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"I firmly believe that the audience and our students will be grateful to you for introducing them to the Taubman Technique, which will ease their creative performance now and in the future."
Nuri Iyicil, Director
Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory, Istanbul

"Our students had the rare opportunity to have many of their questions on piano technique answered by an authority. Thank you for this seminar, which will have an important place in our students' educational experience and their performance." Elif Enacar,
Coordinator ofCultural and Artistic Affairs
Bilkent University, Ankara

"At our November meeting, we were honored by having one of our own members, Teresa Dybvig, give a presentation on Women Composers... What a wonderful speaker and performer. We were all entranced!"
Tami Levy, President
Suffolk Piano Teachers Forum Newsletter, Vol. II, no. 2

"The lecture was very well attended by our own members and non members also. Those present agreed that it was well worth bringing Ms Dybvig here and we all learned a great deal that we could apply to teaching our students and relating to them personally."
Minutes, Fond du Lac Keyboard Association

"Special thanks to Dr. Teresa Dybvig for her informative presentation on 'Learning Styles in Teaching Piano.' Her presentation was both enlightening and very well researched."
Helen Ferrara
Suffolk Piano Teachers Forum Newsletter, Vol. III, no. 2

"Thanks to Teresa Dybvig for a wonderful meeting! Terry really does nurture each one of her students and obviously puts lots of time and effort into her presentations!"
Diane Gale
Corresponding Secretary
Suffolk Piano Teachers Forum

Lectures

I love speaking to groups! It makes me clarify my thoughts and gives me a chance to meet people who are interested in topics that are important to me.

My lectures fall generally into four categories. Musicianship is why I got into the business. The Taubman Approach is the best system I've found for playing our best, and avoiding injury. The Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles method helps me reach more students, and talking about learning and living allows me to bring a broader perspective to issues that concern pianists every day.

Musicianship

Give me a topic and I would love to talk about it! These are just a starting point. If you want me to talk about interpreting and teaching individual pieces, please ask.

• Using pulse, meter, and rhythm as a guide to musical expression, a talk of about 30 minutes, or a 1- to 1½-hour clinic to help people develop awareness of this source of life in music.
  
• Expressive devices in Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Impressionistic music, 30 minutes about the expressive priorities and possibilities in music of different eras.
  
• Why teach music by women, an hour or more (depending on number of musical examples) of talk about some wonderful composers who were women, some excertps of their music, and why we should care.
  
• Color and sound in Debussy la fille aux cheveux de lin, 30 minutes about producing the color world of this beloved piece. Includes fingering and pedaling.

Taubman Approach

I came to the Taubman approach to piano technique because of my own needs. The approach helped me become a better pianist than I ever thought I could be, and I developed a gift for teaching it as well. I believe that everyone can learn to play in a healthy way. Fortunately for pianists, we play our best when we feel best! I would like to offer you a variety of lectures, clinics, and master classes. What follows is sample of talks your group can hear. All include demonstrations on the piano, and some are designed as clinics in which audience members can participate. All of them can be made longer, some can be made shorter, they can be combined with master classes and clinics, and there are many other topics to explore. If your group is interested in another topic, just ask.

• The Profound Simplicity of the Work of Dorothy Taubman, a one-hour introduction to the background and essential tenets (alignment, movement, how the piano can help us) of the approach
  
• The Pianist's Essential Alignment, forty-five minutes on the essential alignment from bench height through elbow and wrist to knuckles
  
• Playing It Safe, one hour on how all instrumentalists can avoid injuries (please note that this does not address embouchure issues)
  
• The thumb: a powerful force for good or ill, a 1- to 1½-hour clinic on the neutral place of the thumb, its best movements for playing, and how it can help the other fingers play.
  
• Creating a variety of sounds. Can a single piano produce different sounds? Yes! I'll show you how.
  
• Using the piano to help us play, 30 - 45 minutes on the elements of the piano's engineering that we can take advantage of to play our best.

Thoughts on learning and living

These talks are all 25 - 35 minutes, accompanied by PowerPoint, and intended to inspire pianists with new and varied perspectives, philosophies, and cutting-edge research. I have used them to set a theme or tone for a day or for a week.

• The Middle Place. Thoughts on the place of flow within the extremes, why it matters, and ideas on how to get there.
  
• Cultivating Awareness. Awareness is the source of most change, including fruitful practicing. How can we develop it?
  
• Making Changes. Much of our practice is fueled by the desire to change. How do we make changes?
  
• Perseverance. This is not a bad word! It's the source of most achievement. What are the benefits? Can we persevere happily?

Learning Styles

All teachers know how awful it feels to know what a student needs, but just not be able to reach her. Several years ago, determined to end this frustration, I embarked on an intensive study with learning styles expert Dr. Sarah E. Church. With Sarah, I learned how to apply the Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles system to teaching piano. Among other things, I've learned to work with different people's learning styles—especially those students who learn differently from myself. One happy result is that I feel I reach more of my students, and I can help each students develop the practice program that is right for them. Here are the presentations I've developed with Sarah Church:

• Teaching the student, not just the material, a one-hour PowerPoint talk on lessons I've learned from working with the Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles.
  
• Using Perceptual Modalities to Improve Memory. Designed as a master class, this covers surprising and easy tools to help students memorize more securely.

I've given lectures and workshops at the Fond du Lac Teachers Association, the Chicago MTNA, Amherst Music Festival, Mississippi State University, MS, University of Wisconsin at Madison, WI, Emory University, GA; Mount Holyoke College, MA, Eastern Michigan University, MI, Northwestern University, St. Paul, MN, the North Dakota State MTA convention in Bismarck, ND, Jones County Jr. College, MS, OMTA, Cleveland, OH, Converse College, SC, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, TN, WMTA Convention, LaCrosse, WI, Bilkent University, Ankara, Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory, Istanbul, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Delta State University, MS, Mt. Holyoke College, MA, Roberts Wesleyan College, NY, Suffolk Piano Teachers Forum, NY, the Association of Piano Teachers on Long Island, NY, the Suffolk Piano Teachers Foundation, and at The Well-Balanced Pianist programs in Long Island, Chicago, Wisconsin, and Denver.