Survey: Your Hand Span

[allchopin]

From pinky on C, what note does your thumb struggle to reach (not necessarily be able to play- just to stretch to)?
I have a span of a 12th (to G).

[dj]

wow thats big! i can do 11th but only in the left hand. 10th easily in both hands.

[xenon]

Span-wise is 12 notes.  If I have to curve my fingers to play them, then it's 11 notes.

[eddie92099]

An 11th in both hands. Did you know that one of Rachmaninov's "tricks" was to play C E G C with fingers 2 3 4 5 then turn the thumb underneath to hit the top E!
Ed

[thracozaag]

An 11th in both hands. Did you know that one of Rachmaninov's "tricks" was to play C E G C with fingers 2 3 4 5 then turn the thumb underneath to hit the top E!
Ed

 Holy.....

[BoliverAllmon]

I have an 11th in both hands.

boliver

[allchopin]

I see theres a mode of about 11 here...
How can your hands be different?  I think if your right hand is an 11th, then your left is as well, no?

About Rachmaninoff: his thumb must have been exceptionally, almost freakishly, long to be able to cross over his whole hand plus 2 keys.

[BoliverAllmon]

Your hands can be different sizes. SOme people have longer limbs than others. ALso, it could be just a matter of one hand stretched more than the other.

boliver

[eddie92099]

An 11th is more comfortable in my left hand than my right,
Ed

[cziffra]

rachmaninoff's thumb to fifth finger span was almost two octaves.  that's about a 14th.  around 30 cm.

his thumb to second finger span was as big as my total handspan...a 10th.

beast...

however, sometimes his fingers got stuck in between the black keys, which would be far more annoying for me, i think.

[BoliverAllmon]

I can almost reach a 10th from thunb to index. I can reach a 10th from thumb to middle, an 11th from thumb to ring and 11th from thumb to pinky.

boliver

[chopinetta]

i can only reach a tenth.. and it's already hard to do but normally, i can play (with a little difficulty) ninths...

[erak]

I can grab a ninth with ease, if I really have to I can reach till a 10th (both hands) but it's very sloppy(hitting notes inbetween). I'm still growing.. I hope:D.

[ilovemusic]

Well, a tenth. But when a force a "split" 23 cm. Where
would this get me ?

I once met a pianist who had really small hands (much smaller then mine), but
hat very flexible hands and could still stretch C-F#
(that's an eleventh ?) .

Joost.

[BoliverAllmon]

If you think that guy had small hands then you have another thing coming. I can do the splits with ease but can barely reach an eleventh and I have decently sized hands.

boliver

[ilovemusic]

Ehr. Ok.  Maybe I am mistaken about his span then.
Is it wise to do some stetching to increase the flexibility ? Don't know if I can break things....

Joost.

[BoliverAllmon]

Stretching should be done in a smart way. I stretch my hands alot at real slow easy speeds. My youth pastor on the other hand was at church and started stretching his fingers and broke it. So stretching can be good or bad. Just don't be stupid about it.

boliver

[schnabels_grandson]

I'm not sure what a "tenth" is but with my left hand, pinky on C, I can stretch to E with my thumb.  With my right hand, thumb on C, I get to F with my pinky.  My explanation for this ability is that I broke my right pinky and its flexability has since been a little greater than the left hand.  With 1 and 2 on both hands I can go C to C.

[liszmaninopin]

I can spread 11 keys in my left hand, and 12 in my right one.

[liszmaninopin]

It just occurred to me to ask at which age one's hands stop growing.  I am 15; do you think my hands might get a tad bigger by the time I am 20?

[littlegrass]

I think I have the smallest hands amongst you guys... I can play 8ve comfortably (mose of the times anyway) struggle with 9th for both hands....

[L.K.]

I have relatively small hands too. I can easily reach 9th with LH and an octave with RH.   I also have terribly thin wrists and fingers.

[pianogal86]

I also have small hands... In both my right and left hands I can comfortably reach a 8th (I know, rather pitiful) and barely a 9th.  My teacher has had me working on stretching excercises for months now, but they don't seem to be doing much good.  You all are starting to make me jealous with all your spans of 12 etc!  
H.J.

[comme_le_vent]

yeah, my arm span is more than my height, i think youll find that chimps have larger hands than their bodies would suggest...arm span 6' 1-2 , hand span - c to f sharp both hands, both fully stretched.
having small hands can have its advantages though, i find that small handed people have better scale/finger technique, but larger hands are better for octaves and big chords.

[krenske]

well..
is this leading to one of those sick jokes??
im not going to get caught...
not again...
hehehehehehehehehe

[Bosendorfer_214]

12th right

11th left

Nick

[bitus]

My youth pastor on the other hand was at church and started stretching his fingers and broke it.

Hahahahaha :]
I can do fast exercises with 10ths, and reach to 12 on a good day.
The Bitus

[chopiabin]

An 11th in both hands.

[trunks]

Applying to both hands:
an octave easily;
a 9th safely;
a minor 10th (C to Eb) barely reached from the top;
a major 10th (C to E) barely reached from the side.

[Motrax]

C to E is comfortable in both hands, C to F is quite a stretch. I have a lot of trouble playing white/black intervals though, like D to F#.

