small hands

[Eureka]

It recently occured to me that since I've got relatively small hands, pieces like Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no.2 with its chords and jumps would be literally painfully difficult for me to play. My hands arnt going to grow any more, since im past puberty. Will life be much more difficult for pianists with small hands? I dont want to be restricted to Bach!
I can stretch my right hand an octave comfortably, and my left hand one octv + 1. how large intervals can you people do?

[tosca1]

Large hands like the hands of Sergei Rachmaninoff are certainly an advantage in playing those great extended chords, but one of the legendary pianists of our generation, Alicia de Larrocha, has tiny hands that can barely span an octave. Her repertoire is extensive and she can play literally anything with technical brilliance and dazzling style.  
You will find that the extension of your hand will increase with playing and what is important is the stretch and flexibility  between the thumb and the first finger in each hand.
There was a  famous French jazz pianist who died a few years ago( whose name eludes me)  who was a dwarf  and Steinway and  Sons had to make a special lyre for him to reach the pedals of the piano.  His hands were very small and yet his playing was loved by so many.
Enjoy your playing...

[dinosaurtales]

I have small hands, too.  My left reaches an octave decently (thank goodness!) but my right barely does - so right-hand octave work is tough if there are a lot of them.  in fact, one of the pieces I am working on has several measures of sixteenth-note octave arpeggios, and I have to *manage* my practice time to avoid injury doing that!  Not to worry, though.  My piano teacher is absolutely tiny!  and her hands are, too - I'm not even sure she can reach an octave with either hand easily.  She has had an illustrious career as a performer.  My guess is she just avoids certain pieces that involve huge chords and tons of octave work.  There's LOTS of stuff out there - trust me, 'cause that's what I'll be playing!

[rachfan]

I can comfortably stretch to an interval of a 10th.  Sometimes Rachmaninoff's demands will even challenge that capability.  

Realistically, small hands will limit your repertoire choices somewhat, but not to Bach.  You should have little difficulty with Baroque and Viennese Classic period pieces.  The transition to Beethoven and Schubert will put some additional demands on you in some, but not all cases.  The Romantic pieces are mixed--you'll be able to tackle much of Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schumann, Chopin, and, yes, even some Liszt.  For Liszt you might end up playing pieces that are playable for you, but not necessarily your favorites.  That's ok, because there's still great learning there, and some lesser played works are overlooked gems.   The  Neo-Romantics like Rachmaninoff and Scriabin employ some really difficult chords at times for small hands.  

So what can one do?   At times you can judiciously get creative.  That may mean "simplifying" a difficult chord,  breaking it into a roll,  or redistributing some music between the hands when they are in close enough proximity on the keyboard to assist one another in an emergency like a large stretch.  If you work with a teacher, discuss the options in these difficult situations so that you can preserve the composer's intent as best possible while making those slight compromises in order to perform his work.   Good luck!

[dinosaurtales]

yeah.  I don't mind arpeggiating the ocassional 9th or 10th when it shows up, 'cause I have to, and usually it doesn't affect the piece's effiectiveness.  But some Rach, or other pieces with LOTS of big chords, it would just plain ruin the effect, so I won't do them.  Why?

[tosca1]

Talking of small hands and arpeggiated chords, try the Chopin opus 10 no. 11 study.  This study works on developing the extension in both hands.  It is not so long and less difficult than many of its companion études and what better way to extend those digits while immersing yourself in perfectly lovely music! It really works wonders this piece.

[Zigma]

I know exactly what you mean, I've been struggling with this problem... well, my whole life, haha. I assumed when I was younger that my hands would grow, and I would eventually be able to play the 9ths and 10ths. Lo and behold, I have difficulty at times reaching an octave. A 9th is impossible on either hand. I've tried playing Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 and it literally hurts, as do some Rachmaninoff pieces that I've attempted.

