Piano's Darkest Secret

[@MusicalBasics]

You can learn more about smaller-sized keyboards here: paskpiano.org/

[@norwegiansmores811]

but basically all schools have child sized pianos, so its deinetely been a thing

[@robertkustos2931]

Awsome video Mr Yu . I'm not a musical instrument player but listen to piano on YT when I can . A question for you , was the piano invented before the harpsichord ? From what I gather harpsichords have so much smaller keys . Am I wrong ?

[@douglascutler1037]

@@robertkustos2931 The harpsichord came first. Late middle ages through 1600's. Pianoforte invented in late 1720's. Narrower keys were around. The size of keys was always to some extent variable and non-standardized until the late romantic era when large concert grands became the standard for everything else. These pianos primarily accommodated large-handed male virtuosos.

[@igo.spekkyjarvonvreich]

there is an increase handspan website that sells this glove that says it gets rid of the webbings between your fingers do you think it is sketchy?

[@douglascutler1037]

@@igo.spekkyjarvonvreich So sketchy you will need to take it with enough grains of salt to raise your blood pressure. Also sounds risky. A little finger stretching is fine but actually eliminating webbing sounds bizarre. Kinda reminds me of composer Robert Schumann who invented an exercise machine for his fingers and wound up causing permanent tendon damage. In terms of very wide spans, most pianistic hands I observe create a nearly straight line of bone between thumb and baby finger when the hand span is fully extended. So stretching out webbing between fingers would hardly help for that. I think reduced-width and other adaptive keyboards is the way to go. I have a dual elevation keyboard design that quite literally makes impossible chords easy - even for a child's hand. If you hunt, you can find it on KZbin. I'm not able to commercialize the design right now as I'm busy with other things but I hope to circle back to it. Probably won't cost very much either.

[@imgaryrb]

Who ever genuinely saw Rachmaninoff and Liszt's hand and said they were “standard” really wanted to see the world burn

[@musical_lolu4811]

I always thought there was a conspiracy by accomplished pianists to not democratize virtuosity.

[@sofasogood7164]

@@musical_lolu4811 Listz had - arguably - slightly larger than average hands while Rachmaninoff's hands were larger than an average human face. They were huge even for his remarkable height (6'6''). With that said even at the same size, hands come in all shapes, not to mention muscles and tendons can vary greatly even given the same training. Plus pretty much every hand size has its strenghts and weaknesses.

[@Wallabynge]

You know, this is really a #MeToo thing. Piano manufacturers have been making sexist pianos that abuse women, for a century. To watch that girl sit in front of a piano and cry, just because her fingers can reach.... Seriously.

[@395leandro]

I'm just thankful for having giant hands. Although I suffer from having almost no control over my right 4th finger.

[@RRaquello]

@@395leandro That's me too. Size isn't everything. I'm living proof you can have big enough hands and still be a lousy piano player.

[@MusicalBasics]

It took me 5 months to compile the footage for this video. I traveled many hours to far off locations in Germany and Pennsylvania, because it's a topic that needs to be addressed seriously and I wanted to do my best to do it justice. It's my hope that people will watch this and do one simple thing: to remember this video, the next time they consider buying a piano or keyboard. If you want to learn more: paskpiano.org/

[@budgetproducer9617]

you are a saviour for people with small hands

[@ckchang-wg2lw]

Damn

[@adityavarshney8636]

I love your courage for making these videos, i really appreciate it :)

[@josielau1218]

Address of this shop pls? So we can all buy one and he won't lose millions dollars too lol

[@alissateachout3617]

Thank you so much for this video! I definitely want to pursue finding a smaller keyboard for myself so I can finally play some of the pieces on my bucket list!! To play devil's advocate though, do you think that having keyboards with narrower keys available will simply push composers to write music with even larger intervals than exist in current repertoire? I think pianists with larger hands will always have an advantage...just like basketball is a tall person's sport...just some thoughts! Thanks so much for sharing!

