, hand and finger bones at
  the moment of sound production (which is not at the key bed).

• Both emphasize a foundational coordination on which more complex
  coordinations are built—rotation in the Taubman Technique and the “Basic
  Sroke” in the Lister-Sink Method.

• They agree that the elements for good use listed above, and
  especially avoidance of potentially harmful “co-contraction” (the
  simultaneous contraction of the flexor and extensor muscles of the
  forearm) while moving, are the essential foundation for the subtle and
  intricate coordination required to perform more complex tasks at the piano. 

• Both require highly monitored hands-on instruction. Unfortunately, it
  is possible to copy the visible parts of either approach, and therefore
 “look good,” while distorting and misapplying the underlying principles.
  This could actually increase rather than reduce strain. Working closely
  with a qualified instructor is the only safe and effective way to learn.

Differences:

• Wrist Use.  The Taubman Technique requires, at least in the initial stages of training, that the wrist joint be stable as the forearm is raised or rotated. The reasons are two-fold: First a stabilized wrist joint keeps the arm/hand/finger arch assembled so that it does not have to be reassembled at landing. Second, a stabilized wrist joint prevents the potentially harmful hanging of the hand as a dead weight and overstretching the extensor tendons, which run through the wrist/carpal tunnel.

In the Lister-Sink Method, the wrist joint is released rather than stabilized as the forearm is raised or moved side to side. Stabilizing the wrist in a straight alignment with the elbow and knuckle bridge as the forearm is lifted or carried in the air requires a considerable degree of engagement of the extensor muscles. In the Lister-Sink Method, as the forearm is lifted, the wrist joint is not as stabilized, thus allowing the extensor muscles to remain more released. This is Component #1 of the Basic Stroke--the “easy, efficient lift of the forearm.” It is very important, however, to add that during this easy lift of the forearm, the natural hand arch is not allowed to collapse, nor is the hand a hanging, “dead” weight (even though Franz Liszt actually advocated such a handing hand–le main mort, he called it). 

Allowing the extensors constantly to return to this state of muscular release is a critical means for not accumulating muscle tension in the forearm. It also is essential to maintaining ease and suppleness in the fingers and “intrinsic” muscles of the hand. Perpetual release of the extensors (and flexors, for that matter) is one of the principle elements for achieving ease, freedom and control in playing and is one of the hallmarks of well-coordinated and injury-preventive technique.

• Repertory During Training.  The Lister-Sink Method does not allow the use of repertory in the early stages of training. The emphasis is on pure sound production and gaining awareness and control of the body in the most basic coordination–the Basic Stroke. From there, increasingly complex coordinations are added through simple exercises and studies. Once the foundation is laid, the keyboardist returns gradually to appropriate levels of repertory.

The Taubman Technique begins with movement training using C major scales, but then refers the trainee to various categories of movement in specific repertory.

• Whole Body vs. Playing Apparatus. The Taubman Technique emphasizes good coordination of the “playing apparatus”– the shoulder, arm, hand and fingers primarily. In the Lister-Sink Method, much time also is devoted to achieving good coordination of the playing apparatus through mastery of the Basic Stroke. However, the Basic Stroke is not learned in isolation. It is learned as part of a larger coordination, which begins with the torso/neck/head alignment (based on Alexander Technique principles) and its effect throughout the entire neuromuscular system. The goal is for the whole body, not just the playing apparatus, to become connected and interactive in a new way. In the Lister-Sink Method, the whole body approach is fundamental.

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