Pianist Fingers - Do you develop them or are you born with them?

[g.w.k]

Wondering what you're views are.

I have pianist fingers...but I don't think I was "born" with them.

G.W.K

[danny elfboy]

We definitely are not born with pianist fingers.
Just consider the pianists with objectively unpianistic fingers that made nonetheless their fingers able to play beautiful music.

[dnephi]

Born with initial aptitude, developed by hard work.

Daniel

[Bob]

I had one student whose hands changed after a few lessons.  I noticed it and thought it was a little strange.  It was how they used their hands I think and the line of the finger down through the bones in their hand that was emphasized. 


What do you mean by pianist fingers exactly?   When I think that, I'm thinking long fingers with control.

[g.w.k]

What do you mean by pianist fingers exactly?   When I think that, I'm thinking long fingers with control.

Well...one could put it like that. Abnormally long fingers. I'm not sure what you mean by "with control", however.

G.W.K

[Bob]

Able to move them.  Use of the hands.  Not being clumsy with the hands.

[rc]

I'm lucky, if my fingers were just a little thicker I'd be hitting clusters everytime I tried to go between the keys...  hmmmm, I should quit eating so much sweet, delicious pastry.

What else could effect the hands?  growing up as a videogame vegetable, typing lessons... 12 years of guitar.  I've heard gardening is a good workout for the hands.  Percy Grainger apparently liked to work with his hands a lot.

Stumping the pinky on an excellent football pass is not good for the hands.

[g.w.k]

What else could effect the hands? growing up as a videogame vegetable, typing lessons... 12 years of guitar.  I've heard gardening is a good workout for the hands.

Videogame vegetable - no
Typing lessons - yes, I studied Administration at school
12 year of guitar - no
Gardening - rarely

LOL

G.W.K

[thalberg]

I think I was born with pianist fingers.  At a very young age I could play very fast without any technical instruction at all and it surprised the heck out of my teacher.  I'm not talking about Martha Argerich type speed, just way faster than most kids. 

[dnephi]

I think I was born with pianist fingers.  At a very young age I could play very fast without any technical instruction at all and it surprised the heck out of my teacher.  I'm not talking about Martha Argerich type speed, just way faster than most kids. 

yea you're amazing.

[dana_minmin]

Able to move them.  Use of the hands.  Not being clumsy with the hands.

Under complete control - fingers can work independetly but in a synchronized way.

[g.w.k]

Under complete control - fingers can work independetly but in a synchronized way.

Hmm...well I've just got longer-than-average fingers then...LOL

G.W.K

[thierry13]

Well...one could put it like that. Abnormally long fingers. I'm not sure what you mean by "with control", however.

G.W.K

I don't think having abnormally long fingers makes them pianist fingers. It's not going to help for your technique at all. The only benefit is to be helpful in some pieces where you have to do large chords. But I think it hinders your sound and your moveability on the keyboard sometimes, since you do not have to actually move that much to reach the keys, wich is not allways a good thing. Pianist's fingers definitely is about coordination, control and speed, to a certain extent.

[Bob]

I think you can have the long fingers look.  Part of that is just being able to extend your fingers and then having the bones in your hand stand out a little.  They appear longer.

I was also thinking that pianist fingers could be when they just melt into the keyboard.  When you can play a chord and have the hand up in the black keys.  And make it look effortless.  A nice sound along with that probably isn't going to hurt the appearance either.

[g.w.k]

I think you can have the long fingers look.  Part of that is just being able to extend your fingers and then having the bones in your hand stand out a little.  They appear longer.

No...I don't entend them.

G.W.K

[gyzzzmo]

Depends on how you define 'pianofingers'. I personally dont think they exist at all. Piano playing happens in your brains, there are enough Masters who have fingers like sausages to support my statement.
However, if your statement would be 'does pianoplaying have an effect on the shape of your fingers?'..... I wouldnt know. Ive never seen a twin examination about this subject

gyzzz

[thalberg]

I personally dont think they exist at all. Piano playing happens in your brains, there are enough Masters who have fingers like sausages to support my statement.

Okay, first of all, sausage fingers are great.  They are so strong!!

Second, I have an argument for why piano fingers do exist. 

When I injured my hand, I went to a hand doctor.  He moved my fingers and stretched them (gently) and then when he noticed how far they easily stretched, he looked at me in shock and said, "Doesn't this hurt you?"  And I said no because I was perfectly comfortable. 

