What is really needed is for manufacturers to make smaller keyboards. It turns out that the standard octave span of 6.5 inches is to large for the majority of people. There are a few but the prices are excessive.
Thanks so much for your advice. I got very small hands n can’t play an octave properly definitely fail to play consecutive octaves could you please recommend some composers whose work are using fewer Octaves for grade 8 or above Thanks
Hi, Stanley. Interesting video. 6 months ago I ordered new keys for my grand piano from David Steinbuhler. It is fantastic. It is only 5.5 inches wide (octave) instead of 6.5 inches. Before, I struggled to reach the 10th. With this keyboard, I can easily reach an 11, #11 and even C-G. All of us with small hands are kind of deprived of what the guys with large hands take for granted. For some reason, the keyboard size is the same everywhere. I don't think we as pianists should accept that when there is a solution that works. If you have small hands, consider getting a narrower keyboard. And, it works very well to change from a 5.5-inch keyboard to a 6.5-inch keyboard. I use both, but (of course) prefer the 5.5-inch keyboard. Life-changing 🎹😃
@@StanleyDo Yes. That's why we need a revolution. It is meaningless that a person with small hands plays on the same keyboard size as a person with large hands. Also, it is easy to swap between two sizes. I'm playing on my 5.5 inch keyboard now 90% of the time. But the remaining 10% on a conventional keyboard is going fine too
@@StanleyDo When I was at early intermediate level I tried the 5.5 keyboard for about 45 minutes and adjusted just fine. I think the current evidence is most pianists who own a 5.5 or 6.0 keyboard could freely switch among the three sizes. I didn't experience any problem after playing the 5.5. But needless to say the 5.5 felt so much more comfortable for me. Basically everything just felt like...it made more sense under my hands. My hand span is only 7 inches. I can't play octaves in succession on the conventional keyboard. I can never relax when I play an octave because it requires my hand to stretch to the fullest to the point it almost loses the arch. I can't play the majority of Romantic repertoire even with all the tips you mentioned in the video...they are just literally out of reach.
Wonderful tips. I’m 6’1” but wasn’t blessed with large hands. My span is similar to yours, and completely agree, it’s not too much of a hindrance if you don’t shy away from a little bit of good old fashioned puzzle solving.
i would never stretch....if you want to be better i would recommend taking technical exercises like Czerny op 740...i got small hands and can't stretch to 9th keys....my biggest problem is playing four finger chords....like rag music....practice swapping fast
This subject is always approached with the same excuses but the truth is that size matters. You can use as many trick/maneuver as you want, keeping other variables under control, if you had a greater reach, in addition to being less prone to injuries, you would have a greater performance. This is physics! Usain Bolt took advantage of the height and greater leg-to-body ratio and Michael Phelps also took advantage of the length of his arms and torso. Likewise, all pianists with long, thin fingers also have an advantage. This doesn't mean you can't play the piano, and if you're really good, you might even be able to play better than most, but that's until you find someone who is equally good but has a physical advantage. Just accept this fact, stop crying and if you really love to play piano, study/train as much as possible with wich you literally have at hand.
Citation please. I've never heard of this in the life of Liszt, and I've read many biographies of him. Schumann is known to have damaged his hands with a "training contraption" he made, and became a composer instead of concert artist. But Liszt to my knowledge never damaged his hands. On the contrary, he developed both hands equally to be able to play the vast amount of music he wrote, many of which are concert arrangements of other composers, most notably Operatic and Symphonic material where he came up with "orchestral" effects on the piano that naturally transcended piano technique in both hands. This comment is false as far as I know. That said, if your hands are small (I reach a maximum of an 11th, C-F, so I'm fortunate that I can handle 99% of the stretches in piano literature) you do need to take more precautions than I do, and find other ways to solve the challenges. Usually you will find the music before Chopin and Liszt to be within the octave, so there's plenty of material there to choose from and master. These two composers extended the harmonies outside the octave, whereas composers before them stayed largely within the octave.
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What is really needed is for manufacturers to make smaller keyboards. It turns out that the standard octave span of 6.5 inches is to large for the majority of people. There are a few but the prices are excessive.
Thanks so much for your advice. I got very small hands n can’t play an octave properly definitely fail to play consecutive octaves could you please recommend some composers whose work are using fewer Octaves for grade 8 or above Thanks
Thanks for the video. I struggle playing 7th chords. Small hands can be a challenge when playing these ones, especially G7 ugh!
