I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked the same question by either parents, or people I meet on Amtrak. It’s about “piano fingers,” “hand size,” and the best physiological fit for the keyboard. Next in line are queries about tone deafness and “perfect pitch.”
The stereotypes are: A great pianist has God-given perfect pitch and long-tapered fingers. End of story.
Now if you log onto You Tube and sample lots of remarkable piano playing, you’ll quickly discover that short and stubby fingers can work musical magic.
Example, the late Alicia de Larrocha defied all physical stereotypes: She was pint-sized and with little fingers. (the pairing was perfect)
Given her bio-genetics and 4’9″ inch height, you can watch her rip through a fiery composition!
De Falla’s “Ritual Fire Dance”
Try this out for size. Alicia playing Liszt’s “La Campanella”–
Talk about finger stretches that KILL!
I wish we could SEE her in this one. But listening without the distraction of vision is even better. Imagine this woman dancing around the keys.
It’s mind-boggling!
I’ve also discovered that Artur Rubinstein had rather small hands, and Daniel Barenboim, even smaller.
A famous pianist of yesteryear, Arthur Loesser, was said to have diminutive hands and fingers but played with finesse and fluidity.
(To be a devil’s advocate, I’ll admit that I’ve had students with such thick, long fingers, that if sandwiched between two black notes, their one finger couldn’t avoid depressing more than one key. And there was no easy way around it.)
After all is said and done, however, one must admit that some passages in the piano literature are more easily navigated with big hands and long fingers.
So why should I bring this up? Well, because my current obsession is Variation 3 of Mozart’s Sonata in A Major, K. 331 with finger-jamming parallel octaves in legato. (smooth and connected)
To cut a long story short, after I carved out what seemed to be a legato-feasible fingering, I found that my work-horse wrist had to elevate beyond comfort.
One solution was to lower the wrist and change my fingering. And that I did.
So even with my smaller hands, I smoothed out a gnawing passage, avoiding further anguish.
To satisfy your curiosity, watch this video, and think of what Professor Henry Higgins said to “My Fair Lady” as he rehearsed the Cockney out of her:
“I think you’ve got it!”
Play through Variation 3:
RELATED:
A pitch for a reduced-size piano!
I haven’t tried the Mozart but I often have to modify for the size of my hands. I would love one of these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiF05uBej0c
Brilliant! and Thanks for sharing. I’ve already posted on FB.. and will embed in this blog.
According to what I’ve read about Alicia de Larrocha, she also had an unusually flexible stretch between her finger that allowed her to compensate for her small hands. That’s something I lack, and my hands are simply too small — period — for much of the literature. to my sorrow. I think you’re on the right track, to seek work-arounds where you can. That’s an added element for my teacher and I to consider when fleshing out various pieces and it can be a challenge — sometimes it involves jettisoning the fingering as written. Other times we eliminate some notes from big filled chords, re-distribute notes between the two hands where feasible, finesse some phrases with pedal or added rubato.
Interesting feedback on your adjustments, flexibilities… but still not clear on what Alicia possessed beside a small hand. I just think she had a good upper arm roll, and realized her finger energies were generated beyond them.
I was finally satisfied with my parallel octaves as rendered in a most recent FB post. The clincher was just changing the fingering so I relied more on fingers 4, and 5 in the octaves, factoring out finger 3 which pushed my wrist forward, creating tension and stress. I also psychologically tricked myself into thinking that I had no thumbs and was relaxingly playing the upper fingers. Auto-suggestion is a big component of piano playing. Thanks for your sharing.