Teacher
Teaching style | My Story | The Taubman Approach | The Golandsky Institute
Testimonials from Brenna Berman's private students
Healthy Movement Training for Computer Users and More
Teaching Style
Brenna Berman holds an Adjunct Faculty position with The Golandsky Institute and has thirteen years of training as a performer and teacher of the Taubman Approach. The Taubman Approach was discovered by Dorothy Taubman (and further developed by Edna Golandsky and others) to promote virtuosity, eliminate pain, and solve technical and musical difficulties. It incorporates a thorough understanding and mastery of coordinated movement at the keyboard, giving the pianist the ability to reliably create the desired accuracy and musical effect. Ms. Berman became a Certified Instructor of the Taubman Approach with The Golandsky Institute in 2006, and is now certified at the Associate level. Ms. Berman has studied with the highest experts in the field: Robert Durso, Edna Golandsky, John Bloomfield, and Dorothy Taubman. Click here to learn more about Brenna's own personal story of injury, recovery, and journey towards becoming a professional pianist and teacher.
Ms. Berman has helped countless pianists and teachers overcome injuries, technical limitations, musical limitations, fatigue, and varied frustrations in their playing. Furthermore, she has assisted pianists in achieving their potential as musicians, artists and virtuosos, unencumbered by such limitations. She currently teaches professional pianists and piano teachers, as well as beginners and intermediate students. Although she spent three years as a Professor of Piano at Drexel University in Philadelphia and was an instructor at various other institutions from 1998 to 2004, her preferred type of teaching is one-on-one in the private studio. In addition to pianists, Brenna works with and helps violinists, violists, guitarists, flutists, computer users, mouse users, blackberry users, knitters, painters, and writers. (Learn more about healthy movment training for computer users and others) Ms. Berman is based in Colorado and holds private studios in Boulder, CO, College Station, TX, and Philadelphia, PA. She also offers internet video lessons via Skype to students across the country.
Ms. Berman always strives to find the way to most effectively teach each student on an individual basis so that they may absorb the new material in a deep and meaningful way. She seeks to discover and explore each student’s personal learning styles to enable the most productive and enjoyable learning experience. Her lessons incorporate a well-rounded balance of piano technique, music theory, rhythm, note-reading, and artistic expression that is appropriate to the age, level, and musical interests of each student.
Contact Brenna to inquire about lessons in Colorado (Boulder and Denver areas), Texas (College Station, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio areas), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia area), or via Skype. Click here to read testimonials from Brenna's private students.
The Taubman Approach
The Taubman Approach is a body of work that explores the many motions that make up a virtuoso technique. It allows the trained pianist to avoid injury, play with ease and consistency, and create the desired sounds and timing to fully enable their musical expression.
The Taubman Approach teaches us that we are all born with similar bodies that operate in the same way. If we are taught to do the same motions, we can produce the same results. Learning the many different combinations of small and mostly invisible motions that make up a virtuoso technique is possible for anyone with the right combination of proper teaching, practice, and a strong internal drive. The process of acquiring a proper piano technique takes focus, patience, and diligence, but the effort is directly correlated to the benefits. As a teacher and strong believer of the Taubman Approach, Ms. Berman guides students through the learning so that they can enjoy the process, and become increasingly self-sufficient, both technically and artistically, as time goes on.
Recently, The Taubman Approach has been adapted to other instrumentalists and for anyone who does repetitive motion activities with their hands and fingers. There is now a subdivision of The Golandsky Institute dedicated to strings, and one dedicated to those in the computer industry named MoveRight Consulting. In addition to pianists, Ms. Berman has personally worked with and helped violinists, violists, guitarists, typists, writers, knitters, ironers, painters, and crocheters.
