{"id":694,"date":"2017-10-05T16:03:31","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T16:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ripm.org\/cnc\/?p=694"},"modified":"2017-11-15T17:07:46","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T17:07:46","slug":"want-to-become-a-better-pianist-grow-your-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnc.ripm.org\/?p=694","title":{"rendered":"Want to become a better pianist?
Grow your hands!"},"content":{"rendered":"

A transcript printed in Musical America <\/em>of an address to the 1909 New York State Teacher\u2019s Convention claims that certain people were at a distinct physiological disadvantage when playing the piano, so much so, that they should have their own separate literature.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"[Kate S. Chittenden, \u201cPiano Repertoire for Small-Handed Performers,\u201d Musical America, <\/em>Vol. 10 No. 9 (10 July 1909): 18.]<\/p>\n

Harriette Brower also wrote in Musical America<\/em> about the value of octave studies at the keyboard for aiding students with small hands.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"[Harriette Brower, \u201cValue of Octave Study to the Piano Student,\u201d Musical America<\/em>, Vol. 17 No. 19 (15 March 1913): 26.]<\/p>\n

For many, hand size, apparently, did matter.\u00a0 Of course having small hands is a hindrance to performing certain repertoire with wide intervals.\u00a0 But beyond anatomy, the perception that small-handed people were impeded from becoming virtuosos was linked to the large hands of master performers of the previous generation.<\/p>\n

In a satirical piece entitled \u201cHands, Insanus omnis faere credit ceteros [Every madman thinks all others insane],\u201d a certain Dr. Legs and Dr. Body praised the hand size and strength of Franz Liszt over the \u201csad\u201d hands of Chopin.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dr. Legs and Dr. Body, featured in\u00a0The Musical World<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em>[Anon., \u201cHands. Insanus omnis faere credit ceteros,\u201d The Musical World, <\/em>Vol. 56 No. 19 (11 May 1878): 318.]<\/p>\n

Liszt\u2019s \u201csquare, large hand\u201d with \u201clonger, knotted fingers\u201d and \u201ciron knuckles\u201d was, according to the doctors, the preferred anatomy for the \u201ccommand of learned music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with the hands of Liszt, those of Anton Rubinstein were also admired. A description of the latter was given in a translation of Eugen Zabel\u2019s contribution to the Berlin National-Zeitung. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Zabel continued by declaring Rubinstein\u2019s hands a rarity in size and strength, even bordering on animalistic.<\/p>\n

\"\"[Rosa Newmarch, \u201cRubinstein\u2019s Hand,\u201d The Musician, <\/em>Vol. 2 No. 28 (17 November 1897): 29-31.]<\/p>\n

In fact, hands described as square, wide, and powerful, like those of Liszt and Rubinstein reinforced the benefits of having large hands at the piano. By contrast, this view implied that small hands could prevent one from attaining true piano mastery.<\/p>\n

To remedy this limitation, physical exercises were often given by teachers and specialists. With consistent training, it was believed that small hands could in fact, grow. A 1912 advertisement from a \u201chand specialist\u201d named Burnett Jordan visually demonstrated the benefits of such specialized training.<\/p>\n

\"\"[Musical America<\/em>, Vol. 16 No. 23 (12 October 1912): 99.]<\/p>\n

Jordan\u2019s teacher, the German hand-training specialist Woldemar Schnee, traveled to America for several extended residencies in 1914 and again, in 1922.\u00a0 With looming Brahmsian features, Schnee reinforced the advantages of having large hands like Rubinstein and Liszt, and promised to enlarge the hands of those less pianistically endowed.<\/p>\n

\"\"[Musical America, <\/em>Vol. 37 No. 5 (25 November 1922): 44]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"[H. F. P., \u201cLending Size and Strength to the Hands of the Pianist,\u201d Musical America<\/em>, Vol. 19 No. 17 (28 February 1914): 29.]<\/p>\n

Schnee\u2019s technique\u2014\u201cstretching the skin\u201d by \u201cpulling the thumb and the fifth finger in opposite directions\u201d\u2014was admittedly painful, but not enough to deter pianists from seeking out his services in hopes of, quite literally, expanding their abilities.<\/p>\n

While prevalent historically, the idea of small hands as wholly detrimental to great piano playing is a generally outdated concept, thanks to artists like Alicia de Larrocha, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Daniel Barenboim (maxing out his reach at the 9th<\/sup>).\u00a0 Some artists, like the fantastic music-comedy duo Igudesman and Joo, have even found a way to satirize this stereotype.\u00a0 (Don\u2019t pass up viewing this\u2026)<\/p>\n