Are My Hands Too Small to Play the Piano?

Рет қаралды 159,581

11 жыл бұрын

livingpianos.com/how-to-play-p...
/ livingpianos
Believe it or not, this is a question that is dear to my heart. I don't know if any of you have noticed but I actually have very small hands.
This was a problem for me as I was growing up and working on more advanced repertoire; I was learning music that required reaching an octave; yet my hands could barely reach -- I was only able to achieve this by playing around the keys as opposed to directly above them.
If you are learning to play the piano and your hands are too small to reach an octave, you will be at a severe disadvantage. It's not impossible however. I work with Jake Clayton, a 10 year old pianist who has trouble reaching an octave but you would never tell by the way he plays Mozart Concertos or Chopin; he manages just fine.
At this point, Jake's hands will eventually get bigger; mine on the other hand are pretty much stuck where they are. Now I have no trouble reaching an octave but when I get into playing music with 10ths and 11ths it requires a bigger reach then I can manage. You probably wonder, do I have to leave out notes? Actually no.
It's not overly difficult and anyone can learn how to achieve this. The secret is learning how to break chords very quickly using the pedal; The difference is almost imperceptible.
While there may be disadvantages to small hands, there is also a tremendous benefit to having small hands for playing the piano. Believe it or not, some people have such large fingers that they can't get their fingers easily between the black keys; so they will have to play on the outside of the keyboard as opposed to the inside near the fallboard -- presenting a big challenge.
The most important part of playing the piano is achieving the sound you imagine. With practice, you can play the piano with small hands.

Пікірлер: 585

@gojida2207 5 жыл бұрын

The more you play the more flexible your fingers become. I used to struggle to reach a ninth and now I can do it comfortably.

@Dominique632 4 жыл бұрын

Or your hands grew😂

@Carpatouille 4 жыл бұрын

@@Dominique632 Nah he's right. When I started my reach was very, very small and my hand just seemed to "adapt" to what I was doing with the piano. Exercising really do seem to make you be able to reach much more keys, even for notes that are too far and where you need to "jump" with your hand. With practice you can potentially do anything, I can assure you it has nothing to do with hands growing.

@zephaniahqamer 3 жыл бұрын

Im still young if I play alot my hands will be longer when I grow up

@swapnamitra529 3 жыл бұрын

@user-kh9ki3kq8m 8 жыл бұрын

Having hands that can barely reach one octave across SUCKS

@aymboi 8 жыл бұрын

+Jackson Catlett so true .-.

@RundeKatze 8 жыл бұрын

I can play a tenth (or in european words "dezime") so from C to E next octave with my hands. But you have another problem. If you play something like f# minor chord, I can't put the finger between the black keys to push the A. So I hit f# A and C# for an f#minor but my finger pulls the g# and the a# (or eurpean b) down. I have to bend my Finger to hit the A on the normal place away from the black keys. This is extremely uncomfortable. There some Pianos where the black keys are not that wide. But most pianos I 've been played on have to wide black keys.

@imnotsocreative5985 7 жыл бұрын

So true

@ezequielsanchez9902 7 жыл бұрын

that was me when i was 10 now thats not me

@alvarogaya1974 5 жыл бұрын

@@ezequielsanchez9902 who are you now?

@pikkuadi 8 жыл бұрын

It's the curse of being short, with it comes small fingers. Can barely reach an octave. The pain is real.

@traumabear179 8 жыл бұрын

+treebeard What do you mean by short? I'm 1'84cm and hardly reach from C to D

@pikkuadi 8 жыл бұрын

Niño Valium And what do you mean by that? Edit: finger lenght and height usually goes hand in hand

@allen8478 8 жыл бұрын

+treebeard , hes righ, me too, to reach an octave, i have to go around, and it hurts, thats why i looked at this video,( my microscopic hands)

@pikkuadi 8 жыл бұрын

+Ag Za. That's unfortunate. But mine is 170-180mm so I would gladly take those 2cm more.

@addisoncagan8363 8 жыл бұрын

I can reach a 9th but that was with a lot of stretching practice I can play it easy now never a 10th tho

@biffii5568 4 жыл бұрын

I can stretch to a nineth, and that's it.. Had teachers that wouldn't teach me because I was"lacking potential". Now that's a sure-fire way in producing a bottomless source for motivation!

@loveispatient0808 4 жыл бұрын

I will teach you!😀

@russellfroggatt 4 жыл бұрын

"I have VERY small hands..... I can barely reach a 10th around the keys....." GRRRR

@cocoa261 4 жыл бұрын

lolol I cannot do G to G, I can barely touch G to F....