[@TheGuitologist]

This is absolutely fascinating. Not something I've ever considered, but OF COURSE pianists should be given a choice. Guitarists have many choices to suit our custom specifications, so why not pianists?

[@justahuman5342]

even violins have four sizes

[@smokeduv]

@Kristian Bušta neck size is a bit variable between brands, specially in the neck style (not so much on the width, but is highly variable in the radius), but the length from fret to fret can also be found in different sizes, as you can buy short-scale guitars and long-scale guitars (also known as baritone)

[@seatheparade]

Crazy to think that an instrument as popular as the piano doesn't have any custom sizes available

[@jakubjandourek2822]

@@seatheparade Well, there is one "liittle" problem... You can take your custom guitar and go on stage. Try it with the piano. :-)

[@jeffstarrunner1]

@@justahuman5342 Yeah but full size will sound best... because a smaller violin needs looser strings... but piano can be customized because the keyboard size will not change the string size.

[@Adam_Pianist]

Thank you for doing all this research and making this video. I got out my ruler, and it turns out my hands are exactly 8.5 inches. It would be so nice to try one of these pianos with more narrow keys, and I absolutely think that piano manufacturers should start making these.

[@TitaniumTronic]

AGREED

[@advena996]

Yeah- I have a digital piano that is a tiny bit smaller (one octave is 6.25 inches) and just that difference is really nice for my small (7.5inch handspan) hands. You'd also think that they'd make smaller keyboards for children, like they do for other instruments.

[@Sin_Alder]

Frankly, I'd also like to try out one with slightly wider and longer keys. My hands are 11 inches, and my fingers are close to the same width as a key (though just barely wider), and it actually makes pianos feel incredibly cramped for me. I may be able to reach pretty far, but my ring, middle, and index fingers need to be curled in to where I play with my knuckles if I want to be able to use my thumbs and pinkies, and my fingers are so broad it's difficult to only press one key at a time with each finger. Makes playing really uncomfortable, so it would be interesting to play with something more appropriately sized for me.

[@Adam_Pianist]

@@Sin_Alder That’s a good point. There are definitely some pianists where their hands are so big, it can become a problem as well!

[@justadude721]

@@MusicalBasics that David deserves way more for what he is doing he is not even doing it for money but to help people he sure does have a big heart and lots of dedication

[@KMikeSavoy]

I'm not gonna lie, I got choked up myself thinking back on the frustration I witnessed in a girl I loved. So passionate and so good despite her petite build, her frustration unfortunately led her to stop pursuing her passion and eventually just stopped playing at all.

[@kaputt_jay3873]

Aw, my condolences. I know someone who's been through the same. She loved playing the piano, but she could barely reach an octave and figured there was no point in her playing anymore.

[@TheLokiBiz]

I wish i had known these mini pianos existed - I basically just went for a midi controller with mini keys instead, and play keyboard instead. But because i'm used to keyboards with synth action keys instead of weighted piano style keys, I find it harder to use actual pianos now. I mean, to be fair, a lot of modern VST plugins meant to emulate piano sound pretty damn good these days (Pianoteq in particular is amazing) - but it still would be cool if i could play a real piano.

[@Claske11]

As a non-pianist this was still the most moving and inspiring thing I've watched in a very long time. I hope you get the awareness-ball rolling so that more can play the piano in a relaxed fashion. The footage of the woman crying from just barely touching the smaller width keyboard was the absolute best part. Thank you for a great video!

[@curiousart42]

Indeed. Check out this awesome piano collection: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l169q6aBoZikgKc

[@SeGdb]

I agree, at the points I almost cried from empathy to the issue. Very good video.

[@roobsrooby6589]

That section of the woman crying brought tears to my eyes. I know the utter frustration of having smaller hands with a standard keyboard, it's a major disability to further progress.

