6 ms·

Pity he didn't address functionality such as the width of the keys -- the standard size is too wide for most female hands and many men.

by rjvs 3y ago

pclmulqdq 3y ago
How are they too wide? Are you referring to the hand size differential between us mortals and people like Rachmaninoff? With narrower keys, he would have just written bigger chords.
jojobas 3y ago
If there was demand for narrower keys synth manufacturers would be all over it, as there no string spacing constraints. There is non outside kids keyboards, because piano keys are sized just right.
- HerbMcM 3y ago
  A lifetime of practice on the wrong size leads to injury and the disappointment that maybe you as a pianist just will never get to play more technical pieces. Both are wrong. Pianists for alternatively sized keyboards https://paskpiano.org/latest-news/ https://paskpiano.org/latest-news/ Videos showing alternative sizes: https://youtu.be/TfdNxbHl_40?list=PLHBn-VaaOCGcfrUsklI1GztxTaaGj5sPh https://youtu.be/TfdNxbHl_40?list=PLHBn-VaaOCGcfrUsklI1GztxT...
  - jojobas 3y ago
    Just a note: Myra Hess had "tiny" hands and played full size pianos beautifully. As the video says, it's always more about the ability to stretch than size. When you go for narrower keys for inability to stretch you lose fluency as your fingers are as thick as the other guy's.
    - interglossa 3y ago
      Josef Hofmann and Daniel Barenboim played pianos with smaller keys.
- Toutouxc 3y ago
  > because piano keys are sized just right Fuck this very idea from the bottom of my heart. I'm a grown-ass man, fully functional in all aspects of life, who can't reach an octave comfortably, just like most female players and a lot of Asian males. The piano keyboard is objectively too big for most players in the world, period.
  - Baeocystin 3y ago
    Right there with you. I have relatively large hands, and I still prefer playing my 7/8ths-scale electric guitar for the easier reach. It's a noticeably lesser amount of strain on my wrists and joints.
    - jojobas 3y ago
      By playing a shorter scale guitar you sacrifice some of the tone and the ability to play on the highest frets. Unlike size, stretching can be improved by exercise by A LOT. I use size S (male) gloves myself, yet I can reach C-E on the piano and the 11th fret from a 5th fret barre on a 25.5 scale guitar.
      - Baeocystin 3y ago
        To each their own, and I mean that sincerely. For me, I don't care about ultimate tone, or better access to the highest notes. I simply want to enjoy playing as much as possible, and make my friends smile while we share the experience. Shorter-scaled guitars are, for me, part of what lets that happen.
  - strogonoff 3y ago
    As a piano player from young age, for a while recently I thought there was something unfair about piano key sizes: if keyboards were narrower, wouldn’t it be objectively easier for more people? Besides, my fingers are thin, why do I need all that area? Lately, I’m tending to think otherwise. If narrower keyboards were to start being manufactured, people with longer fingers would just write arrangements with wider chords for these keys—and people with shorter fingers would be none the better. We cannot demand progressively smaller and smaller keyboards forever. Furthermore, upon reflection I realized that for some techniques, especially those involving wide staccato jumps, larger keys are actually beneficial even for people with shorter fingers—as you throw hands around, larger keys provide more forgiving “landing pads”, allowing for higher speed than if you had to be precise so as not to accidentally trigger a neighbouring key. In fact, I suspect smaller keys would benefit one or two specific scenarios (e.g., a wide one-hand chord), while being detrimental to other techniques. All in all, I do not believe it is a handicap. Pick arrangements that work for you. Adapt arrangements to your physique. Narrower range chords do not even remotely imply unimpressive arrangements! Yes, if there is something you want to but cannot physically play, that sucks—but we all have to pick our battles; I have seen pianists with less reach than me demonstrate mind-blowing technique that is beyond my capabilities, and by now I guess will be so forever.
- DennisP 3y ago
  Actually there are plenty of compact synths with narrower keys.
- peteforde 3y ago
  There is strong demand for keyboards with smaller keys. I am loving my Arturia MiniFreak, for example.
AntonyGarand 3y ago
For those wanting a 20 minute video on this topic, there is a video[0] made by the professional pianist / youtuber "We Are One" (previously MusicalBasics) on this very subject which is very informative [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXlknI-Jc48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXlknI-Jc48

Pity he didn't address functionality such as the width of the keys -- the standard size is too wide for most female hands and many men.

by rjvs 3y ago

Pity he didn't address functionality such as the width of the keys -- the standard size is too wide for most female hands and many men.

pclmulqdq 3y ago

How are they too wide? Are you referring to the hand size differential between us mortals and people like Rachmaninoff? With narrower keys, he would have just written bigger chords.

jojobas 3y ago

If there was demand for narrower keys synth manufacturers would be all over it, as there no string spacing constraints. There is non outside kids keyboards, because piano keys are sized just right.