@sebivornicu3821 3 жыл бұрын

Me too

@TitaniumTronic 3 жыл бұрын

I have an 8 inch tall and 3 inch wide hands I always try to learn pieces and halfway through there are fricking chords that I literally cant reach and it makes me so frustrated and now I can only play easy pieces when I know how to play at least decent ones if these fricking hamds didnt have to be dwarfs

@egeozkan5356 3 жыл бұрын

Me too but I an 12 years old

@teddytaffy4574 3 жыл бұрын

@Ultra Legendary Master I can reach a tenth but in staged conditions, I can only reach 9ths, (but I haven’t had my growth spurt yet so hope it will come soon) I’m 14

@victoriagrace5134 7 жыл бұрын

I've noticed that it also depends how you use your hands when determining your reach. My hands can reach one octave above the keys, and an octave plus one if I'm beside them. So my hands aren't huge. However, I have a friend I'm teaching piano, he has massive hands. He could only reach about one more key than me, despite his hands being significantly larger. He doesn't play at all, I've played for nearly ten years. Playing longer will help your reach, so don't give up.

@vladivanovici510 9 жыл бұрын

Why don't they make pianos for different types of fingers? :/

@splendidsquirrel 9 жыл бұрын

A concert hall isn't going to buy five $100000+ pianos for the spectrum of pianist hand sizes!

@vladivanovici510 9 жыл бұрын

splendidsquirrel I see. Still, why not synthesizers? They could at least do that.

@splendidsquirrel 9 жыл бұрын

I guess manufacturers just didn't see a market for that. Making separate chasses, keys, internals for one piano/keyboard is already a design challenge. Doing that three more times without much more of a profit increase seems detrimental (after all, eveyone's already used to the "standard" keyboard size).

@dupre55 9 жыл бұрын

Vlad Ivanovici They do, or rather, you can have a piano modified for smaller hands: www.steinbuhler.com/index.html

@vladivanovici510 9 жыл бұрын

dupre55 Thank you very much! I had no idea about it! :D

@svgstarlight 5 жыл бұрын

I’m in that awkward spot where I can _just_ reach an octave when I’m not playing anything but once I try to play a song it gets insanely difficult. Reaching a ninth is just a dream lmao

@marizacabral5141 3 жыл бұрын

The famous pianist Maria João Pires has tiny hands. I met her in person. Her hands are the size of a child's hands. She is famous for her Mozart, Chopin and Schubert, especially.

@waitingforapril 2 жыл бұрын

She is so wonderful, her Schubert is very moving. Did not know about her hands! (A bit of a comfort for me, I can reach an octave, but no more.)

@waggawaggaful 2 жыл бұрын

Mozart and Schubert were barely over 5 feet tall, so I'm sure they had childlike hands as well. Chopin was only 5'6".

@thephilosopher666 8 жыл бұрын

I think that digital piano manufacturers could do very nice thing - make pianos of diffent keyboard sizes.

@addisoncagan8363 8 жыл бұрын

That's already a thing but it's a horrible idea go to any other piano and you're fucked

@oysteinsoreide4323 8 жыл бұрын

+Addison Cagan Actually the standard piano should be slightly smaller than the standard of today. That would make most of the people be able to reach an octave, and even 9th. The mean span of a women hand is about 7.8 inches, which is the lower limit for having good reach of an octave. But since it is an average, means that half of women population has smaller hands than that. If an octave had been for instance 6.5 inches in a standard keyboard, then more people would be able to play more music.

@addisoncagan8363 8 жыл бұрын

+Oystein Soreide I said its a horrible idea because it's not the standard and don't see it being. So if you get used to your "customized" piano go to any other piano and rip

@oysteinsoreide4323 8 жыл бұрын

+Addison Cagan If you look at mean population hand size, then having current size of piano is not a good idea. I am talking about making a new standard. But you would get a long period where you have both new and old standard around. large part of the worlds popluation have hands that are too small to comfortly playing the piano. So for the piano to be more accessible there absolutely should be pianos of smaller sizes that today's standard.

@addisoncagan8363 8 жыл бұрын

+Oystein Soreide not denying what you're saying it's just I don't see it happening.