[DarkWind]

I can reach only a 9th easily, and a 10th if I struggle real hard . So, around what age does your hand stop growing?

[ayahav]

I can easily reach a 10th (do->mi),

and if I stretch a lot and move to the front edge of the keyboard,  I can strike an 11th (do->fa)...

[faulty_damper]

I can reach only a 9th easily, and a 10th if I struggle real hard . So, around what age does your hand stop growing?

Around the time puberty ends, usually after your teen years.

Dang, so many people have such large hands.  Or, you guys just think it's showing off.  "My hands are bigger than yours."

I effectively span a 9th, sort of.

[ayahav]

...and you know what they say about people with big hands...! (*nudge* *nudge* *wink* *wink*) <- that was a great monty python skit.....

[Antnee]

I can span a 12 in both hands, but can't play them. My pinky just barley touches the G, but I don't think that counts.  

I can easily play elevenths, but MAN do they make my hands hurt.    

-Tony-

[thierry13]

I got a tenth in both hands, not so comfortably but it's ok and it doesn't hurt. And i think my thump and pinky are at the max of their stretch since they make a right line if i stretch them , so i got small hands

yeah, my arm span is more than my height, i think youll find that chimps have larger hands than their bodies would suggest...arm span 6' 1-2 , hand span - c to f sharp both hands, both fully stretched.
having small hands can have its advantages though, i find that small handed people have better scale/finger technique, but larger hands are better for octaves and big chords.

That's not true for everyone! Look I have small hands and I'm incredibly good at octaves. I can play allmost as fast in octaves as I can with single notes, and this in double octaves ( one octave in each hand). And i have small hands, so hand span does'nt count for octaves  .

[galonia]

Can people who can reach a tenth stop saying they have small hands, please?

I can reach an octave at full stretch - I will never be able to reach a tenth.  When I did my grades 7 & 8 exams (AMEB) the examiners commented on the reports that my inability to play the double octave scales were due to my small hand span, but that I had given them a good attempt (I played really excellent consecutive 7ths!!!)

So for me, being able to play octaves now, and octave passages, is a real achievement, and I'm glad my teachers have always had the attitude that the word "can't" does not exist, I can still play any repertoire I like, but I may have to put in a little effort to re-arrange some notes, or a bit of extra practise to master some passges.

[noelle]

Here's my 11th:



A major stretch, but I can do it with my left hand.  (Picture taken when I was 14)
My hands have become a little more comfortable since; I can do a 10th well enough =)

I had a lot of weird talent when I was 14, right.  I could lick my elbow and sing almost 5 octaves; now I'm down to 3 and can still lick my elbow, but with an awful lot more pain.  (I'm almost 17.)

[Brian Healey]

When I first started playing, an octave was my maximum, but over the years my hands have stretched quite a bit, and now I can reach a tenth comfortably with both hands (although in the right hand it's a little bit more of a stretch).


Peace,
Bri

[Will Millar]

At the age of 18 (now) I can stretch 10th's with right hand and 9th's with my left hand

PS. for anyone interested I am still looking for a teacher!!
https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,6953.0.html


Will

[jas]

I can stretch a ninth in my right hand as long as I have time to get my hand in place and I don't have to hold it for too long. And I can juuust scrap a ninth in my left, too, but it's hard work. I don't do it unless I have to because it's tiring!

Jas

[ted]

Elevenths uncomfortably, tenths comfortably. But isn't this a bit like comparing mathematicians' abilities at mental arithmetic ? Interesting but, within a broad range, not really very important. Having small hands didn't seem to stop Keith Jarrett and Billy Mayerl.

[dinosaurtales]

My teacher says that over time your hands do stretch to allow a bigger span (years, not months).  I guess that's true, because a year ago an octave in my left was max, and I could barely make an octave with my right.  Well, my left has stretched a bit to allow an uncomfortable 9th, but my right still battles with an octave.

you guys that do 10ths - I am soooooooo jealous!

[Troldhaugen]

I'm so jealous of everybody here! . I can do 9th pretty comfortably, but 10th is a stretch for me.   

[chickering9]

With the left pinkie on C, I can span an octave plus up the F natural above (11th?) without strain (looks just like Noelle's method in photo).  The right is only to the E above (10th?, but I just noticed if I do 1 and 4 instead of 1 and 5, I *can* reach the 11th in the right and a 12th in the left).  But as others have said, if I'm having to curve fingers to catch intervening notes, it's less, as in a case in one piece I do that needs D natural and the two F#'s above in both hands simultaneously.  Quite annoying, but I can strain and do it.

[Vivers]

I can get a ninth, and can hold a 10th, but then again, I'm more of a baroque/classical kind of person. And I'm short too, so it's no surprise.

[vivacegirl]

i've got little hands-i can get a 9th at a stretch in both hands--but i'm only14, so hopefully they'll grow!

[kilini]

9th for me.
But I'm 13.

[SDL]

Barenboim has a 9th!!
Ashkenazy a 10th!!

[delpetrarca]

I had a lot of weird talent when I was 14, right.  I could lick my elbow and sing almost 5 octaves; now I'm down to 3 and can still lick my elbow, but with an awful lot more pain.  (I'm almost 17.)

Just don't lick your elbow while playing piano!!!