HerbMcM 3y ago
A lifetime of practice on the wrong size leads to injury and the disappointment that maybe you as a pianist just will never get to play more technical pieces. Both are wrong. Pianists for alternatively sized keyboards https://paskpiano.org/latest-news/ https://paskpiano.org/latest-news/ Videos showing alternative sizes: https://youtu.be/TfdNxbHl_40?list=PLHBn-VaaOCGcfrUsklI1GztxTaaGj5sPh https://youtu.be/TfdNxbHl_40?list=PLHBn-VaaOCGcfrUsklI1GztxT...
- jojobas 3y ago
  Just a note: Myra Hess had "tiny" hands and played full size pianos beautifully. As the video says, it's always more about the ability to stretch than size. When you go for narrower keys for inability to stretch you lose fluency as your fingers are as thick as the other guy's.
  - interglossa 3y ago
    Josef Hofmann and Daniel Barenboim played pianos with smaller keys.
Toutouxc 3y ago
> because piano keys are sized just right Fuck this very idea from the bottom of my heart. I'm a grown-ass man, fully functional in all aspects of life, who can't reach an octave comfortably, just like most female players and a lot of Asian males. The piano keyboard is objectively too big for most players in the world, period.
- Baeocystin 3y ago
  Right there with you. I have relatively large hands, and I still prefer playing my 7/8ths-scale electric guitar for the easier reach. It's a noticeably lesser amount of strain on my wrists and joints.
  - jojobas 3y ago
    By playing a shorter scale guitar you sacrifice some of the tone and the ability to play on the highest frets. Unlike size, stretching can be improved by exercise by A LOT. I use size S (male) gloves myself, yet I can reach C-E on the piano and the 11th fret from a 5th fret barre on a 25.5 scale guitar.
    - Baeocystin 3y ago
      To each their own, and I mean that sincerely. For me, I don't care about ultimate tone, or better access to the highest notes. I simply want to enjoy playing as much as possible, and make my friends smile while we share the experience. Shorter-scaled guitars are, for me, part of what lets that happen.
- strogonoff 3y ago
  As a piano player from young age, for a while recently I thought there was something unfair about piano key sizes: if keyboards were narrower, wouldn’t it be objectively easier for more people? Besides, my fingers are thin, why do I need all that area? Lately, I’m tending to think otherwise. If narrower keyboards were to start being manufactured, people with longer fingers would just write arrangements with wider chords for these keys—and people with shorter fingers would be none the better. We cannot demand progressively smaller and smaller keyboards forever. Furthermore, upon reflection I realized that for some techniques, especially those involving wide staccato jumps, larger keys are actually beneficial even for people with shorter fingers—as you throw hands around, larger keys provide more forgiving “landing pads”, allowing for higher speed than if you had to be precise so as not to accidentally trigger a neighbouring key. In fact, I suspect smaller keys would benefit one or two specific scenarios (e.g., a wide one-hand chord), while being detrimental to other techniques. All in all, I do not believe it is a handicap. Pick arrangements that work for you. Adapt arrangements to your physique. Narrower range chords do not even remotely imply unimpressive arrangements! Yes, if there is something you want to but cannot physically play, that sucks—but we all have to pick our battles; I have seen pianists with less reach than me demonstrate mind-blowing technique that is beyond my capabilities, and by now I guess will be so forever.
DennisP 3y ago
Actually there are plenty of compact synths with narrower keys.
peteforde 3y ago
There is strong demand for keyboards with smaller keys. I am loving my Arturia MiniFreak, for example.

AntonyGarand 3y ago

For those wanting a 20 minute video on this topic, there is a video[0] made by the professional pianist / youtuber "We Are One" (previously MusicalBasics) on this very subject which is very informative [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXlknI-Jc48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXlknI-Jc48