@Eroenjin 9 жыл бұрын

This is so true! I think I was around 14 when I was able to reach a pure octave. Yet, I still managed to play Rachmaninoff's piano concertos (where you need to reach 10ths and 11ths) by breaking the chords and using suitable pedaling. Thank you for sharing your experience on playing the piano with small hands as I know some promising pianists who gave up because they thought they'd never be truly able to play the piano with their small hands. I think the biggest advantage for having small hands is definitely the speed and precision - as for me it has always been easy to learn really fast songs, such as Art Tatum's Tiger Rag (however, it also has some big chords which given the tempo are hard for small hands). However, I think everyone with small hands should focus on learning the right technique to break the big chords as at first it was really exhausting to play them until I properly how to do it properly.

@Thingybob 11 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your hopeful and positive message!

@justinsobieski2360 10 жыл бұрын

This guy is great, and he's absolutely right. My hands are a bit smaller than this guy's and I picked up piano about 3 years ago, it's super, SUPER frustrating at first, but as you actually begin to be able to roll the big chords it actually becomes the funnest thing about playing the piano... It's definitely nice having fingers that fit nicely between the black keys, I see my big brother with his monster hands always having to play on top and can't get between them at all

@russmaleartist 6 жыл бұрын

Well done! You made lemons into lemonade . . . and we are all the better for it! you have an outstanding approach to challenges in life . . . wish this was instilled more in young people, instead of giving up so easily -- especially on themselves. I am so glad I happened onto your channel years ago. I do so much enjoy your mini-teaching jewels.

@alyssalingolive 8 жыл бұрын

Another great video from you, Robert! Great honesty and great encouragement. Thank you!

@bailey4675 9 жыл бұрын

I need finger extensions. I can't reach an octave, let alone one note less : ( and I'm 17.

@jorgeluizdossantos5126 9 жыл бұрын

Bailey Blankenship I know some professional pianists with small hands. But it is true that they are not glad with the with their hand. Have you tried to stretch your hands? My friend is a piano teacher and she has small hands she reaches a 9th, but she had stretched her hands, and I have heard about a device which could help. www.increasehandspan.com

@elisa.v9730 3 жыл бұрын

Same

@TrancerB7 8 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for this video. I always wanted to play stride piano and I have hands about your size. Seeing you play at the speed you were with the tenths gives me hope and I don't think I'll give up. You explained everything very well. Subscribed.

@MariaGonzalez-eg5zb 8 жыл бұрын

I like how you tried to make people with short hands, like myself, feel better ♡ thank you, you are so kind.

@ezequielsanchez9902 7 жыл бұрын

You think having small hands is bad, well Robert Schumann (the apparent medical psycopath) made a contraption to stretch his fingers beyond there reach, result he couldn't play piano anymore

@raymondgood6555 2 жыл бұрын

The general consensus is not that Schumann was trying to extend his reach, but rather that he was trying to gain greater independence of the individual fingers. But this story is now in doubt. His loss of dexterity may have been due to syphilis. Clara Schumann, trying to cover up the truth, invented the finger device story.

@papillonpapillon3761 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you. This is the first time I ever heard there was an advantage to having a small hand. I'm elated. Love all your short capsules. Very useful. Always some golden nuggets in there. Much appreciated.

@monterrey1952MEDICINA 11 жыл бұрын

This video is a relief for me because I have small hands but I realized that you have to see you play your little finger in hyperextension in relation to the thumb, your video helps many people like me who are in the process of learning piano. greetings from Mexico

@Ryka_Aoki 9 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this encouraging message! Tackling my first Rachmaninoff piece. This is very easy to see and understand! Going to work very hard.

@BLOWNVEIN 10 жыл бұрын

Just found your video. Very good advice, very clear and to the point. I will be checking out your other postings. Thanks so much for taking the time to post some great advice.

@cbmuzik3000 11 жыл бұрын

I really appreciate the point you make about being persistent to play what you hear in your head. That's exactly what helped me to compensate for having such small hands in playing over the years. Great advice!

@bereantrb 6 жыл бұрын

This is very encouraging. I can reach an octave pretty comfortably but as I've been studying more piano I encounter voicings that I thought may be just beyond my capability. Great to know there are techniques to explore.

@LaneCarter 8 жыл бұрын

What a great amount of optimism. Love it!

@fisheagle2907 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Robert, that’s very encouraging and enlightening

@diedertspijkerboer 5 жыл бұрын

I wish I had watched this vid uears ago. I was so demotivated when I discovered interesting music for larger hands that I basically gave up the piano. Now, I'm going to pick it up again and try to learn the chord-breaking technique you showed. Thank you very much!