An excercise I've been doing that helps a little bit is to make a wedge with the thumb and little finger of one hand and put it in between two fingers on the other hand. Now, push outward with your thumb and little finger. It stretches your fingers nicely, but don't do it too hard!! Also, I found that playing with warm hands allows them to be more limber than if you have cold hands (I carry hand warmers around with me now).

While it is sometimes a disadvantage, some things will be easier to do, such as quick runs (I can play those Mozart runs quicker than any of my friends). Remember there's more to music than just chords, and reaching a 9th isn't so bad! You can do it!

Good luck!

[Aaron_Sarnat]

I have a decent span.  Octave, no prob.  I can do a 9th comfortably and a 10th if I absolutely have to.  But I have another problem that I'm sure you don't.  My fingers are thick and get stuck in between the black keys so that I end up playing 3 consecutive half steps when I mean only to play the white key in the middle.  I've always wanted to be able to just keep my hands at the top of the keys so I could go faster up and down the keyboard but instead I have to constantly shift my hands forwards and backwards in order to play all the notes.

[tosca1]

Hi Aaron,
Possibly your fingers are too extended as you play and that could exacerbate the problem of your fingers sticking between the black keys.  Check your hand shape at the keyboard.  Your fingers should be rounded as if you were holding an orange and the final joint each finger should be almost vertical to the key. Make sure too that your fingers in the relaxed hand position do not fall between the black keys. Economy of movement is important in piano playing for the hands as well as for the body and superfluous  changes in hand position will not help your progress.  Watch your hands and fingers as you play and monitor carefully what is happening.
All the best...
Robert.

[Aaron_Sarnat]

Thanks Robert.  My fingers never get stuck between the balck keys anymore since I adapted my movements around the problem.  A friend of mine who took lessons for over a decade told me that my basic hand position is good but that she doesn't see any other way for me to play other than the way I do.  It's not a real hinderance, just more of an annoyance but I'm used to it.

[foxglove]

You've probably already tried this, but often it's easier to trap big stretches, especially black to white keys, using your 4 instead of 5.  Also, this is a little embarrassing, but when I played the Stravinsky Concerto with a succession of slow definitely unarpeggiable 10ths, I sneaked a rubber "secretary's thimble" onto my pinkie just in time, it worked great.  

[rachfan]

Hi Foxglove--

What an enterprising solution!  I've heard of "prepared pianos" to play certain contemporary music like John Cage's, but never a prepared pinkie!  Pretty clever.

[willcowskitz]

It is true that you can work on your stretch when you play.

Liszt could play a 10th or 11th, he had so little of that skin between his fingers that it made it possible for him to stretch and stretch.

I think Rachmaninoff did a 12th (there are lots of rumours out there and most of them are crap) and I remember some pianist from 20th century who had to get a special piano made for himself from a factory where an octave would be the length of 7 keys of a regular piano. Without any doubt this guy must have been good.

As long as you can reach an octave, just be happy for what you've got, for its enough. There are lots of pieces out there that have been not written for music itself, but to make an art out of playing, alone. Not every note is often necessary (I'm especially referring to music of the romantic era) to discover the soul of a composition.

Enjoyable playing!  

[rachfan]

The artist who had the smaller keyboard built to his specification (and small hands) was none other than the famous Josef Hofmann, Rachmaninoff's main concert hall rival at that time.

[dinosaurtales]

... and that's sort of ironic - wasn't Rachmaninoff reputed to have huge hands?  or maybe I am thinking of someone else.......

[willcowskitz]

Yes, Rachmaninoff did have huge hands.

[pskim]

Rachmaninoff is in the Guiness book of records for having the largest hand span in the music world.  With his left hand he was able to play the full 5 fingered c minor chord, C E flat G C and G.  I have a friend who can reach that span with a good strech but can't span the hand fast enough to play the chord easily.

[willcowskitz]

That is totally sick. I tried it, I could _hardly_ reach for all the keys when stretching enough, and keep them down with my left hand if I first pressed them down with another. But play it? Rachmaninoff belongs to X-files.