[@factcheckerchannel1947]

The idiots in the late 1800s made piano key note sizes standardized for LIZST'S BIG SIZE HANDS instead of the average size hands!!!! Why?? Why the hell did they do that dumb deranged stupid arrogant annoying crap??!!!??? Mozart had "small-ish hands"....but it was no big problem BECAUSE THE PIANOS IN MOZART'S DAY HAD NARROWER SIZED KEYS!!!!

[@Matt-zp1jn]

This is what a well organized KICKSTARTER is for! Do a 6” one season, then a 5.5, 5.0, etc and I am sure people would support it! 😊

[@mooster47]

I'm a little amazed that you didn't mention that a smaller keyboard would be so much better for young students. It's remarkable when you consider that small violins for beginners have been the norm for a very long time. Little ones can learn it long before their arms would be long enough for a full size instrument, and the same is obviously true of the piano. Thank you so much for this well researched and thoughtfully presented video!

[@oliviahart7524]

My daughter loves playing piano, but small hands run in the family. She is excited for her hands to grow, but sadly I know that might never happen. Wish this option was more widely available.

[@lunaponta594]

dont you mean, wish this option was less narrowly available? :)

[@Sol4rOnYt]

@@lunaponta594 .

[@Tomica031]

get her some kind of synthesizer, there are a lot of smaller options, don't be deluded by elitism that everyone who plays keyboard must learn the "real" keyboard aka piano...synthesizer are also fun and by smaller range they bring out creativity easier, they are not confusing for children cause ususually they have 2-4 octaves

[@pubcle]

Meat and protein will help with growth, but yeah don't be afraid to go on a synthesizer

[@dimitrisskar4174]

@@pubcle they didn't ask for nutrition advice.

[@SKySWiM]

What a surprisingly simple solution to a problem nearly every pianist suffers from. I am guessing that the average piano player would assume that it would be bad to learn on a narrower keyboard, because they could not adjust back to a wider one. I thought this too. This video needs to go viral, to build a demand for narrower keyboards. Thanks for the video!

[@tseikkisnelkytkaks9013]

Thought so too until actually playing guitars with very different scale lenghts. It's amazing how well your brain adjusts to such changes, I can easily pick up my kids way smaller guitar and hit everything intuitively after a short period of getting used to it. Not the FIRST time you pick it up, but if you've played it in different size, you seem to be able to switch relatively effortlessly.

[@kitten-inside]

So you learned to ride a bike on a BMX. How could you ever translate those skills onto a mountain bike...

[@SKySWiM]

@@kitten-inside Not a good analogy. a non-powered bike and a powered BMX are two very different animals. Merely changing the width of the keys has less variables involved.

[@kitten-inside]

You do know what a BMX is? Come on, it's one web search away. You can do it. I believe in you.

[@radicaledward84]

I used to think the same, especially because me being used to play on an old toy keyboard and then performing, in front of my class, on a keyboard with wildly different key sizes was one of the most embarassing experiences in my life. But then I started playing guitar and whenever I was playing somebody else's I recognized the need to adjust finger jumps but I also learned that not even a few bars in I could already play it as well as my own. The only reason a narrow-keyed piano worries me is that pianists with larger fingers might not be able to avoid pressing two keys at once with the same ease. But if it's not a problem for them (or if the idea is that they can keep using larger keys) well, I welcome this idea.

[@nasri]

Massive respect to Mr David Steinbuhler. I hope this video eventually brings him so much business that those mega piano companies will have to eat their words and scramble to make smaller pianos for this "insignificant" market share.

[@ekklesiast]

Sure, after 30 years he wasn't able to find enough buyers for smaller pianos, and one yt video well magically change that.

[@jhonvillacis6949]

@@ekklesiast Of course, as the main reason said, larger hands is the first thought instead of narrowed keys. I'm one of those 200k people how saw this video and now want one of his keyboards, also that 200k are interested in the topic since they actually watched the video.

[@wafflesthearttoad6916]

@@ekklesiast well with a KZbin video full of pianists, maybe it would. Everyone likes to be comfortable when playing their instrument, if a narrower piano would help with that I’m sure a lot of people would invest in one.