@TravelersGarden_dgdr 8 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for that vid...I gave up on a lot of pieces (from Scriabin, Rachmaninov, Liszt) because my hands can only reach a full octave (and even there I have sometimes problems...). But with your little "trick" I will now begin to learn those again! :D

@fishguttings 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! Your video has helped me a lot and put all my fears aside. I can only reach an octave (a 9th uncomfortably) and my hands aren't going to grow any more. It is so fantastic to see a work around that doesn't involved leaving notes out and sound great! :)

@Klenzer32 7 жыл бұрын

Very helpful, thank you. I have very small hands as well and have always wondered this.

@batboy5023 4 жыл бұрын

What a glorious sounding piano you have there!

@juan3268 9 жыл бұрын

I'm screwed ha-hah. Short and thick fingers which can't fit between the black keys.

@elizabeth9841 7 жыл бұрын

maybe try a brass or woodwind instrument lol

@bereantrb 6 жыл бұрын

Depends on the music you're playing. Elton John has very short stubby fingers. He called them "cocktail sausages."

@emmamcdermaid2590 5 жыл бұрын

Elizabeth hehe I play trombone and piano and I can’t reach 7th position in trombone and hardly an octave 😂

@ll1100000 11 жыл бұрын

It is very helpful to watch this video! Thank you for posting!

@TemplatesNstuff 10 жыл бұрын

I can barely go around for an octave... and my hands are fully grown.. maybe I should go for another instruments :(

@PhilJonesIII 9 жыл бұрын

Elton John gave up classical piano because he has small hands. Don't give up yet, tons of piano music you can play and enjoy.

@TravelersGarden_dgdr 8 жыл бұрын

+Hiiro Takako (Dangerous Doll) Maybe you can´t play every piece that exists, but there is still a lot of stuff you can play. I have small hands and barely reach an octave...but I play for example Chopin without any problems and he has really beautiful pieces. But now I´m trying with the trick from this vid to play pieces which need bigger hands and it works...

@Fireglo 7 жыл бұрын

No one's hands are "fully grown" your hands never stop growing.

@Fireglo 3 жыл бұрын

@@paithen7033 Not true. Compare an 80 year old man's hands to a 20 year olds....

@aadarshkumarshah8795 3 жыл бұрын

@@paithen7033 yeah correct

@rorshack23 7 жыл бұрын

Your videos are amazing. Thank you.

@Researcher30473 4 жыл бұрын

Don't miss it out! That's what I needed to hear 👍

@joestephens3 11 жыл бұрын

Great observations and comfort for folks with smaller hands

@Luculencia 9 жыл бұрын

I'm 5'4" female and I can reach an 11th at a stretch and a 10th comfortably. My hands aren't large (I wear medium size women's gloves) but they are flexible - at full stretch there is a 180 degree angle between thumb and pinkie. I used to do stretching and strengthening exercises every day as a kid (started age 8) while I was teaching myself piano (I was determined I'd be able to reach over an octave when older). My sister is taller and has much longer fingers but her hand span is the same as mine because she never bothered to stretch :)

@lil_weasel219 5 жыл бұрын

No that is called having a small palm and long fingers. Gloves mean nothing. Its the length of the fingers. If they are proportionately longer you can stretch them more.

@rbrtck 5 жыл бұрын

@@lil_weasel219 It depends on the proportions of the fingers, too. For example, I have a relatively short thumb and pinkie compared to my other fingers. Yes, this is true of virtually everyone, but the difference is far more pronounced in my hands than the average person's. In fact, I've never met anyone besides my mother (from whom I got the associated genes from, obviously) who has such a short thumb (hers are even shorter than mine) and pinkie. Neither of us has small hands--I've seen many that are much smaller--but even so I can just barely reach an octave, and that's only because of my proportionately large palm. Flexibility is not an issue as I can easily, comfortably reach 180 degrees between my thumb and pinkie all day long--these two fingers are just really short! But I'm working on increasing my flexibility anyway because I could actually reach a 9th if I could get my ring finger into position. I can, but currently it hurts to stretch that wide. I wonder if it's even worth trying.

@JackHagar 3 жыл бұрын

How the heck are your interval stats the same as me and I’m 9 inches taller.

@davidorton4293 7 жыл бұрын

Who said u have small hands? U have normal sized hands for cryin out loud.

@spoon4904 7 жыл бұрын

David Orton so true

@cynthiajackson8746 5 жыл бұрын

they probably just look big on camera bc there's no reference besides his body and that doesn't really put anything into perspective

@Convexhull210 5 жыл бұрын

He probably means length not thickness

@lil_weasel219 5 жыл бұрын

Are you frickin blind lol

@EgoJinpachi_ 4 жыл бұрын

@@cynthiajackson8746 what more perspective than standard size keys bellow his max stretch hand?

