Does having small hands automatically make you a bad pianist?

[mateya323]

If not, they clearly are a huge disadvantage. I was born with small, thin and delicate hands that are a curse when it comes to playing the piano. The best I can manage is 10th and rarely 11th with lots of pain and hand stretching. (When my father who doesn't even play the piano can do 13th) Recently I found out about Art Tatum and found the piece called Tea for Two which I really like. (

). I have no problems with the right hand but chords in the left are impossible to play, at least for me. (I tried to 'transcribe' a little but just does not sound the way I want, even if I change just a note the difference is very obvious to me and maybe most people that have prevously heard the piece) I also noticed problems with other pieces when it comes to chords with more than an octave range. Later I checked youtube and I think my hands are noticeably smaller than those of most pianists I saw. It seems like everybody has bigger hand span than me. I feel like a faliure now. Piano was an instrument I wished to play since I was probably less than 2 and now I'm finding out how limited my hands are  compared to others. Very dissapointed and feeling like I'm giving up. Is there anybody with the same problems? I would be happy for any advice you can give me.

Background: From  my father I inherited very good pitch recognition skills (when fully concentrated I can tell up to 10 notes witout looking at person playing the chord) I'm now finishing Chopin's etude op. 10 no. 4 and before that Mozart's Turkish March. I'm partially self taught and have started taking lessons 2,5 years ago. Till now I managed to play over 50 pieces (not just classical also jazz rock and pop…) and can very much play anything by ear. Due to good teachers I have no wrist pain or other technique problems. But in spite of this I'm now feeling very frustrated.

P.S Sorry for possible mistakes, English is not my first language.

[Bob]

Yep.  You're doomed.






Haha.  There are plenty of pianists with 'smaller' hands.  Whatever small ends up being.  Just work with what you've got. 

Someone will post _____, well-known pianist, has small hands, can only reach a ____ (intervals), and leaves out notes or rolls chords, and no one complains.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

If you can reach a 10th you're fine.

[awesom_o]

If you can 'pretty much play anything by ear' then you are a genius and you don't need to ask such an asinine question  

Please upload a video so that we can hear your amazing ears and tiny hands in action!  

[4greatkeyboards]

No. Small hands are your strong points, just learn to use them.

In the book "Reflections From The Keyboard" author, Dubal I think, interviewed several modern performers. Garrick Ohlssonn was one. He is a giant with a monstrous reach. He was asked what was the perfect hand for playing. He replied that a compact hand was best. He said that due to his large hands his main difficulty was pressing down white notes in between black keys, without also triggering the black keys.

Smaller hands can be more accurate. We all excel at some points and are weak at others. Find and use your strengths.

[bronnestam]

I can reach 9th if I stretch really, really hard, but I prefer not to.

[nystul]

Spanning a tenth on a modern piano and almost an eleventh is not the work of a small hand.  Don't be ridiculous.  Your dad and Art Tatum have very large hands.

[louispodesta]

If not, they clearly are a huge disadvantage. I was born with small, thin and delicate hands that are a curse when it comes to playing the piano. The best I can manage is 10th and rarely 11th with lots of pain and hand stretching. (When my father who doesn't even play the piano can do 13th) Recently I found out about Art Tatum and found the piece called Tea for Two which I really like. (

). I have no problems with the right hand but chords in the left are impossible to play, at least for me. (I tried to 'transcribe' a little but just does not sound the way I want, even if I change just a note the difference is very obvious to me and maybe most people that have prevously heard the piece) I also noticed problems with other pieces when it comes to chords with more than an octave range. Later I checked youtube and I think my hands are noticeably smaller than those of most pianists I saw. It seems like everybody has bigger hand span than me. I feel like a faliure now. Piano was an instrument I wished to play since I was probably less than 2 and now I'm finding out how limited my hands are  compared to others. Very dissapointed and feeling like I'm giving up. Is there anybody with the same problems? I would be happy for any advice you can give me.

Background: From  my father I inherited very good pitch recognition skills (when fully concentrated I can tell up to 10 notes witout looking at person playing the chord) I'm now finishing Chopin's etude op. 10 no. 4 and before that Mozart's Turkish March. I'm partially self taught and have started taking lessons 2,5 years ago. Till now I managed to play over 50 pieces (not just classical also jazz rock and pop…) and can very much play anything by ear. Due to good teachers I have no wrist pain or other technique problems. But in spite of this I'm now feeling very frustrated.

P.S Sorry for possible mistakes, English is not my first language.

1) As has been accurately stated, you do not have small hands.  They are larger than mine, including spindly fingers.

2)  One of the side effects for those who followed my original Piano Street post was that those with small hands can play any repertoire they want.

I enclose that link for your perusal, and remember, most of Chopin's students were aristocratic females, who were no taller than five feet.   And, they all had small hands to boot.

Clara Schumann did not have a large hand, and she seems to have done okay, along with Anton Rubinstein, and his star pupil Josef Hoffman.

[dima_76557]

Clara Schumann did not have a large hand, and she seems to have done okay, along with Anton Rubinstein, and his star pupil Josef Hoffman.

