Octave chords with small hands

[rrozsa]

When I was in high school, and Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" became popular, I could hardly wait to buy the sheet music and start playing it.  To my dismay, because my hands are small, playing octaves is difficult.  But to make matters worse, the span between my 2nd and 5th fingers is so narrow that attempting to angle my index finger back enough to reach that third above the thumb requires contortion of my index finger at a such an awkward angle that I end up hitting neighboring notes.  I have read other posts about exercises to stretch the overall hand span (thumb to pinky), but my problem appears to involve expanding the stretch between the index and third finger so I can more comfortably reach an octave with the index finger playing a third interval above the thumb.  Currently I have to settle for changing the octaves with internal thirds to sixths, dropping the bottom octave note completely.  I run into this problem often, when playing accompaniments for our church choir.  Has anyone managed to improve their ability to play chords involving outer octaves with the third and fifth chord tones between (e.g., C E G C)?  It is especially a problem when performing a these chords when they are played in a sequence, running up or down a scale.

[lelle]

This is, sadly, an unfair challenge that people with smaller hands have to live with (I know a few pianists who likewise struggle with sixths played with the 2nd and 5th finger).

Unless you can get your hands on a piano made with a narrower key-width (they do exist) you have to do what you are already doing; playing replacing the octave+third you mention with either just an octave or a sixth. I would make the choice depending on what seems more important to get as close to the intended texture as you can.

I know it sucks but it's important to not force your poor hands in uncomfortable contortions just for the sake of the music, because you are risking injury otherwise.

[kosulin]

I do not face this issue personally, but there is a book Adaptive Strategies for Small-Handed Pianists, which I am thinking of buying for my wife. You might benefit from reading it as well.