I then asked, "Is this uncommon?"  He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Well, let me put it this way.....among the better pianists, it's not at all uncommon." 

I then had to go downstairs to the occupational therapist who used a device to measure my grip strength.  When I squeezed as hard as I could, she looked at the meter, then slowly said "You .... are .... phenomenal."

I believe my natural inborn hand strength and flexibility contributed to my developing a good technique in the absence of much technical instruction. 

It's too bad I did not have the natural inborn artistry and musical talent to go along with it--those elements came at the expense of lots of instruction.  I almost drove my teachers insane...haha.

I knew pianists in graduate school who had similar hand types.  But not all of them did....some had long skinny fingers that were not so flexible.  They were marvelous pianists, nonetheless...many were better than I am.

[gyzzzmo]

My girlfriend is a surgeon and was also suprised to how flexible my fingers are. But is this because of genes or because of the piano? Bit hard to say since i dont have a non-piano playing twin brother
Who knows... :p

[thalberg]

I believe it is genes because my hands were flexible from childhood.  And also some pianists who have played all their lives don't have particularly flexible hands.

[franzliszt2]

It's like athletics, some people are born with a natural abilty to co-ordinate, and to move at speeds. Then some of these have musical abilty, and then some of them get good teachers and they become good pianists if they work hard.

Some people have clumsy hands, and tension is everywhere. These will never be pianists

[gyzzzmo]

It's like athletics, some people are born with a natural abilty to co-ordinate, and to move at speeds. Then some of these have musical abilty, and then some of them get good teachers and they become good pianists if they work hard.

Some people have clumsy hands, and tension is everywhere. These will never be pianists

Clumsy hands/tension is something you learn to control with piano playing. But controlling that clumsyness happens in the brains, wich is THE difference with athletics.

[thierry13]

Clumsy hands/tension is something you learn to control with piano playing. But controlling that clumsyness happens in the brains, wich is THE difference with athletics.

You can control them, but you can't control them over your limits. Pushing those limits is having pianist's fingers. And it's not like being born to play the piano, it's simply a hand type that randomly fits better than others to play the piano, because of the way it's made, as simple as that.

[gyzzzmo]

You can control them, but you can't control them over your limits. Pushing those limits is having pianist's fingers. And it's not like being born to play the piano, it's simply a hand type that randomly fits better than others to play the piano, because of the way it's made, as simple as that.

If that was true, all grand masters would have that same hand type.... Wich is obviously not the case.
I would maybe even go so far to say that i think you dont even need talent for playing the piano. I think it all depends on the right external factors, like stimulating parents, lots of classical background music and a teacher fit to that child.

[thierry13]

If that was true, all grand masters would have that same hand type.... Wich is obviously not the case.
I would maybe even go so far to say that i think you dont even need talent for playing the piano. I think it all depends on the right external factors, like stimulating parents, lots of classical background music and a teacher fit to that child.

Did I say only one hand type fitted the keyboard? Of course not. There are many types of hands who can fit very well to a keyboard. And not all the great masters had amazing virtuosic abilities, and they did not all find technique easy. Yes you can learn with any pair of hands to play piano well or even be a great, but the technical part can be easier for certain persons with luckily suited hands(that's definitely not only one hand type, obviously).

[gyzzzmo]

Did I say only one hand type fitted the keyboard? Of course not. There are many types of hands who can fit very well to a keyboard. And not all the great masters had amazing virtuosic abilities, and they did not all find technique easy. Yes you can learn with any pair of hands to play piano well or even be a great, but the technical part can be easier for certain persons with luckily suited hands(that's definitely not only one hand type, obviously).

Then i gues there arent many hand types wich cant be concidered as 'pianist fingers'. Dont you think that if there are that many types suitable for playing piano, that it maybe has little to do with hands? That it happens in the brains after all?

[nanabush]

I guess the shape of your hand [helps]... I have pretty big hands and my fingers are pretty slender... they've always been like that though, even when I started piano.  I'm teaching a few kids between the ages of 10-12 who have been playing since they were 7.  One is a football player and has very stubby fingers; He plays excellent scales so he has the control, but he cannot reach an octave for the life of him.  Another girl has a mediocre technique, her scales are half-decent, but she can easily reach an octave... both are in grade 4 piano RCM which has a couple octaves and big-ish chords... the boy I would say is a better pianist overall, but he has some trouble with a few fundamental things - and it's not his fault as a learner.