@MusicalMissCapri 7 жыл бұрын

Exactly! This is a technique I'm using increasingly since suddenly expanding my repertoire. :) I can sometimes barely reach a ninth.

@adelaide1982kr 10 жыл бұрын

You gave me hope. Thanks!

@ronjamac 4 жыл бұрын

I started learning piano at 7. I'm now 71. I'm 6ft and don't have small hands. Playing octaves was never difficult until in my 50s, when I developed Dypotrens Contraction in my right hand and fingers 3, 4 and 5 curled up and could not be opened. I had an operation on my hand and after a lot of physio everyting healed. The only problem was that when playing octaves, the new natural position of my fingers always kept playing 9ths. It took nearly 2 years to adjust. I never really could play the 1st Chopin Etude well after that though.

@brandonstadelman7006 10 жыл бұрын

I know practically nothing about playing piano, seriously, at square one. But I got inspired to teach myself by slowly learning a fairly advanced piece - it means a lot to me. I quickly realized my hands were too small! This gives me hope that I will, eventually, achieve my goal. :D

@tarikeld11 6 жыл бұрын

Brandon Stadelman which piece?

@buggld 10 жыл бұрын

My hands have stopped growing for SEVERAL years(also with pinkies being a centimeter shorter than normal), and I can reach an octave by reaching around keys. I can reach 7 notes by pressing over keys. I'm still a complete beginner learning at home, but this gave me some confidence.

@chrissy_g 4 жыл бұрын

Best advice I've heard all day! I can reach an octave but hands gets tired from constantly stretching for some pieces.

@bichngoccaotran1109 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for the inspiration!

@retcon1991 11 жыл бұрын

Great video. I too suffer from having smaller hands, not on the piano, however - the bass guitar. It is just about looking for work arounds and building proficiency to the point where you negate the nasty stretches.

@Dyxuki 4 жыл бұрын

That's very motivational, thank you !

@eulacier3973 6 жыл бұрын

Im 4”9 (yes im short) and my fingers can reach an octave but my fingers must be at the edge of the key, and yes it hurts a lot but i really want to play piano. When i play a piece with octaves and octaves after each other that is kinds fast, i always hit random keys while trying to play the octave. Im looking for octave exercises so i can get better.

@FlavioThepianist 6 жыл бұрын

Otaku Overlord I'm the same size as you and I have the same problem as you but just keep playing I mean even with my small hands I play piano good watch my videos.

@sarahgrace338 6 жыл бұрын

You're short!?! I'm barely 5'1

@sarahbrown2929 5 жыл бұрын

I am 19 and an inch taller than you are, I feel this SPIRITUALLY.

@chilledbird6779 5 жыл бұрын

i am 5.5 and my fingers are probably smaller than all of you :(

@radleyisidore1900 4 жыл бұрын

Learn all the hanon exercises, and if possible, find a good a teacher. Mine used to give me lessons on small hand playing. There are a lot of ways to play those chords even if you can't reach beyond the octave.

@islaadele1212 Жыл бұрын

Great video.

@adrianedawndawn 10 жыл бұрын

Great stuff!

@hdzhotz5988 4 жыл бұрын

That's exactly what I want to hear. So Pedals is the trick. I have this problem with Chopin. Thanks for giving me the confidence once again.

@Mysterytour7 7 жыл бұрын

When I started playing (aged 16 so my hands weren't going to grow) I struggled to play octaves.11 years later I can play them comfortably and just about play 9ths. I've only really developed my flexibility in the last few years because I knuckled down and started practicing a lot more.

@thomaspick4123 5 жыл бұрын

Excellent information. Stretch and rock the hand to reach the octave and use the pedal for illusion. Small hands can play between the black keys better. Most of us will not become concert pianists playing with an 80 piece orchestra. We play at home with friends. Simplified versions of classical pieces are fine and welcome for us. Now consider vocalists. Maria Carey has 5 octave voice? Can scream, do ghost voice. She has a large range and her fans like her. Not my thing. Take for example Ricky Nelson. He had a very limited vocal range. But, what he did inside that small range was very expressive. He had good quality songs to sing, which many can sing now from memory if asked. So, it is not necessary to have a huge finger range. Rather, play nice music simply and expressively. If I see a G13, I modify and just play a G6th.

