How far can you reach?

[ajspiano]

I fainted at the "and listen to the rest of the piece". You owe me for bandages and smelling salts.

I'm glad you bought that.

Come on - as if I didn't know...  its in the title. Toccata AND fugue. As I said, for the opening of the toccata.

...

I must surely check this out though, best ever hey?

[j_menz]

I must surely check this out though, best ever hey?

Well, I once had the pleasure of playing it on a pipe organ. It's an exoperience I'd commend highly, should you have the chance. I think my pedalling left something to be desired, though.

There are some really great transcriptions of it, though.

[vladimir_gouldowsky]

I can squeeze a 14th, 13th comfortably.

[ajspiano]

Well, I once had the pleasure of playing it on a pipe organ. It's an exoperience I'd commend highly, should you have the chance.

If the struggle that my wife goes through to remove me from the piano bench is anything to go by, access to a pipe organ would probably lead to my somewhat happy death due to thirst/starvation within a day or so.

[j_menz]

If the struggle that my wife goes through to remove me from the piano bench is anything to go by, access to a pipe organ would probably lead to my somewhat happy death due to thirst/starvation within a day or so.

Nah.

The neighbours would have killed you well before then.

[vladimir_gouldowsky]

Actually I just tried my reach again. I can make a 15th.

[ajspiano]

Actually I just tried my reach again. I can make a 15th.

You're a pianistic Pinocchio of sorts then?

Nah.

The neighbours would have killed you well before then.

My neighbours like my piano, I see no reason they would dislike my pipe organ.

[j_menz]

My neighbours like my piano, I see no reason they would dislike my pipe organ.

1)  Your wife apparently won't be able to charm/lever you off it.

2)  Volume. Unbelievable.

[ajspiano]

2)  Volume. Unbelievable.

Fair, but realistically I can't see me being able to successfully install one in a residential home anyway..

[gyzzzmo]

I can reach a 10th effortlessly, and an 11th with a bit of work. What amazes me is that Liszt, who had just average sized hands, could (supposedly) reach nearly a 16th because he flexible hands with no membrane between the fingers.

I also heard he could shoot firebolts from his arse!

[iquinn876]

Only an octave  I can play fast octaves in my left, but for some reason my dominant right hand only lets me play slow octaves. Rondo alla Turca is a pain in the but, as I can play everything in it except the solid right hand octaves in the a major c (?) section. The broken octaves I can handle with a few mistakes.

[vladimir_gouldowsky]

You're a pianistic Pinocchio of sorts then?

My neighbours like my piano, I see no reason they would dislike my pipe organ.

I should point out that this is my piano:
https://store.drumbum.com/skuMGMSC-216.html

[evitaevita]

After a lot of stretching exercises and practice, I can reach a 9th.
I wish I could reach a 10th at least... 
But, as a girl, my hands aren't very big!

[gyzzzmo]

After a lot of stretching exercises and practice, I can reach a 9th.
I wish I could reach a 10th at least... 
But, as a girl, my hands aren't very big!

'Reach' usually has not so much to do with size of hands (except for the extremes ofcourse). It's more about how well you can spread your thumb/pinky, or in other words, the angle between your thumb/pinky. I'm 1.91cm tall and have no especially big hands. But because i can get my thumb and pink 180 degrees, i can pretty easily get that 11th note. I know pianists with definitely bigger hands than i, but cant properly play the 11th.

[outin]

'Reach' usually has not so much to do with size of hands (except for the extremes ofcourse). It's more about how well you can spread your thumb/pinky, or in other words, the angle between your thumb/pinky.

Of course it's a combination of several things, shape, size and flexibility. If one has long fingers, then getting the thumb/pinky well spread helps a lot. Wide palm is better than a narrow one. My left and right hands are the same size, but the right hand reach is limited by lack of flexibility, while the left is not. The reach on my left is what is physically possible without finger extensions (I'm gonna get those one day!), a 9th with stretching and one half step more if I use my long 3rd on a black key. I have long fingers, but a very slim palm. So the best I can do is to try to get my right hand into a proper octave, I have to forget about 10ths and whatever you guys can do

[evitaevita]

'Reach' usually has not so much to do with size of hands (except for the extremes ofcourse). It's more about how well you can spread your thumb/pinky, or in other words, the angle between your thumb/pinky.

That's very true!
And as I said, after a lot of practice I managed to reach a 9th quite easily. Before that, it was really difficult for me to reach it. But, neither the shape nor the flexibility of my hands helped them to stretch very much in order to span very large intervals.
In the future, it may be even easier for me to play a 9th, but it will never be possible to play a 10th.

[jimhendricks72]

Most pianists can actually reach further than they think if they can stretch a little more between the thumb and second finger, as well as stretching the pinkie a little further out.

I've seen pianists that thought they could only reach a ninth, but have the potential to reach most tenths, and even in some cases elevenths (though it may not be as functional).

For larger reaches, like Db to F (LH), try lifting the E a little bit with the fleshy part of the thumb and then pressing the F with the tip of the thumb so that the E doesn't sound when reaching that tenth.

I can reach all the major tenths and all the elevenths like F# - B, F - Bb, etc., but I have to clip some notes with the tip of the thumb and sometimes clip just the edge of the key with the pinkie.

Best of luck! You can reach further than you think in most cases, but don't injure yourself by doing too many "stretching" exercises. Too many pianists have hurt their hands and worn out joints by doing too much stretching.

[preludetr]

I have small palms, but my fingers are long and flexible so I am able to play a comfortable 10th. I can stretch an 11th if I make my 1st and 5th fingers stretch all the way out, but I can't realistically play it because my hand is stretched too much.

[tinyking12345]

I can reach an eleventh, quite far considering im only 5ft 5

[maplecleff1215]

/

[briansaddleback]

I can barely reach a sixth without flubbing.

[pjjslp]

I can barely reach a sixth without flubbing.

That's going to make Rondo Alla Turca a challenge. 

(I know the feeling, though. That was me all day today.)

[Bob]

Hm.... About six feet I think.   I haven't measured exactly.  Six feet wide.  Up to the ceiling for a regular US ceiling I guess.  Fingers only.  Three fingers.

[keitokyun]

I can comfortably reach a 9th.

...but I have a friend who can reach a 14th but doesn't even play 

[visitor]

i can reach the top shelf if i stand on me tippie toes

[pianoboyonfire]

 I’m only 5’3 and yet I can reach an 11th barely. But if I use my thumb and 4th finger I can reach an 11th comfortably and almost a 12th. As long as your fingers are really flexible, (probably because I’m still a kid) using your fourth finger can add almost an extra key length in reach!