Piano Forum



Remembering the great Maurizio Pollini
Legendary pianist Maurizio Pollini defined modern piano playing through a combination of virtuosity of the highest degree, a complete sense of musical purpose and commitment that works in complete control of the virtuosity. His passing was announced by Milan’s La Scala opera house on March 23. Read more >>

Topic: length of your fifth finger  (Read 7132 times)

Offline Tash

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2248
length of your fifth finger
on: July 09, 2004, 02:58:18 PM
ok i was looking at my hands today out of boredom and i noticed that all my fingers are quite long, with my three middle fingers (2, 3 and 4) being generally the same height and start around the same line out of my palm. but then my 5th finger is approx. 3cm shorter than my 4th finger and starts about 1.25cm below the 4th.

so i was wondering, look at your hand and see if this is a general thing or is my pinky finger weird and way too short for my other fingers? i am also well known for having this funny little pinky sticking out when it's playing the melody of a piece and has to reach far away from my other fingers and was wondering if this has anything to do with it.

are my fingers weird or normal??!! hmm probably normal but i think it's stupid having such unevenly lengthed fingers...
'J'aime presque autant les images que la musique' Debussy

Offline willcowskitz

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 539
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #1 on: July 09, 2004, 04:13:36 PM
I measured using a ruler starting from middle of the knuckle to the tip of the finger -
(cm)
1: 7,0 (from the 2nd joint from the tip)
2: 9,5
3: 11,0
4: 10,0
5: 8,5

And yeah, knuckles of 4 and 5 are a bit "lower" than 2 and 3, but doesn't this only affect how close to blacks you should play, or how much you have to move towards them if needed?

Offline Motrax

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 721
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #2 on: July 10, 2004, 12:03:27 AM
RH and LH (both hands are the same pretty much):

1:   6.2
2:   9.0
3:   9.8
4:   9.4
5:   7.5

RH. Tip-to-tip handspan: 21.5
LH. Tip-to-tip handspan: 21.9
"I always make sure that the lid over the keyboard is open before I start to play." --  Artur Schnabel, after being asked for the secret of piano playing.

Shagdac

  • Guest
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #3 on: July 10, 2004, 02:54:00 AM
The length of the 5th finger is only alittle over 2". I measured my handspan though, and it is approx. 9" thumb to pinky....1-5. Both hands. That's handspan, not comfortable playing distance.

S :)

Offline Saturn

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 271
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #4 on: July 10, 2004, 03:54:28 AM
Quote
The length of the 5th finger is only alittle over 2". I measured my handspan though, and it is approx. 9" thumb to pinky....1-5. Both hands. That's handspan, not comfortable playing distance.

S :)


Wow, that's a pretty short pinky

My hand span is less than 9" (something like 8.75"), but my 5th finger is 3" long.

I wonder if there's a correlation between gender and pinky length?

- Saturn

f0bul0us

  • Guest
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #5 on: July 10, 2004, 04:25:38 AM
1: 9 CM
2: 12 CM
3: 14 CM
4: 12.5 CM
5: 10.5 CM

Handspan: 28 CM.

Offline Tash

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2248
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #6 on: July 10, 2004, 05:10:56 AM
this is the funniest thread! ok i measured my fingers and they're pretty much the same as everyone else's so i think there's nothing wrong with my fingers.

wow super fun happy man you have a massive hand span! but then again i'm guessing that you're a guy and many others of you are too, and thus it would be assumed that you have bigger hands.

is it possible to be able to increase your handspan, like by stretching it everyday or something? or am i stuck with my 21cm (actually it's like .8cm more for the left hand now that's interesting) forever?
'J'aime presque autant les images que la musique' Debussy

f0bul0us

  • Guest
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #7 on: July 10, 2004, 05:16:27 AM
Quote

is it possible to be able to increase your handspan, like by stretching it everyday or something? or am i stuck with my 21cm (actually it's like .8cm more for the left hand now that's interesting) forever?

I think you can still get that Schumann device somewhere in the black market.

f0bul0us

  • Guest
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #8 on: July 10, 2004, 05:17:22 AM
Ah, I forgot to add that side effects may include insanity and suicide.

Good luck! ;D

Offline Motrax

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 721
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #9 on: July 10, 2004, 04:47:18 PM
What is this device, now? I'm gonna be 19 in two months, I don't think my hands will grow much more. Insanity be damned!  ;)
"I always make sure that the lid over the keyboard is open before I start to play." --  Artur Schnabel, after being asked for the secret of piano playing.

Offline donjuan

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3139
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #10 on: July 11, 2004, 08:55:20 PM
Quote
What is this device, now? I'm gonna be 19 in two months, I don't think my hands will grow much more. Insanity be damned!  ;)

Schumann cut the webbing between his fingers to increase his stretch.  Scars developed instead, and his stretch was decreased instead.
donjuan

Offline joeltr888

  • PS Silver Member
  • Newbie
  • ***
  • Posts: 19
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #11 on: July 12, 2004, 03:04:20 AM
Quote
I measured using a ruler starting from middle of the knuckle to the tip of the finger -
(cm)
1: 7,0 (from the 2nd joint from the tip)
2: 9,5
3: 11,0
4: 10,0
5: 8,5


>:( You seem to have stolen my hands. I have those exact measurements except my RH 4 is 10.5... the left is 10... I must be some sort of freak.

Offline Tash

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2248
Re: length of your fifth finger
Reply #12 on: July 12, 2004, 10:48:53 AM
Quote

Schumann cut the webbing between his fingers to increase his stretch.  Scars developed instead, and his stretch was decreased instead.
donjuan

omg that's disgusting. i suppose if you wanted to do that effectively then you'd only cut one side of the webbing off and then just have a little flap of skin so it has stretching space... ok when i have inhaled way too much lead and cadmium oil paint and have gone insane i'll try it and tell you how it goes
'J'aime presque autant les images que la musique' Debussy
For more information about this topic, click search below!
 

Logo light pianostreet.com - the website for classical pianists, piano teachers, students and piano music enthusiasts.

Subscribe for unlimited access

Sign up

Follow us

Piano Street Digicert