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+1

I am sorry to hear this. I hope things go well.

Although I do find some of those or similar threads tiresome, I think one has to realize that many of those kinds of threads are started by students still in high school. Without, I hope, offending that age group, I think it's fair to state one cannot expect the highest degree of musical maturity from an average high school piano student.(Of course, there will be some in that age group who are much more knowledgeable and musically sophisticated than most adults. Same thing in chess... the 2011 8 Under World Awonder Liang from the US plays near master level chess)

So I think adults need to be as tolerant as possible of younger posters but also that some younger posters need to try and be as thoughtful as possible about their threads or posts. And not get too defensive.

you do realize you guys are getting trolled, and you are only making it worse by responding to and feeding this troll -- look at all the thread OP and which username do you see the most and have the most replies?

I once tried to only read the threads that mark c hadnt posted in ( so as to avoid him arguing with me) but for some reason that left me without any threads to read.

I then tried to read only the threads that stores hadnt posted in, again, that left me with no threads to read.

I then looked for threads where only stores or mark c had posted in but again that only left nondescript threads.

I then looked for threads where Both stores and mark c had posted and found my playground.

I "argued" with you?

As I remember, I replied a couple of times, and pretty immediately realized it wasn't worth bothering.

At least one (if not more) of those banned members must be laughing.

Any chance you could provide a clue to this clueless old man? We like our trolls mean and lean, not overfed.

I find that some people here are way too disdainful, boring and have their heads far up their own ass. I pity them. And yes, I want to impress my teenage friends - I am a teenager after all - but I also have a love for the piano, though probably not as intensely as other people on these forums. I thought this could be a nice place to share my interest in the piano, but perhaps I was mistaken.

Some people need to get a grip and stop deluding their pretentious, arrogant selves with their pseudo-superior status. You are not above the rest of us.

Music is freedom and emotion; Music is love, sadness and hope. Chill out and stop taking everything so seriously, that is not what music is about.

Rant over.

Perfect Start



If you really do have a love for the piano and the piano literature, you would be wise in waiting to attempt a piece that's way above you. It's not about you or impressing your friends, it's about the music. That's not the only issue, but it's a fact that attempting such a difficult piece without proper instruction can will lead to injury. But this is a topic for another time.

What many here appear not to understand is that the young, the jejeune, the marginal, the ungifted can be blessed or cursed with all the passion, the intensity, the desire of the greatest virtuoso. That is the tragedy, and the dignity. A little respect for the rest of us please.

I'm sorry to hear this--I had this problem as well, along with tendinitis. For me the ultimate solution was Taubman piano lessons, but physical therapy or other treatment may also help.

Feel free to ignore the following unsolicited advice. From your videos, your technique looks good to my (inexpert) eyes, but the one thing that occurred to me is that you might try sitting a bit lower, to help avoid dropping wrists. I absolutely could be wrong about this, though. A better idea would be to get a consultation from the Taubman/Golandsky faculty. Sometimes a small change in what you're doing can make a big difference.

Wishing you a quick recovery.

I did too.

It was when I came back to working intensively on piano after some years away from it. I figured it was something about how I was playing ....I mean not just how much I was playing.

And it wasn't hard to figure out what it was (with my teacher's help). It seemed to be something about a particular position I was putting my hand in (it was just one hand), and a couple of particular pieces were bringing out, and certain passages. I made sure I avoided doing that, which also meant changing some fingerings -- and I got better.

Oh -- I also wore a wrist brace at night for a few months.

I don't mean to say that everybody's ulnar nerve entrapment (or carpal tunnel syndrome, or whatever hand problem) is that simple. But I'd bet a lot of people's hand/arm problems that are treated with physical therapy and/or medications and maybe even with surgery could be taken care of more simply -- and more meaningfully -- by looking for this kind of thing, whether we're talking about piano keyboard or computer keyboard, or any other kind of repetitive manual activity. The input you gave Hakki is a good example of how to start approaching it, although I think it's hard to be able to be that specific from afar.

I wouldn't be that quick to advise seeing a Taubman person, because from what I've gathered, all too often they tend to be a "one-note-Johnny" -- they feel the answer to everything is just to adopt the Taubman method. That might well work, but not as directly as just looking at what specific thing it might be about what the person is doing. It might not need a total overhaul of how he plays -- which is what I think the Taubman person would usually try to have him do.

I'm very sorry to hear this, Hakki, and I understand your frustration. I've been in physio since January for an ulnar nerve traction injury and of course it happened when I was preparing for an important piano pedagogy exam. My poor husband has been dealing with an extremely cranky wife!

I hope you are receiving treatment for your condition.

I'm very sorry to hear of your injury. I know it means nothing coming from a stranger, especially through such a medium, but I *do* hope you recover with all due haste. I understand your frustration with this forum and can only wish it diminishes for you, though I equally understand how unlikely that is. All I can suggest is the notion that different peoples and persons have different priorities; I'm sure none meant to upset you by them...I mean, in theory I suppose some might, and you might have reason to quarrel against someone ruining something you clearly hold great stock, if not comfort, in, however for the most part all I can see is various people searching for answers to questions they can't, for some, I agree, due to poor planning or likewise frivolous reasoning, realise by themselves. But...um, I've tried my hardest here to make you see things from my point of view, though it may very well be wrong. I'm sorry you've become upset. You have a pleasing use of rhetoric, I'm sure you're aware.
Xxx

It must have been worth bothering Mark, because you have just "bothered" again. lol.

Excellent advice. But, for now I think, I'll better use the iggy button with those teenager online gamers, at least until I am able to keep up with this advice.

And thanks to all who have expressed kind wishes and considerations about my injury.

I agree, I was thinking of problem solving and not major overhaul. My impression of Golandsky has been different from yours, in that I see flexibility and attention to individual needs. I know they've worked with some active performers who can't take time out for revamping.

Of course, they think Taubman approach is best, and that's why they teach it. But they don't insist everyone needs total retraining; I've heard them say that some people develop a healthy technique naturally. I suggested them because they have such a huge fund of knowledge about the ergonomics of piano playing. I don't know enough to say what they would usually recommend; I think it would depend on the situation.

But of course, as you say, some problems can be solved in other ways. And I absolutely agree with you that adjustments to technique can avert a lot of injury.

My impression also -- and I should have been clearer that I wasn't particularly talking about her. From what I've heard (from a couple of friends who happen to have worked closely with her), she seems to be an exception among Taubmanites.