This is so so needed in the world of pianists. It’s really odd that in this digital age - where accessibility is considered essential in all sorts of realms - alternatively sized keyboards haven’t really been conceived of. It’s a wide open market. Hoping this project catches more attention and shifts the narrative for future players!
Hope it soon becomes mainstream. The world needs this, over half of piano players, women and men, need this. I'm a guy and in proportion i play on the 6.5 inch piano like you are playing on this one, i can reach 10ths as you do. But guys with larger hands than mine that can reach 11ths or 12ths have an unfair advantage in reaching octaves, because they don't even have to even spread the hand. They reach octaves in a natural and very relaxed position. I don't have problems reaching octaves but I have to stretch a little bit my hand and in this way i use some extra muscular force or tension in order to enlarge my hand from the natural relaxed position. If only keys were just a little smaller so that the octaves could feel like 7ths. Because for pianists with large hands octaves feel like i feel the 7th. I'd like to have this piano just to play rachmaninov having a hand size similar to his in proportions. There is so much about hand size. That's why mozart feels easy where as rachmaninov is considered hard. If pianos were narrower then the gap between very difficult piano pieces and the less difficult ones wouldn't be so big, it would all feel a bit more similar. It is SO SAD that, unfortunately, difficult pieces are considered those that have uncomfortable passages, nasty key combinations and some weird contortions that aren't comfortable for the 80% of people who don't have 9.2 inch hands. The rule is simple, the larger hands you have, the less forgiving are those passages because you don't have to stretch so much or to practice some weird contortions, or to be faster in the jumps which are bigger for small hands. So the rule is the following: If you can reach an octave comfortably then you can play almost everything but you have to WORK WAY HARDER, to develop some weird technique and tricks which larger hands pianist don't have to, because for them everything is on EASY MODE. So piano is discriminatory and i don't look to large hands pianists the same way anymore, it is not only talent that makes them achieve what they achieve, but also their luck to have hands fit exactly right for the piano. (That's also why Rachmaninov plays Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no.2 so easily as if it were a Scarlatti sonatina, because for him it is kind of, size wise)
Op 10 No 1 is a good example of a piece whose difficulty dependent on hand size. If one can reach a 10th-11th, each arpeggio is just one hand position, but smaller hands have to do extra rotation just to reach one position. My hand span is 9.1 inches and I have to hyperextend to reach most major 10ths on the conventional, whereas on the DS 5.5, all 10ths are comfortable for me. Here is a recording: ruclips.net/video/-JegHkuMMKY/видео.html
Fantastic playing. Of course we need more keyboards like this. If most of those jazz giants were ripping tenths on the regular width keyboard, the rest of us should be able to on our own terms!
I hope that this would be mass-production of keyboards with narrower keys. I have to get one of them.. I really really have to. My hands size is as small as a childs (5-6 years old)... i feel handicaped. It will be so pleasure to just play instead of thinking to find out the way to play. I dont have much time to practice. It is such a besutiful thought to change keyboards size to narrower.
One size should not dominate the human being. Please make this available sooner! If I can have somewhat larger hands, I will surely be better than Lang Lang!
@@PlayPianoChords Yes, very smooth right hand lines . . . on top of all those great L.H. 10ths. Yeah, give us all those solid 10ths. Skipped 10ths just don't cut it, not for anything jazzy. No way. Keep beating that reduced-width drum. It's slowly, slowly starting to get through some thick skulls. You will here more from me.
Wish they would make Digital Pianos of these that have MIDI Host To USB so I can use it on a PC with all velocities recorded and make it affordable. Cannot wait for that kinda of future
I've been watching these for a while. Didn't realize quite how much smaller it was in total until you showed that photo next to a regular sized one! Still awesome for us with smaller hands. Is that arrangement something you made or or can be purchased? Lovely playing. Thanks!
thanks! The arrangement is from a book I bought decades ago but I think I saw it on Sheet Music Direct. Look for Oscar Peterson arrangement of Georgia.