No problem! I hope it helped!
Thanks for the tips.. I am struggling with my small hands
Hi, Stanley.
Interesting video. 6 months ago I ordered new keys for my grand piano from David Steinbuhler. It is fantastic.
It is only 5.5 inches wide (octave) instead of 6.5 inches. Before, I struggled to reach the 10th. With this keyboard, I can easily reach an 11, #11 and even C-G.
All of us with small hands are kind of deprived of what the guys with large hands take for granted. For some reason, the keyboard size is the same everywhere. I don't think we as pianists should accept that when there is a solution that works.
If you have small hands, consider getting a narrower keyboard. And, it works very well to change from a 5.5-inch keyboard to a 6.5-inch keyboard. I use both, but (of course) prefer the 5.5-inch keyboard.
Life-changing 🎹😃
Oh wow I had no idea that they made narrower keys! I guess my concern would be not being able to play on other pianos, most having standard keys.
@@StanleyDo Yes. That's why we need a revolution. It is meaningless that a person with small hands plays on the same keyboard size as a person with large hands. Also, it is easy to swap between two sizes.
I'm playing on my 5.5 inch keyboard now 90% of the time. But the remaining 10% on a conventional keyboard is going fine too
@@StanleyDo When I was at early intermediate level I tried the 5.5 keyboard for about 45 minutes and adjusted just fine. I think the current evidence is most pianists who own a 5.5 or 6.0 keyboard could freely switch among the three sizes. I didn't experience any problem after playing the 5.5. But needless to say the 5.5 felt so much more comfortable for me. Basically everything just felt like...it made more sense under my hands. My hand span is only 7 inches. I can't play octaves in succession on the conventional keyboard. I can never relax when I play an octave because it requires my hand to stretch to the fullest to the point it almost loses the arch. I can't play the majority of Romantic repertoire even with all the tips you mentioned in the video...they are just literally out of reach.
Your voice is really relaxing to listen to 🎵😄
Haha glad you think so! It’s so jarring listening to yourself speak 😅
Wonderful tips. I’m 6’1” but wasn’t blessed with large hands. My span is similar to yours, and completely agree, it’s not too much of a hindrance if you don’t shy away from a little bit of good old fashioned puzzle solving.
There's always some kind of way!
We can use also the pedal
The only helpful video coming from an actual small hand and not from someone doing 10ths and then claiming to have small hands.
i would never stretch....if you want to be better i would recommend taking technical exercises like Czerny op 740...i got small hands and can't stretch to 9th keys....my biggest problem is playing four finger chords....like rag music....practice swapping fast
This subject is always approached with the same excuses but the truth is that size matters. You can use as many trick/maneuver as you want, keeping other variables under control, if you had a greater reach, in addition to being less prone to injuries, you would have a greater performance. This is physics! Usain Bolt took advantage of the height and greater leg-to-body ratio and Michael Phelps also took advantage of the length of his arms and torso. Likewise, all pianists with long, thin fingers also have an advantage. This doesn't mean you can't play the piano, and if you're really good, you might even be able to play better than most, but that's until you find someone who is equally good but has a physical advantage. Just accept this fact, stop crying and if you really love to play piano, study/train as much as possible with wich you literally have at hand.
Ever wondered,why works of Lizst is so heavy on left hand? Because he damaged his right hand trying to stretch it, so .... Just be careful,ok?
Don’t worry I don’t stretch them beyond their limits!
Citation please. I've never heard of this in the life of Liszt, and I've read many biographies of him. Schumann is known to have damaged his hands with a "training contraption" he made, and became a composer instead of concert artist. But Liszt to my knowledge never damaged his hands. On the contrary, he developed both hands equally to be able to play the vast amount of music he wrote, many of which are concert arrangements of other composers, most notably Operatic and Symphonic material where he came up with "orchestral" effects on the piano that naturally transcended piano technique in both hands. This comment is false as far as I know.
That said, if your hands are small (I reach a maximum of an 11th, C-F, so I'm fortunate that I can handle 99% of the stretches in piano literature) you do need to take more precautions than I do, and find other ways to solve the challenges. Usually you will find the music before Chopin and Liszt to be within the octave, so there's plenty of material there to choose from and master. These two composers extended the harmonies outside the octave, whereas composers before them stayed largely within the octave.