[@YLLLOW-LLC]

It is great to see people thinking outside of the box...especially when it comes to playing or learning to play piano!

[@YLLLOW-LLC]

@WAFFLES the art toad I agree with you.

[@rd76pag]

You have my deepest respect in speaking up and spreading awareness to let other pianist know that there are alternate keyboard sizes out there.

[@soacker25]

The war on big hands...

[@tancha7132]

I always blamed myself for not being able to reach some notes or play smoothly with relaxed hands like some others, until I saw the Chopin piano part of this video This is a serious issue for pianists worldwide Thank you for your dedication to reveal this

[@warpzone2878]

It's honestly insane how ingrained the hand size = talent mindset is in the piano community. So many commenters saying they'd never considered a smaller keyboard and instead wished for larger hands, as if the piano's standard size is God-given and immutable

[@InXLsisDeo]

And the manufactuers never considered that smaller pianos fit in modern apartments more easily ? Really ??? Like there could never be amafket for that? I must say this man who builds them alone js a saint. I hope this video will give him many new clients and he can hire employees and his hard work will finally pay off.

[@YLLLOW-LLC]

@@InXLsisDeo great point! 👍

[@douglascutler1037]

I've been experimenting myself with reduced-width keyboards and other ergonomic keyboard innovations in the basement for years. I keep thinking the piano gods will strike me down with lightning but so far nothing.

[@DMSBrian24]

Other than biological predispositions, talent does not exist. At the very highest level of many sports it's a well known fact that to be able to compete you must simply be genetically "gifted" or rather predisposed. Same goes for instruments, talent is just a buzzword used for one's skill, which is in fact determined by education and practice alone. So the only "real" talent comes down to biological predispositions, in this case, yes, longer fingers are a talent that allows you to play the piano as it is right now. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to overcome the lack of it by adapting the instrument itself. But yeah, theoretically speaking long fingers are a talent, it's just that we misuse the term talent so much, it sounds like an insult which it is not.

[@douglascutler1037]

@@DMSBrian24 Uh, no.

[@NahreSol]

Definitely a very important topic! Thanks for covering this and bringing awareness on this subject. Keyboard size is one of the reasons I like the world of synthesizers, despite awful non-weighted action sometimes :)))

[@musical_lolu4811]

I remember a jazz video of yours Nahre where someone showed you an easy tenth stretch, and the reaction on your face. I remember a similar visceral wince in the pit of my stomach at that point.

[@misanthropicmusings4596]

@@thomasmyles9392 I also like her work on Sound Field.

[@BrackenSharp]

Question: What is my "Hand Size"?!?🧐(Either way my hand is 8in or under...) Measure in at 7.5in wide COMFORTABLY extended as seen here - gyazo.com/4a81c0c16ef8bc5c0b54b082fcb57ede & then at 8in wide when I really extend which is borderline uncomfortable as seen here - gyazo.com/ce0f7a91972c1c270b98cafcde8fcb8e ~ Here's MusicalBasics hand measurement for reference - gyazo.com/ff52c46ef173d3e72fb513648d394217

[@InXLsisDeo]

I was about to write a post about this video in yiur channel bht I'm glad I don't have to.

[@soilmanted]

In my mind, the action of a keyboard instrument is more important than the tone, the timbre. Properly tuned is the most important. But I'd rather have an acoustic instrument with a good action, than an instrument with a beautiful tone.