@anabellik 8 жыл бұрын

Wow, thanks for your tip. I'm a great Debussy fan, but I sometimes find it hard to play parts of his pieces because my fingers are not long enough (piano is my second instrument, more of a hobby really, but still, being unable to play what I like is depressing). Now I'll try your way, hope it helps. :)

@allen8478 8 жыл бұрын

+anabellik me too, ill try my hands r tiny

@OnlyMichaelJackson 6 жыл бұрын

Exact same problem. Having a lot of trouble playing Clair de Lune by Debussy because the chords are big

@anaghganguly8999 7 жыл бұрын

great video. Definitely inspiring, considering i have small hands( i can reach an octave and a ninth with some difficulty)

@TheOpus480 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks soo much. This was inspirational for someone who can only reach a 9th with effort and a 8th with ease. Im still 14 so i may have some growing left since my mum can reach a 10th but do you think with enough practice I'll be able to play Tchaikovksy's concerto no.1? I know its a hard piece but i love it. No mean comments please. I want honesty but not cruelty.

@kuinks 7 жыл бұрын

Well, I'm fucked. Small and fat hands.

@ezequielsanchez9902 7 жыл бұрын

same i can only reach a ninth on the edge and a 10th on the corners

@lind2176 10 жыл бұрын

This is so encouraging, thank you for sharing this. The pieces I am working on now include a multitude of octaves and my hands can reach them, but there is tension in order to reach those notes. Do you have any practice suggestions for octaves in order to reduce that tension, for those of us who have smaller hands?

@Jazzper79 11 жыл бұрын

Great video!

@angiel516 4 жыл бұрын

I’m an adult now, so my hands definitely aren’t getting any bigger lol. I can still only reach a 9th if I stretch. But I’ve been playing since I was five and my teachers would always give me little tips like this. It’s sucks knowing that your abilities are always going to be kind of hindered due to hand size but it’s nice to know there’s some ways to work around things

@pocoapoco2 10 жыл бұрын

Arpegiating chords is actually required for some pieces even though it's not marked explicitly in the piece. I don't care how big your hands are. Scriabin's 5th sonata, which I'm trying to learn, has 2 1/2 octave spans throughout e.g. Ab1-Eb2-Db3-G3-Db4 in the left hand.

@DIGITALSCREAMS 7 жыл бұрын

I've got the double wammy - small hands and fat fingers. But you know what...I wont let it stop me from learning piano.

@marylittle9250 9 жыл бұрын

I once was lucky enough to meet Billy Joel and shake his hand. His fingers were like little Vienna sausages. And yet he's one of the greatest piano players in rock and roll. I can barely reach an octave without hitting the two notes at the same time, but I think about him and that gives me hope.

@Tobbeh99 9 жыл бұрын

I have quite big hands and long fingers, I can reach a 10th quite easily. but let's say I were to play a chromatic scale from C to Ab repeatedly so I play 54321 fingering, I find it a bit uncomfortable, because I have to "make my hand smaller", and I can imagine it being more comfortable for someone with smaller hands. However I am currently practicing Chopin étude op.10. no.1, and yes some arpeggios are even hard for me, but most of them aren't that bad. I also remembered when I started playing piano that I had trouble reaching an octave, but now can play it without effort. And when I started with Chopin étude, I found a lot of the arpeggios difficult to play, but they are gradually becoming easier. So it's seems that it's a lot about training, to make your fingers more flexible, and not only about having small/big hands.

@parleyentertainmentinc.4984 7 жыл бұрын

Hi Robert, thanks so much for this video! For a person who can reach an octave (on the outside only), what do you consider the best fingering for chords, or is it just a matter of personal preference? thanks!

@gayatrisn8329 10 жыл бұрын

Must watch for all those who regret having small hands.. Thank you Sir for this Video..

@otakusoulemotion 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much this helps so much

@callummckie894 7 жыл бұрын

No problems spanning an octave for me. My name's Sergei Rachmaninov and I can reach a 13th.

@ezequielsanchez9902 7 жыл бұрын

Really m8?! Lawl XD

@OnlyMichaelJackson 6 жыл бұрын

You're a MONSTER

@NukTap 6 жыл бұрын

Your username says otherwise

@MegaRazaele 5 жыл бұрын

Sergei is a famous pianist whos pieces basically require u to reach 11ths and 12ths

@luableah7615 5 жыл бұрын

How about Liszt?

@pahandayid2441 5 жыл бұрын

thank you sir...