[e60m5]

Small hands... I'm similarly afflicted by this dilemma, although what I've found over time is that small hands are not so much as an insurmountable problem. Granted, at tims they may present difficulties to the player or performer - but nothing that cannot be ameliorated.

My right hand, since you asked for spans, can reach an octave - nothing more. My left hand can reach an octave - nothing more.

I'm in 10th Grade at school, however, and have the third-smallest hands in my entire grade. So yeah, my hands really are small - let alone for a pianists'.

However, even with these apparent handicaps, I've played pieces such as the Chopin Etude Op.10 no.1, the Liszt Orage, the Balakirev Islamey, the Chopin A flat Polonaise - as a rule of thumb (...), I've found that as long as you can reach an octave, then one should be fine as far as repertoire and physiological capability is concerned.

There are ways of helping the hand overcome its lack of physical size - as other posters previously said, there are exercises and other such actions one can take to stretch the fingers, as an athlete or sports player stretches his or her limbs. Also, pieces designed to open up the hand, such as the aforementioned Chopin Etude, can help in terms of technically dealing with the shortcomings of a smaller hand.

All in all, it's not really an impossibility to play big repertoire with small hands. It is true that those with bigger hands have an advantage, and relative to them, that puts us at a disadvantage - but it is nothing that cannot be overcome.

[foxglove]

I was reading these and was reminded of having seen Japanese editions of several works, such as the Chopin etudes, that were calibrated for petite sizes - you all might have a look.  This was years-years-years ago and I can't recall particulars, sorry.  

[willcowskitz]

I would add, that with certain composers or pieces, such as Bach's, relatively small (or certain size) hands can come in handy. For example when playing some of his fugue structures, big hands can turn out to be clumsy in a way, and its harder to detach them from the keys when just a minor leap is needed. Different sizes of hands need different types of technique, and different types of pieces are better suited for different types of technique, i.e. when it comes to interpretation.

I don't think there are disadvantages without advantages.  

[frederic]

There are many ways to stretch your fingers. I think i read in Josef Hoffmann's book "Piano Playing with questions answered" (i think that's what it's called) that he said he out his hands in hot water for 2 to 3 minutes then gently pull each finger in the water.

And i've been wondering, why is the left hand always bigger than the right? I can stretch just about a 10th with my left hand but hardly a 9th with my right.  

[willcowskitz]

Hey Fred, check out the thin skin part between your fingers, its in genes that that left hand has less skin so your stretch is a bit wider. Of course, as it is in genes, some people might have it the other way around. When your body just starts to develop when you're still floating in the womb, your hands first grow to be like flippers. At certain point, a gene in your DNA activates and it "knows" to destroy that skin in between the fingers so your flippers become hands. For some reason (somebody educate us about this if anyone knows in better detail) the right hand appears to lose less of that skin during the embryo phase. (or *cough* whatever don't ask me really)

[rachfan]

I have those days when I feel like I'm playing with flippers!  

[amee]

Small hands is also a problem for me - I can only stretch an octave comfortably in both my hands.  Reaching a 9th is too difficult!

[willcowskitz]

A friend of mine has a left-sided CP injury which practically means his foot and hand are partially disabled. He can't move his left hand's fingers so he only presses keys with his thumb. His right hand works superbly and he plays Beethoven and goes to local church to play Bach on organ frequently. He's SO musical I often feel bad about his physical handicap. I no longer feel bad when he sits at the piano and starts playing Bach or improvising. That is when he is to be envied.

You have two hands and can reach an octave with both, ENJOY!  

[BoliverAllmon]

WOW, just the other day I was discouraged about playing because I felt that I had small hands, but now I realize I may have a bigger blessing than believed. I can span an 11th in both hands and with some stretching I can get a 12th. in fact, I hate octave chords, because I usually play octave and one or octave and two, because of the hands.

Boliver Allmon

[e60m5]

lol, Bolivar, an 11th? That's plentyyyyy. I myself only can reach an 8th normally, a 9th at best... you got no worries!  