[@QueenRaven911]

My story here is a bit long, so please bear with me... I started playing piano when I was 7. I'm 172 cm (or 5'8"), but I have genetically very small hands (maximum stretch only 18.5 cm, a 2 cm short from an octive). I've always envy people who have long fingers because I can barely reach an octive. I could never properly play Turkish March because I struggled so much, even with 2 hours of daily practice until I turned 18, passed all the exams. Still, I thought that maybe I'm just not very good at it...if I were, why would I struggle so much? I picked up the cello at the age of 25. I never thought too much about the size of the cello since I was already a grown up, so naturally I picked up the 4/4 cello. In the first lesson, I told my teacher I was classically trained, played piano for many years but I wasn't very good at it... I turned 40 not too long ago, and started playing jazz bass as well. I noticed my teacher's hands from day one, secretly admiring her long fingers. Today, I finally said to her, "I wish I have fingers like yours, I would've been a much better piano player." Then she said something that hit me. "If you think that it's you, it's not, it's the music industry." Then she quoted something from your video, "80% of women have smaller hands and they all struggle to play piano." Why didn't I think of that before? Cellos come in 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, for people in different sizes. My 4 year old plays Ukulele and that comes in different sizes, but Pianos don't. I own all 3 instruments, play my cello and bass everyday, but not the piano because it reminds me of 'I'm not very good at it" everytime I (attempt to) play an octive. My whole life I thought I wasn't worthy of it, it only took me over 3 decades to realise that, it wasn't me all along. If I get to play a narrower keyboard, I'd cry as well. Thank you for the enlightenment.

[@545wei]

I feel you. I’ve got hands that can only barely reach a ninth on white keys. It’s a pain playing rachmaninoff and liszt pieces, which locks away various great pieces.

[@larghedoggo9607]

​@@545wei I have same size as yours. I always realized my hand size is too small for some serious classical pieces. Then I saw Linda Gould's [My piano has a secret] video. It hits my hard and I am exactly self-learning that Chopin op10 no4, you can't tell how annoying it is when you are not sure it's because my technique or size issue(for sure the technique is gaining but you have no idea when to stop blaming myself that my technique is not good enough and at what point it is not my problem) I will still finish this Etude anyways, but I will choose pieces more carefully that I don't want to waste time that I won't be able to play "perfectly" after long practices.

[@codybill24]

As a manufacturing engineer, it doesn't surprise me at all how much money that guy has spent in making those keys of different sizes. High-quality one-off or low volume production is very expensive for a number of reasons. What an interesting video. Also, I'll be honest, I'm not a pianist. I've never played, and never used to find it even that interesting (until your channel). But I sincerely hope that the industry begins acknowledging and accommodating these very basic differences. It's such a simple idea, and you really seem to be on to something. The data definitely seems to support your conclusions.

[@codetech5598]

It is much easier to make smaller keys with an electronic keyboard.

[@ekklesiast]

the data - the factual data suggests that nobody wants to buy smaller pianos. that is the fact. everything else in this video is just false theories.

[@codybill24]

@@ekklesiast well, you have to consider the possibility that the data suggests that nobody wants to buy small pianos simply because nobody considers it a possibility. I would certainly think there isn't significant data to support your claim that these theories are false, however I could be wrong as I haven't exactly done much research on the subject.

[@codetech5598]

@@ekklesiast Yeah, everybody wants to buy 1/2, 3/4, and 7/8 size guitars, violins, etc, but not 7/8 size keyboards. Because pianos are special.

[@ekklesiast]

@@codybill24 Yes, millions or tens of millions of pianists for several centuries have never ever considered a possibility of buying a smaller piano. There's just one guy who makes them in secrecy for 30 years while everyone else is blind. Sure. It's not my claim, it's your claim that needs any support. My claim is just actual facts.

[@bryand6811]

before watching your video i didn't realize just how much this topic emotionally impacted me. it's always been there in my periphery, but as you said, instead of asking "why dont they sell pianos in different sizes," my train of thought turned inwards to the path of self-hatred- "why wasn't i born with larger hands?" no one talks about the possibility of smaller keys, NO ONE. only after watching a video about the history of piano (and the instruments leading up to it) did i even learn that keys used to be smaller on similar pre-piano instruments. it's always been, "how to play an octave with smaller hands" or "it's ok you don't have to play the octave." but i do want to!! and i want to do it comfortably! it feels so insidious that pain experienced b millions of people is ignored because manufacturers want to stick to a one-size fits all model. like someone already commented, it would be ridiculous to expect other instruments (like the guitar) to only be available in one size, so why is that the case for the piano? david is doing amazing work, and i hope his mission catches on. thank you to you for making this video! it was very informative, revealing, and entertaining :)

