Small hands

[andersand]

Hi!

I am learning a piece where it's all about slamming some big chords. But i have a lot of trouble with that because my hands are small so i have to stretch it a lot, and when i do that (and not playing PPP) it begins to hurt in my arm very quickly. Is there some kind of technique that i've missed? Is it possible to expand the range of ones hand? (or maybe eat some exotic fruit that happens to make your hands grow  )

How large is the range of your hand? Mine is a little above one octave (if I strech it i can do C->8va(D)

[cygnusdei]

That range is certainly more than enough for most of piano literature. For large spans it is acceptable to play broken chords. Out of curiosity which piece are you referring to?

[danny elfboy]

Just look at Alicia De Larrocha
Exceptionally small (just 4.8 feet) her hands are very small
She plays just everything from the literature including Frank, Rachmaninov, Granados and play them beutifully no matter if she has to use broken chords
Another pianist here in pianostreet (Robert Henry) reaches a 9ninth and has rather small hands. He playes everything from the piano repertory too nothing excluded

[mad_max2024]

Which piece is it?

[andersand]

Out of curiosity which piece are you referring to?

Now i regret that i used the term chord-slamming because you might kill me when i mention that it's actually the first two pages of Tchaikovskys PC 1     Sounds like if its not the range thats the problem, but rather very weak and slim wrists/hand/arm.

[cyllo]

I have the same problem. It is ok to play slow. When it goes faster, it really hurts. Can I improve?

[korsol]

what are broken chords?

[wotgoplunk]

what are broken chords?

Broken chords are when you play one note of a chord, followed by the next, followed by the next etc. Sort of like arpeggiating it, only slower.

I have the same problem. It is ok to play slow. When it goes faster, it really hurts. Can I improve?

Improve at what? Speed? Speed is just a matter of practice, the more you practice the faster you will get at it, and you should practice in short periods so your hands don't get overtired.