Really looking forward to having one of these. I'm an amateur, playing at home, and this would mean spending so much less time on unnecessary, irrelevant technical struggles and focusing on music.
Thanks for your comment! We are working hard to make this commercially viable. Go to www.playpianochordstoday.com/narrow if you want to be notified when they are available.
Yes, the time has come today! However, I can't get my middle finger between the black keys without pulling down one of the sharp keys-and this is on a standard keyboard...
thanks for your support! My husband has quite thick fingers and is able to play my narrow keys. He's had some practice playing on mini keys for jazz gigs over the years. I should make a video of him one day. I know he does a lot of tilting to angle his fingers between the blacks on the narrow keys.
Thanks for your enthusiasm! At the moment (05/2022) they are prototypes and will be shown at various conferences (the next being in June 2022 at NAMM in Los Angeles). The costs will vary as production gets refined and we will post them on the website as they are finalized.
Thanks for asking. Things are coming together and we hope to have the first 10 made in October 2022 so they should be available starting November. To get the latest news go to www.narrowkeys.com/shop and put your name on the list.
Should be much easier to transport 88 keys now. Recently I bought two travel pianos with 73 keys. I look forward to trying tge "Narrow Keyboard", and I hope this special instrument is a huge success. But why is it called a keyboard? Seems to have some built in sound and a decent action. Saying "Keyboard" (for the whole instrument) sounds very dated and demeaning. Millions of pianists (potential customers) would call this a digital piano. Please do a video on the specifications. How many sounds? Can the tone be adjusted? How do the keys work? What connectivity is there? Update: I now realise that it's only a controller. Fine. Good to know.
At this time it is a keyboard controller. We hope it will one day be a digital piano. I run mine through the V3 controller for sound and use various speakers depending on the venue. Sometimes a Roland monitor, sometimes Yamaha speakers. Thanks for your comments!
@@PlayPianoChords Ah OK. So no sounds and no speakers. But presumably it has a graded weighted action. Or no? It's interesting that it's hooked up to a V3. Does that give good results? And do you need a separate device to access the V3 banks of sounds? I hope it's available in most countries and that the product will evolve into a full-blown digital piano.
@@Zoco101 It has a match-weighted action with continuous sensing. It is very responsive. The V3 gives good results. I have performed with it. The V3 has access to other sounds through an iPad app. At the moment we are shipping to USA and Canada but hope to ship internationally in the future.
Thanks for your interest! This is a grassroots project and you can get updated with production info when you fill out the form here... www.playpianochordstoday.com/narrow
@@PlayPianoChords that’s great to hear! I really hope production goes smoothly. I’m subscribed to you here and follow PASK so I’m sure I’ll hear once it is in full production or preorder!
This is so so needed in the world of pianists. It’s really odd that in this digital age - where accessibility is considered essential in all sorts of realms - alternatively sized keyboards haven’t really been conceived of. It’s a wide open market. Hoping this project catches more attention and shifts the narrative for future players!
Hope it soon becomes mainstream. The world needs this, over half of piano players, women and men, need this. I'm a guy and in proportion i play on the 6.5 inch piano like you are playing on this one, i can reach 10ths as you do. But guys with larger hands than mine that can reach 11ths or 12ths have an unfair advantage in reaching octaves, because they don't even have to even spread the hand. They reach octaves in a natural and very relaxed position. I don't have problems reaching octaves but I have to stretch a little bit my hand and in this way i use some extra muscular force or tension in order to enlarge my hand from the natural relaxed position. If only keys were just a little smaller so that the octaves could feel like 7ths. Because for pianists with large hands octaves feel like i feel the 7th. I'd like to have this piano just to play rachmaninov having a hand size similar to his in proportions.
There is so much about hand size. That's why mozart feels easy where as rachmaninov is considered hard. If pianos were narrower then the gap between very difficult piano pieces and the less difficult ones wouldn't be so big, it would all feel a bit more similar.
It is SO SAD that, unfortunately, difficult pieces are considered those that have uncomfortable passages, nasty key combinations and some weird contortions that aren't comfortable for the 80% of people who don't have 9.2 inch hands.