[@JenniferLaveryFBE]

I've recently taken up the piano, and I do find that practice can be painful. I definitely don't have the right hand span; it's about 7.5", and I do notice that my hands can seize up and be painful after proper practice. I didn't even think about getting smaller sized keys when I set out to buy an electric piano. It's bizarre that the thought didn't cross my mind, as I'd never heard of a smaller piano. When I think about that... isn't that crazy? So many other instruments come in different sizes, why not piano? I'm a violinist first, and violins are made in different sizes. It's logical that the instrument should fit the player. The player shouldn't be made to fit the instrument.

[@cosmic_gate476]

I have 8.5 inch span on the dot, and it's still not comfortable to play a 10th (need to play it near the bottom of the keyboard)

[@the_inZANE_pizza]

YES! I have tendonitist ALL THE TIME and it annoyes meeeee

[@the_inZANE_pizza]

And I have a 7.1 inch span, I already struggle with octaves, and theres nons in a lot of the pieces I play

[@Velnox]

@@cosmic_gate476 With a 8,0 inch span, I can casually play octaves, I strech for a ninth, and I just discovered that I can play a 10th but I have to strech a lot before and it is painful to do. I wish they were just 0.5 inches bigger

[@peterfireflylund]

It’s a lot easier to carry your personal violin or guitar around than it is to carry your personal piano around… that’s why piano keys are standardized.

[@wesleymango2712]

My hand size is actually the same size as yours. I've always been concerned about it and I thought I'd never be good enough to reach an advanced level. I'll probably never buy a custom keyboard, but just knowing that you (someone I assumed had larger hands) have a similar hand size to mine and is also so talented gives me so much more confidence.

[@God-xw1nu]

If u can play slowly u can play it quickly

[@prestonle8993]

@@God-xw1nu if you can play small you can play large

[@God-xw1nu]

@@prestonle8993 this is a new one but it stands true

[@dimitrisskar4174]

ling ling 40 hours

[@TrueShadowMR]

I've been playing the piano for about 5 years and I have tiny hands, I can barely reach a 9th and its really uncomfortable. Still I never quite realized how much of a difference that makes. In my opinion Mr. Steinbuhler is an absolute man of honor, pursuing this passion even though it doesn't pay at all. Thanks for making this video, from now on I will passionately promote his work to anyone that might be interested.

[@mandykeez]

You absolutely blew my mind! A bassist I work with forwarded. I am a full-time professional pianist/keyboard player, BA Music/Piano, studied and play for over 50 years, teach private lessons, gig with everything from Skynyrd Tributes to Disco and have NEVER heard of any of this! It’s going to take time for me to process but I will be forwarding to all my students and fellow keyboardists. I’m on your team!Thank you thank you thank you, keep fighting the good fight!!

[@iturea2504]

I can play all the 10ths and a couple of the 11ths without moving my hand. It has helped learning the piano a lot by having large hands, and me being only 7-ish months into piano I can handle most things with rapid octaves or big jumps, wondering why they were considered to be so hard. I totally agree with this video, because when I was a kid, I hated playing the piano, my hands always felt stretched and uncomfortable. Here I am now, regretting I quit, and wishing I could've gotten a smaller keyboard

[@shiso7871]

I abandoned my pianist education after seven years because of small hands. 19 cm = 7.5 inch (19,5 cm max for left hand). I love to play but it is very difficult, even octave is a little challenge. This video brought tears into my eyes.