Louis, I generally like what you have to add very much, but please check your sources concerning Anton Rubinstein. He had HUGE hands. There are many descriptions of how huge, but if in doubt, please try his "staccato etude" op. 23 no 2 and especially op. 104 no 3, a fierce 10-page etude, only for pianists who have the type of hands Rubinstein had; really huge stretches with the melodic line in the pinky of the right hand.

[louispodesta]

Show and tell:  Scroll down and look for yourself.

https://handfacts.wordpress.com/tag/chopin/

[dima_76557]

Show and tell:  Scroll down and look for yourself.

https://handfacts.wordpress.com/tag/chopin/

Those hand casts are to show how long certain pianists' fourth finger was in comparison with their other fingers (so-called digit ratio). The hands of different pianists are not compared in size against each other.

[ted]

It seems to me that the the original poster has little to complain about at all in the way of natural attributes. The only puzzle is why he believes he has.

[louispodesta]

It seems to me that the the original poster has little to complain about at all in the way of natural attributes. The only puzzle is why he believes he has.

As a pianist/philosopher, I will proffer an analysis.  It is why I am trying to get pianists to learn about the original 19th century performance practice.

Then, the emphasis was on musicality, and no one got bent out of shape if you missed a few notes, here or there.

Now, as started by Mr. Cliburn, everything has to be larger than life, as promoted by the constant emphasis on piano competitions.  And, that includes the size of one's hands.

As stated by Earl Wild in his memoir, who would know, a very large hand is actually an obstacle to playing, and not an asset.

The young pianist who originally posted this thread thinks that he has small hands.  Why?  Because, he has been brainwashed just like a whole lot other people.

That is why I will never relent until the average person who studies this beautiful instrument knows the true original nature of how it was "supposed to be played."

[nyiregyhazi]

Those hand casts are to show how long certain pianists' fourth finger was in comparison with their other fingers (so-called digit ratio). The hands of different pianists are not compared in size against each other.

Indeed. I'm surprised he's still making this ridiculous claim about Rubinstein, after we already went through this in another thread. If looking at something in isolation from anything else to contextualise it could reliably demonstrate an absolute size, Hollywood animators such would have had a hell of a hard time in making their special effects. A single photo tells you almost nothing unless it includes a ruler. Volodos' hands might also look small, due to the fat fingers. He has a very easy tenth, though, as can be seen on the Rachmaninoff 2nd film. Probably a very similar hand to Rubinstein's.

[amelialw]

The best I can manage is 10th

My biggest span is an 8th.....

[twilexia]

OP you can actually reach a longer interval than me.  I make piano videos for youtube and have over 3 million hits.  yeah people with smaller hands are at a disadvantage, just like short players in the NBA.  who cares?  Deal with it.  that's life.

Make the most of it.  People with larger hands will have an easier time than you, but the struggle you put into learning the piece has its own reward, and its own kind of beauty

[indianajo]

Not being in the running to win first place at the competition in Moscow is not failure.  My hands are the same size as the initiators.  I can't even play a grand more than 40 minutes without tendonitis.  But there are plenty of pieces for people our size. Music is an art, not a competition.  If you get paid, wonderful, but being the "world's best" seems to obsess so many children these days.  I play a few things with spans too big for me, like the piano version of Pictures at an Exhibition.  Some of the twelths I cheat and put a fifth in instead.  Some twelths, where Moussorgski probably used the middle pedal on the grand, I use the heel of my left foot.  Try that! big people.
I got paid for designing things and later, fixing broken stuff.  Piano is for pleasure, not subject to judgement of others.  If I happen to figure out how to post on U-tube without buying a lot of imported ****, fine, others are welcome to listen. 

[outin]

  My hands are the same size as the initiators.  I can't even play a grand more than 40 minutes without tendonitis. 

Even though you can reach a 10th? I would assume that there are many pianists with hands smaller than yours.

I personally am more worried about my blood pressure that rises too much for getting annoyed when I can't play the way I would like to 

[j_menz]

I personally am more worried about my blood pressure that rises too much for getting annoyed when I can't play the way I would like to 

You just need a release valve:

[rmbarbosa]

No. Sometimes great hands are more disturbing namely with thick fingers.

[alanteew]

Alicia de Laroccha had very small hands and is considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.

[nyiregyhazi]

Some of the twelths I cheat and put a fifth in instead.

eh? Why? If you're supposing that Mussorgsky was specifically asking for a blocked 12th, he probably wasn't. He almost certainly expected the same subtle bass followed by blocked chord that Rachmaninoff does at the start of his 2nd concerto. I'm not purist and have no issue with recomposition for the sake of musical reasons. But I find it plain bizarre to swap an interesting textural interval for a very ordinary one- simply because you can't reach an interval that you're almost certainly not intended to be reaching.

[alpacinator1]

Huh? I can only reach a 10th and I've always considered myself to have relatively large hands. I would consider small hands to be someone who has trouble reaching an octave. Not sure what your issue is; you should be able to play any standard repertoire with your hand size.

[kakeithewolf]

There is no such thing as small hands, only gigantic pianos.