@JoeRamsayMusic 3 жыл бұрын

Check out this cool mod so anyone can play left-hand 10ths and more: cutlerkeys.com/

@NorkelFjols 6 жыл бұрын

Not all tenths are created equal. I can reach something like C to Eb as comfortably as an octave, but for instance E to G# is really stretching it, and a clean Db to F is basically out of the question. Also, since probably 98% of tenths in written piano pieces are in the left hand, my left is clearly more stretchy and conditioned to play tenths, and I've noticed that reaching D to F# has become easier just from working on pieces that have a lot of tenths. Overall I actually consider my reach fairly decent, (for instance in recordings pianists tend to break chords that I don't break) but for a guy my height (6'3") I feel a little sub-par and cheated in the hand department.. We've all got our grievances, I guess :p

@kevinastraw 10 жыл бұрын

I love this guy. If I had a tenth his guts and go I would have had such a better life. The question occurs to me is: can they make a serious piano with narrower keys?

@icetigeryurio2721 6 жыл бұрын

Kevin Straw yes people have. It raises a big problem though. You will not be able to play any other piano than the one with narrow keys cause you would get so used to it so unless you want lug it around to all your concerts 🤷‍♀️

@hjiuhfhrehui 11 жыл бұрын

indeed. dont give up :) but be carefull not to ruin your hand because of over doing it. ive got smal hands. and also play with arpegios like this man. but be carefull with to many and to wide ones. also quick octaves. i was not able to play for 1,5 years because i over did my practice. played to many pieces wich were to big for my hands. also very quick ones. like the octaves in liszts rhapsody no6 ( end ). good luck everyone :)

@kojimapromeatspin 11 жыл бұрын

Thanks Rob

@thepianoplayer416 8 жыл бұрын

If you are still growing and expect your hands to get bigger you can start with a keyboard like the Yamaha Piaggero. Not expensive. This is a 76-key model with narrower keys which is sufficient for playing many songs & compositions. You can decide to purchase a full-sized piano / keyboard later.

@katelynhu7994 5 жыл бұрын

I have a question for you I’m playing the song faded and i’m 1/3 done and I found a chord that I can’t reach like AT ALL I tried using your well explained strategy but the chord was to big to even do that do you have any suggestions that you think might work?

@seollie8682 6 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your video :)

@i.ehrenfest349 3 жыл бұрын

We have a radio show in the Netherlands in which a Learned Panel guesses who plays a certain work. The piece one day was Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto. A CD had just come out of Vladimir Ashkenazy playing that very concerto. So a panelist guessed it was Ashkenazy with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Without knowing more about music than him, I knew he was wrong. Why? The first 8 chords were played unbroken.

@violetcrow3876 9 жыл бұрын

I hope you reply to this. I'm not really sure how you can play chopin Op.25 No.5 when the song won't allow you to use the pedal in the intro. Any tips on how it's possible to play it with my small hands?

@CATboss001 7 жыл бұрын

I'm so lucky with my long and (still) thin fingers...

@ezequielsanchez9902 7 жыл бұрын

I feel jealous my hands are kind of small

@DanaStephenson 3 жыл бұрын

The important point is not "how far can you reach" because for most amateur piano an octave is all you need. The question is how comfortably and properly you can reach an octave. I have pitifully short pinkies and to reach an octave I have to play on the edges of the keys, so I have to work really hard to avoid partially striking the adjacent key, or slipping off the front of the keys. And it makes my hand position really unpretty. I make it work the best I can, but I sure envy pianists with long graceful pinkies.

@LivingPianosVideos 3 жыл бұрын

Not being able to reach an octave comfortably makes playing a lot of piano compositions really tough. If you are interested, I have access to pianos with smaller keyboards designed for people like you with smaller hands. You are welcome to contact me if you are interested: Robert@LivingPianos.com

@Ghost-ed2sb 5 жыл бұрын

I can barley reach a 9th i really struggle With some Works By chopin But manage :) Its the faster work where i get confused my fingers are faster then my brain unfortunately :( But nether the less never give up :) But im glad i can reach 3 notes past an octave at least :)

@DIGITALSCREAMS 7 жыл бұрын

I'm confused by all this 9ths, 10ths, 11ths etc - if I use my thumb to press a C and my index finger to hit the next C what does this mean in terms of 'ths'?

@alternate352 7 жыл бұрын

That's an 8th or an octave.

@Pwibbit 11 жыл бұрын

At what age do your hands stop growing? My max. stretch is an iffy 9 on the black keys and I'm 18...

@weepingeye 8 жыл бұрын

Great video, thank you. Enjoying the music we play, for me, comes from the attitude of what I "can" do rather than "can't". This does not do away with challenges but rather embraces them (yep, I get pretty philosophical lol). This vid helps enormously. I am able to reach 10th's - just. Usually around the front of the keys.

@paddlehard5722 6 жыл бұрын

Your piano repeats everything after you! :D

@joannadavid933 6 жыл бұрын

what piece is at 2:10 ?

