Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Hey guys, how big are your hands?

A tenth, comfortably. An 11th on the edge of the keys. My hands are so little.

Little??? I wouldln't say that was little.

I can reach a ninth comfortably - a tenth at a push.

x

Can reach an octave - that's 8 keys.

Where can I buy artificial "Finger Extenders"?



Jeanne W

artificial fingernails might work

Tenth with the left. Ninth with the right. Left has become more stretched, because it is more often required. I have small hands, and neither of these intervals is really comfortable with me. Hasn't stopped me from playing the piano these last 46 years.

Have you talked to Fred and George Weasley? I hear they did wonderful things for the ears, and may be able to help.... :p

Oh please! :rolleyes: If I could only reach a tenth comfortably, I would be satisfied - why must men always be bigger and stronger than this frail little lady?

My oldest boy, nine, can strecth an octave; I was quite surprised when I saw it considering he's a very small kid. Getting him to practice, well that's another story.

i can get a tenth with a little stretching, but im fairly comfortable with a tenth anyway...i can stretch and get and 11th...

IF you want to to pefect your chords over extended positions there is a definately optimal course of action. Find the score for chopin's 10\11 etude and practice it slowly( then speed it up). As you learn this study you will quickly realize that small hands have thier advantages. In fact, the extended position rolled arpeggios in this study are truly amazing under the fingers of small hands. Ya see, the smaller your hands are, the more you have to learn to rock your hands effectively, and this truly brings out the swaying nature of this piece. My mom has little elf hands, and you should see/hear her play this piece. The way her hands act like waves is a really an unbelievable sight to see. This piece is often brutalized by large hands(kinda like I brutalized it with my large hands awhile back). Since the reach is easier, not enough attention is given to the even roll of the hand. Since the only way people with small hands can touch this piece is to perfect the eveness of the rolling action required in this piece, they play it much better IMO. Definately though, do not worry about small hands. Just practice alot the things you have trouble with i.e. rolled chords. A good rolled chord is almost undectectable if it's executed properly.

I can reach a 10th comfortably in both hands, and octaves equally comfy between my 1st and 2nd fingers, which is great for legato octave passages since I can literally walk down the octaves between the upper part of my hand. My teachers are amazed at my handspan.

I agree with you bach enthusiast. The people with the smaller hands tend to play these pieces much nicer, Perhaps we're so smug with our large hands that we pounce on the cords rather than approaching them in a more planned and delicate manner.

John

well, i kinda got discouraged at first, b/c my hands were rather small and i couldn't really reach an octave, plus my fingers weren't really strong. this was this past Feburary, and i have to say that i've improved since then. i didn't strengthen and stretched my hands through excercises; i think that's foolishness and a waste of time. that just came with time and practicing.

since i'm self-taught, [not classically-trained, mind you; i'm content with playing popularized arrangements, some with classical influences] i'm on the computer a lot, so i strengthen my fingers through typing for hours. i just stretched them thorugh the little time that i DO have to practice [more or less than 2 hours, 3 to 6-7 days a week], since i don't have a piano at home, i have to make a long trek across town to have access to one.