The research of Alexander Technique and Taubman Approach

Physiological problems, which are quite common in pianists, have both physical and mental causes. These physiological problems affect the professional life of pianists negatively. In the first part of the study, the basic principles of the Alexander Technique, which aims to teach physically and mentally healthy behaviors by preventing the wrong movements that are performed unconsciously and cause problems, are revealed in a way that especially pianists can benefit from. In the second part, the movements used in the piano technique are presented in detail, and the Taubman Approach, which takes the principle of protecting physical health while playing the piano and revealing musical expression with technical skills, has been analyzed. The common point of the aforementioned techniques, the question of what kind of applications can eliminate the physiological barriers, has brought these two methods together. In this study, considering the functioning of the body in both daily life and professional activities, it is aimed for pianists to explore their bodies holistically, by means of the use of body parts used while playing the piano, especially fingers, hands, and arms, in accordance with the requirements of physiology and instrument and music. Considering the subject in the study not only in terms of instrument technique but also regarding the function of the whole body increases the importance of the research. The research has been put forward with the descriptive research method as a result of benefiting from written and audio-visual sources about the mentioned techniques. In the study, besides visually giving place to the movements suggested in the Taubman Approach, how the movements should be realized on the selected piano works is also presented with musical examples.