[@paulwolter3186]

The demand "isn't there" because the people with smaller hands quit

[@thepowerofjeans]

That sucks because all they would need is just a smaller sized piano smh

[@Rachman01]

I can stretch a tenth on command(easier on my LH) after many torturous years of training myself to do so. It is a sad reality that there is such a lack of awareness in this topic, though I find it crazy since different size custom pianos have existed throughout the ages. Anyone who’s studied Chopin eventually realizes that period pianos (including his beloved Pleyel) had narrower keys! This makes his compositions make a lot more sense to me when piecing his hand anatomy along side the ranges he likes to incorporate so often in his music! This content is gold, thank you for bringing this out to light for many to be made aware of!

[@codexone2194]

I'm a violinist with small hands. It took me ages to find a smaller-than usual violin with a thinner neck. But at least there ARE violins in different shapes and sizes! I can't imagine forcing my hand into a stretch farther than it is physically possible just to play. You poor pianists have my sympathy!

[@soundings]

also, many top-tier modern violin makers will happily make 7/8 size instruments, or adjust neck sizes.

[@patriciaeverett5001]

Such a redemptive endeavor for Lionel to have done all the research that he did and now advocating for himself and so many others for the instrument's keyboard to accommodate their needs. God bless this!!

[@Morgan423Z]

As a male guitarist with smaller hands, it hadn't even occurred to me that players of other instruments can't always have smaller versions of their instruments available. Every instrument I play fits me... I own 3/4 scale guitars, a tenor guitar, a handful of ukuleles... not one of them is too large, and there are other versions available for people with larger hands. This has never been a barrier to me, since I picked up my first guitar years ago. If guitar manufactures began making 99% of all guitars to the same scale, size, and dimensions tomorrow, I'd assume that they'd gone collectively mad. Yet this has been your world, forever. I'm still stunned that this is how it is for pianists. Assumptions (like my long-time assumption that keyboards commonly came in different sizes) are a hell of a thing.

[@nomorebushz]

Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones had small hands so he had a guitar made for him. A piano is not a guitar. Pie in the sky. Small hands no money… You’re shit out of luck. Having small hands and wanting to play piano , It’s like a politician with no money wanting to be president. Look at Trump… Small dick… A lot of money. God bless the dollar bill.

[@2112jonr]

Your logic isn't logical. A piano is STILL an instrument with a customer base. You conveniently omitted that commercial fact. When 80% of women have hands that are not big enough for your pianos, you might actually find yourself in court on a discrimination case - you're favouring people based on a genetic trait, and certainly by gender, as hand size (and body size in general) is dictated by dual growth inhibiting X chromosomes. It's a very, very clear discrimination case.

[@SymphonicEllen]

@@2112jonr uh. I have small hands even for a full grown woman and I play piano and flute just fine. Could I play some of the really complicated classical stuff? Maybe not. but I play plenty of stuff. It comes down to are you willing to find a way to do it. I, and plenty of other women, have done just that. There are also little kids that play acoustic guitar and piano when they're like 3 or 4 years old. Same deal. Maybe they won't be playing Mozart for a while, but they can play.

[@Tnepi]

​@@SymphonicEllen, That's understandable, but there are some who simply experience too much pain playing the piano, or other instruments that are on a larger scale than what they're used to. The amount of players who experience discomfort and pain due to their smaller hand size, ESPECIALLY whenever they were playing pieces that required them to stretch their hands is still something that is important to talk about, and should be changed. It would also make the learning process faster if you use a size you're comfortable with, even if you're just a beginner.

[@douglascutler1037]

@@nomorebushz To an inventor, a problem like this is like giant neon sign flashing "OPPORTUNITY". The cynic says it's impossible. But the innovator says, "yes, but if it WAS possible, how would you do it?" I don't think you are an inventor.

[@e1123581321345589144]

Mad respect for David Steinbuhler! We need more people like him.

[@ekklesiast]

no you don't. that is why you don't buy his pianos and hence he's constantly losing money making them.