The rule is simple, the larger hands you have, the less forgiving are those passages because you don't have to stretch so much or to practice some weird contortions, or to be faster in the jumps which are bigger for small hands. So the rule is the following:
If you can reach an octave comfortably then you can play almost everything but you have to WORK WAY HARDER, to develop some weird technique and tricks which larger hands pianist don't have to, because for them everything is on EASY MODE.
So piano is discriminatory and i don't look to large hands pianists the same way anymore, it is not only talent that makes them achieve what they achieve, but also their luck to have hands fit exactly right for the piano. (That's also why Rachmaninov plays Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no.2 so easily as if it were a Scarlatti sonatina, because for him it is kind of, size wise)
Op 10 No 1 is a good example of a piece whose difficulty dependent on hand size. If one can reach a 10th-11th, each arpeggio is just one hand position, but smaller hands have to do extra rotation just to reach one position.
My hand span is 9.1 inches and I have to hyperextend to reach most major 10ths on the conventional, whereas on the DS 5.5, all 10ths are comfortable for me. Here is a recording:
ruclips.net/video/-JegHkuMMKY/видео.html
Fantastic playing. Of course we need more keyboards like this. If most of those jazz giants were ripping tenths on the regular width keyboard, the rest of us should be able to on our own terms!
Thank you for flipping the video and adding a highlighted keyboard.
I hope that this would be mass-production of keyboards with narrower keys. I have to get one of them.. I really really have to. My hands size is as small as a childs (5-6 years old)... i feel handicaped. It will be so pleasure to just play instead of thinking to find out the way to play. I dont have much time to practice. It is such a besutiful thought to change keyboards size to narrower.
Is there more in production?
that is amazing! I’m looking forward to buying the keyboard!
It's happening. Its happening!
10ths here I come
I want one! Please let me know how much…hope it’s affordable!
One size should not dominate the human being. Please make this available sooner! If I can have somewhat larger hands, I will surely be better than Lang Lang!
Yes, a bit slow at the moment but we are working on it!
ergonomics in keyboards, welcome to the 21st century...finally!!
Hi Linda !
Thank You So Much For This Video ! 👍🏻😊
Yep, I need that
Amazing!!! I want this now!
Just boosting engagement because I really want a smaller piano... Octaves are quite painful for me
This is a dream come true..thank you..
Great playing!
thanks!
@@PlayPianoChords Yes, very smooth right hand lines . . . on top of all those great L.H. 10ths.
Yeah, give us all those solid 10ths. Skipped 10ths just don't cut it, not for anything jazzy. No way. Keep beating that reduced-width drum. It's slowly, slowly starting to get through some thick skulls. You will here more from me.
Wish they would make Digital Pianos of these that have MIDI Host To USB so I can use it on a PC with all velocities recorded and make it affordable. Cannot wait for that kinda of future
I've been watching these for a while. Didn't realize quite how much smaller it was in total until you showed that photo next to a regular sized one! Still awesome for us with smaller hands. Is that arrangement something you made or or can be purchased? Lovely playing.
Thanks!
thanks! The arrangement is from a book I bought decades ago but I think I saw it on Sheet Music Direct. Look for Oscar Peterson arrangement of Georgia.
I really like that about it, I think it would be totally portable. I feel like I could carry that safely up and down stairs.
Really looking forward to having one of these. I'm an amateur, playing at home, and this would mean spending so much less time on unnecessary, irrelevant technical struggles and focusing on music.
Thanks for your comment! We are working hard to make this commercially viable. Go to www.playpianochordstoday.com/narrow if you want to be notified when they are available.
Yes, the time has come today! However, I can't get my middle finger between the black keys without pulling down one of the sharp keys-and this is on a standard keyboard...
thanks for your support! My husband has quite thick fingers and is able to play my narrow keys. He's had some practice playing on mini keys for jazz gigs over the years. I should make a video of him one day. I know he does a lot of tilting to angle his fingers between the blacks on the narrow keys.