@raquelvasquez5152 3 жыл бұрын

Can you teach me to avoid spaces between the notes when shifting or playing the same notes over and over? Also, I only have a keyboard. Does that make a difference? I can kind of reach an octave, however my pinky has to leans to the side, which makes it hurt. Idk how to avoid that as well.

@sillqe7780 4 жыл бұрын

i can reach a octave does it count if i feel like i want to stop playing and break right after my fingers reach the one octave because it hurts

@flop9265 7 жыл бұрын

im a girl and my hands are smaller. What do i do... It gets exhausting...

@jd2981 6 жыл бұрын

Clorox Bleach Meadow Scent I'm an 18 year old guy, it's completely impossible for me to do an octave normally, the most I can do is a 7th, and I can barely do an octave even by cheating and putting my hand in a weird guitar-like position : ( let alone 9ths 10ths etc. But breaking chords and using the pedal seems to work out fine, at least for average playing, but your speed has to make up for small hands so it takes more effort. I'm just beggining piano, I can play electric guitar with no problem, but piano is definitley a pain in the butt lol

@icetigeryurio2721 6 жыл бұрын

Jose D if you are a beginner than you can stretch your hands out to reach at least one more key. Your hands are probably not stretched out at all since you just started so you have a lot of room for improvement and stretching. You will definitely be able to reach an octave eventually

@RoseCadenza 5 жыл бұрын

I'm going to start to learn piano this fall, and I have very small hands. I'm able to reach an octave with one hand, but I can barely reach an octave with the other. Are there exercises to help stretch your hands in some way?

@IschmarVI 5 жыл бұрын

Just keep playing octaves. It will eventually get easier

@waitingforapril 2 жыл бұрын

I just come from seeing an adorable 6 year old play Clementi 36/6 by breaking up the octaves...without the pedal, either (I guess she can't reach the pedals, either!) But, she staccato'd the broken chords and it was very musical. I guess some contraints make us creative.

@ds61821 3 жыл бұрын

Ok, this is helpful. I read on wiki about ALess than five feet tall and with small hands for a pianist, spanning an interval of barely a tenth on the keyboard...pianooctave in the white keys without crunching the note next to one of the fingers. Black keys, an octave is no problem.

@fernandezramon21 10 жыл бұрын

I can go an octave comfortably but I tend to catch black keys when doing octaves in white. I tried raising my fingers higher but it locks up the pinky and the thumb slowing tempo. The same locking up and slowing down also happens when i lower my wrist position. Are there exercises that could help? Thanks.

@Bati_ 5 жыл бұрын

Those piano learners who have small hands like me, whenever you start to give up, watch these magnificent virtuoso pianists/composers’ stunning playing who have small hands and can’t reach 10th and can only barely reach 9ths. Since I can reach 9ths when streching my hands at most and want to play greats including Debussy, Ravel, Satie and Bach on the piano I almost made this as my obsession, so I don’t want you to make this hand size issue as your obsession as well, instead it can be turned into an advantage as this video posits. When you lost your motivation watch these incredible artist, my idols: 1. Keith Jarrett (A legend on improvised music and he is flexible in both Jazz and Classical music, can reach 9ths at most) 2. Daniel Barenboim (Famous virtuoso pianist/conductor, 9ths again). 3. İdil Biret (Legendary Turkish pianist, Naxos label’s prominent artist, the same scenario again, 9ths). 4. Alain Planes (Top-rank French pianist, Harmonia Mundi label’s prominent artist, he probably has the closest hand size with mine and he is my favorite Debussy interpreter ever). This list goes on with great composers including Ravel, Scriabin and many other prominent pianists. Therefore, let’s don’t give up and practice effectively. Look for flexible techniques like rolling, breaking chords etc. (If you can share yours, I’d appreciate that, too). Don’t hesitate to share your story as well. Stay with music y’all! Greetings from Turkey!

@thepianoplayer416 11 жыл бұрын

My hands are small and can't do much more than 1 octave. The thumb short compared with the middle 3. When you play a violin piece like Bach Chaconne from Partita #2 you get all sorts of boken chords since you can only hit 2 strings at a time. Not many pieces are played like chord arpeggios on a guitar (you literally break a chord into individual notes and run them quicly) unless they are slow movements.

@lukimax0123 5 жыл бұрын

How do you break up in Rachmaninov Etude Tablaux Op 33 No 1, when there is a legato melody to hold over staccato thirds and staccato left hand. I can`t play that third a tenth under the melody and I don`t think you can break this up...