[BoliverAllmon]

My problem was that I had heard people yap about how Chopin could stretch 2 octaves among other things. I was too gullable.

Boliver Allmon III

[Black_Key]

I believe that Chopin was able to reach a 10th, few of his pices go beyond that.

[10Fingers]

"I believe that Chopin was able to reach a 10th, few of his pices go beyond that. "

I doubt they're meant to be played as chords!

[Bosendorfer_214]

Hey-

I feel for you, I have friends who can bearly reach octaves.  I can reach an 11th in the right and stretch an 11th in the left, and play scales in 10ths.  I find that having big hands is not always a blessing, sometimes they are too big.  I can't always fit them between the keys.

Nic

[chopinetta]

all my teachers have small hands and i do as well. one the teachers have problems with this too. she cannot play pieces she likes because of her small hands... but my PHD teacher seems to have no problem with this as i do at all.

i think people with small hands have their own way of doing a piece. Chopin actually had small hands and even had an underdeveloped fourth finger. but it matters with how you stretch them, he can stretch them like the jaws of a snake. I found the valse 14 very hard at first with all the big arpeggio figures but with constant practice on that piece you can stretch it afterwards like i did.

i think you have to study piece per piece with small hands and try many techniques in stretching or change some of the fingering to get as comfortable for the hands.

i also suggest applying the pedal with some parts you can never connect with teeny-weeny hands, it works...

[hsul78]

:)Hello!
Do you know that Joseph Hofmann had small hands?  You know Rachmaninoff dedicated the Pianoconcerto no.3 to...yes, that's right mr.Joseph Hofmann. Best wishes, Pianist

[tempest-Sonata]

hey hey hey

im lucky that i can reach the tenth.       hahahehehe
but i cant believe that rach can play C  E  G  C  G together.. AMAZING.

well as far as i know my hands now seemed to be abnormal. last time i can reach 9th hardly but becuase of piano streching my thumb became elongated that it bacome as tall as my 4th finger since then i can play flight of the bumble bee with ease. (bumble bee requires chords with 10th style octave.. its usual note is A   E   C chord in the left had) its really hard if u have small hand like those who have problems. But its not the matter of hand. the teacher of my sister has small hand but she is on of the best player//teacher here in CEBU. so i advice to strech ur thumb just like me. to do it you need to play 9th first then when it became easy play 10th with difficulty. it will hurt sometimes but keep on streching untill u will reach 10th.

[janus_007]

Maybe someone should check this out: https://www.epinions.com/inst-review-70BF-25CCD990-398BB544-prod5  

[chopinetta]

yeah! hello big bro tempest-Sonata! you're right, my teacher can hardly reach 9ths! ha! i can! with slight difficulty. but somehow she found ways of doing 10ths and more!

[Yoad]

You can work on starching your hand. If you do exercises for it your hand you will be able to stretch much more. Also, you could roll the chords.

I used to be able to do a 9th, and after a month or so of stretching my hand and doing those exercises I could reach a 10th comfortably.

[dj]

i have hands that can reach a 10th with relative ease; however i find myself rolling some of the stretchier chords, it doesn't sound bad that way at all and it's much less painfull on the hands. don't worry though, your hands will probably b ably 2 stretch farther as u play more and stretch more. i know this incredible genius pianist who can play like u wouldn't believe. he's got tiny hands but they stretch so insanely wide it's almost abnormal.

[Jo]

If you have small hands, rearrange notes or roll chords. I recently spoke with one of Australia's highest level examiners and he sat down and showed all the places in a piece of music where he'd take the left hand notes in the right hand to make playing easier.

Roll chords, send a note up or down an octave if it's not too disruptive. Remove the least important note when you can't reach. You are allowed to do this.

In the grand scheme of things, if you play flawlessly and you miss 2 or 3 notes because you can't reach them, any examiner who marks you down for it needs a good kick in the pants.