Can't wait! Any idea about where to go to try one? Potential pricing?
Thanks for your enthusiasm! At the moment (05/2022) they are prototypes and will be shown at various conferences (the next being in June 2022 at NAMM in Los Angeles). The costs will vary as production gets refined and we will post them on the website as they are finalized.
@@PlayPianoChords I wish I could be in LA to try it. Next time!
Hi, is it available for sale and use yet or is it still in the process of being developed?
We are currently selling them. www.narrowkeys.com/
Any update as to when these may be available for sale?
Thanks for asking. Things are coming together and we hope to have the first 10 made in October 2022 so they should be available starting November. To get the latest news go to www.narrowkeys.com/shop and put your name on the list.
Should be much easier to transport 88 keys now. Recently I bought two travel pianos with 73 keys. I look forward to trying tge "Narrow Keyboard", and I hope this special instrument is a huge success.
But why is it called a keyboard? Seems to have some built in sound and a decent action. Saying "Keyboard" (for the whole instrument) sounds very dated and demeaning. Millions of pianists (potential customers) would call this a digital piano.
Please do a video on the specifications. How many sounds? Can the tone be adjusted? How do the keys work? What connectivity is there?
Update: I now realise that it's only a controller. Fine. Good to know.
At this time it is a keyboard controller. We hope it will one day be a digital piano. I run mine through the V3 controller for sound and use various speakers depending on the venue. Sometimes a Roland monitor, sometimes Yamaha speakers. Thanks for your comments!
@@PlayPianoChords Ah OK. So no sounds and no speakers. But presumably it has a graded weighted action. Or no? It's interesting that it's hooked up to a V3. Does that give good results? And do you need a separate device to access the V3 banks of sounds? I hope it's available in most countries and that the product will evolve into a full-blown digital piano.
@@Zoco101 It has a match-weighted action with continuous sensing. It is very responsive. The V3 gives good results. I have performed with it. The V3 has access to other sounds through an iPad app. At the moment we are shipping to USA and Canada but hope to ship internationally in the future.
@@PlayPianoChords Fascinating! Consider using me as your agent for UK and Europe.
Who the heck makes these?! I know I was on their site but I neglected to bookmark it. Now I can't seem to find it.
Thanks for your interest! This is a grassroots project and you can get updated with production info when you fill out the form here... www.playpianochordstoday.com/narrow
Thank you so much ! What is he brand of this narrow bey pian and where I can buy one ?
Sign up at www.narrowkeys.com/ to be informed when they are available for sale. Cheers!
@@PlayPianoChords thank you so much for the video and the 🔗. This can make keyboards so much more friendlier to women.
Any updates on the production of this keyboard?
Yes, we are fine tuning the process and hope to have some production by summer!
@@PlayPianoChords fantastic! I love my 7/8th keyboard and would love a portable option. My mom would get one too for her jazz gigs
@@KyleHohn I LOVE it for jazz gigs. It only weights 25 lbs and I can easily carry it to a gig. Would love for you both to try one.
@@PlayPianoChords that’s great to hear! I really hope production goes smoothly. I’m subscribed to you here and follow PASK so I’m sure I’ll hear once it is in full production or preorder!
@@anthonydang4221 it’s a Charles Walter upright piano with a 5.5 keyboard. I love it
Hello
How much it would cost ?
To get the most current prices, please go to www.narrowkeys.com and click on the email list for pricing at the top of the page.
So exciting and it sounds great! What is the price range?
Right now it's custom and costs as much as an upright. The goal is to get LOTS of interest to bring the price down (like the model T Ford :-)
@@PlayPianoChords What features/ specs does the current model have? Bearing I'd assume it's subject to change
@@PlayPianoChords thank you for your reply. So like 10k? I would assume for a custom keyboard 🎹
@@KyleHohn $$ a bit less. It has two pedals (sustain and soft), USB to DAW, no speakers.
@@mainescapade see comment to Kyle...
What do you use to edit?
Corel Video Studio Pro
@@PlayPianoChords oh ok thanks!