[Franz_Liszt]

I am twelve years old and can reach a 10th. However, I donot think that my hands would grow anymore. When I started the most I could reach comfortably was a seventh, which was about 8 months ago. I still find playing pieces which require agile, smaller hands, such as those of Bach and Mozart quite easy with my hand size. However, since more than one factor goes into playing a piece, I donot believe that extremely large hands such as those of Liszt and Rach are a hinderance to playing Bach and Mozart. They could actually help when it comes to playing some of the leaps found in Bach, afterall, his music was composed for the harpsichord, an instrument with relatively small keys.

[BoliverAllmon]

yeah, I heard that Bach hated the sound of the piano. I have been reading that the WTC needs certain interpretation on whether to play harpsichord, clavichord, or organ. The book is quite interesting.

Boliver Allmon

[bachopoven]

Everyone talks about the disadvantage of small hands. Well, for the first time, I heard about the disadvantage of large hands last week. My instructor said you have to crunch big hands too when playing close-together notes. She even seems to favor small to medium-size hands.

I thought I had small hands although I can comfortably reach an octave+1 (a ninth?) She has the same size hands as me, and she told me she never struggled reaching any interval or making jumps in almost all classical pieces.

Just wanted to share this and help you not get discouraged.

[shoenberg3]

remember that schumann gave up being a pianist because he screwed up his hand.
He was trying to enlarge his hand by means of some contraption and it disabled the hand.
That was why he focused on writing music.

I barely reach a tenth and it's usually okay, but some music(rachmaninoff, liszt, beethoven and even bach!) requires tenth or more hence my frustration.

Don't try too hard to extend your hand. Remember schumann.

[ahmedito]

Yes. Big fat hands are are a pain in the butt in my opinion. I have big fat hands and stubby fingers (Kind of like Arrau's hands).
I stretch a tenth maybe an eleventh.
I get a huge rich sound, but whenever Im playing fast delicato passages, I have to scrunch up my hand really horribly and I can never get them right....

[mattias]

It recently occured to me that since I've got relatively small hands, pieces like Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no.2 with its chords and jumps would be literally painfully difficult for me to play. My hands arnt going to grow any more, since im past puberty. Will life be much more difficult for pianists with small hands? I dont want to be restricted to Bach!
I can stretch my right hand an octave comfortably, and my left hand one octv + 1. how large intervals can you people do?

hehe... I can take one octave + 3
No, but honestly, I have pretty big hands and i guess that it's an advantage to have that in most pieces. But right now i'm playing Schubert impromptu in E-flat major, and it's a hell trying to make that work, because my piano teacher says that this piece is based on making your hand as small as possible. And it's really hard to play all these fast scales in this piece with a big hand, so i guess it goes both ways, this small hand - big hand thing.

[TwinkleFingers]

My hands arnt going to grow any more, since im past puberty.

correct me if im wrong but you still are growing after you hit puberty. how old are you?? Im 22 and people still think I grew a little since the last time they saw me. Im almost 6'4" and have average sized hands.

[cziffra]

If I miss a day of practice, I notice it
If I miss two days, my wife notices it
If I miss five days the public notices it
-Franz Liszt

as far as i have read, it was Paderewski who said this:
if i miss a day of practice, i notice
if i miss two days, my critics notice
if i miss three days, the public notices

 it makes a lot more sense in that case because paderewsi was awful- liszt probably could have not played for years and no one would have noticed.

[NetherMagic]

yeah, I heard that Bach hated the sound of the piano. I have been reading that the WTC needs certain interpretation on whether to play harpsichord, clavichord, or organ. The book is quite interesting.

Boliver Allmon

I think the piano wasn't really developed during the Baroque like the Romantic era, maybe that's why Bach didn't really like the sound.  Personally, I find the sound of the clavichord disgusting, so is harpsichord.  Organ's all right.

[guven]

Don't worry, Idil Biret has small hands too, she can barely play an octave. Look at her repertory:

https://www.idilbiret.org/ENG/IBe09frame.htm