[@zswu31416]

@@ekklesiast What the hell is wrong with you

[@nikitaedell]

@@ekklesiast sad truth

[@DrummerrDuckie]

Wow, what an absolutely fantastic video! Thank you so much for speaking up about and bringing some well-deserved attention to this topic. I found it really sad to learn how the majority of pianists are forced to play in pain and risk of injury, but it was also so wonderful to see the joyous and emotion-filled reactions that a few of those pianists had when sitting at the alternative sized pianos. I really hope that this issue gets resolved and the information and education spreads, because I would absolutely love to see the pianist community to get access to the alternative sized pianos they deserve. I know that I'll be sharing this around as much as possible to help with this

[@leilamekh6832]

I’m from Russia and I have never heard about alternative-sized keyboard and have never thought about the possibility of making a smaller size-keyboard. I had accepted in a musical school that I would never become a true pianist not only because of lack of talent, but because of pain in my hands as I couldn’t play the hard parts of a composition. Thank you very much for the video!!!!! Incredible work!!!!

[@DebbieDenkeMusic]

There was a music patroness of the arts in Santa Barbara named Cynthia Wood, who owned 2 Steinway Grand Pianos in one of her homes, with one she had specially built with narrower keys for her small hands. She willed her pianos to the library and a retirement home she established - sadly they took the narrower keyed Steinway and had it rebuilt to standard size! Such a shame (thousands of dollars to create it, then thousands more to "normalize" it). My college piano teacher Peter Yazbeck lived in one of her homes - he asked me if I wanted to try it (I was afraid I'd get too fond of the feeling), remembering the day I burst into tears wishing I could learn Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto - then froze after looking at page 1.

[@MusicalBasics]

It's very sad that they rebuilt it. that makes me really angry. That shows me how much history there is behind the current status quo and how much of an uphill climb this fight has to endure, especially the people from PASK who have been leading this movement for decades. I'm only a few months old but I'll do my part in helping spreading awareness.

[@copperlark5400]

@@MusicalBasics We can do it! You have my full support and support of hundreds of thousands if not millions!

[@SamK-Music]

What a loser who did that

[@soacker25]

@@SamK-Music get over it😂

[@spartan456]

I'm fortunate enough to have big hands that can _somewhat_ comfortably stretch far enough to hit 9ths. However, it is often still awkward and difficult to play many things because I have to stretch my hand out in such a way that it can cause a lot of unwanted tension. Considering the fact that one of Chopin's very own pianos, as well as who knows how many other famous pianists pianos, were _intentionally built_ with reduced sized keys, I think that speaks volumes for how useful they would be across the entire world. I have actually tried smaller keyboards before. Ironically enough, many of the very cheap MIDI controllers may have thinner keys. They don't produce sound on their own, and they have terrible actions, but it is far easier to play traditionally difficult intervals on them due to the reduced key width. It always puzzled me that these reduced size variants were never available in more professional models that are more comparable to the overall feel of an acoustic piano. Where's the high-end digital pianos with these smaller keys? Another issue that I think is worth mentioning: the overwhelming elitism that exists in Piano culture. There are _SO MANY_ snobby attitudes surrounding piano communities that it makes me want to cry. The amount of times I've heard people say "oh dear, you think that $100 piano you got from someone is a good instrument? Psssht, if it didn't cost you 8 figures it's not a REAL piano." This elitism reaches far and wide to all facets of the piano experience. Simply mention the prospect of using stickers that show the position of a note on the grand staff on your piano keys and watch the pages of arguments unfold. I think the elitism, coupled with all of the other points you described, perfectly wrap up why these smaller sized keyboards don't exist on better models of digital pianos, or even acoustic pianos. To the classical elite who stand at the top, it's "learning wrong." It's "not correct", it's "a crutch". I can hear the arguments against it now. Oh, you play on a piano that's comfortable to you? That's wrong. That's a crutch. No other piano is like that. Why are you relying on a crutch? I learned on a normal piano so you should be forced to as well. Just get better. There is clearly an overwhelming amount of gatekeeping with the piano, and it extends well into physical differences. There's no reason someone with smaller hands should be robbed of the opportunity to learn and grow as a musician just because of their genes. This was a fantastic video and I hope more people see it. These kinds of pianos NEED to be mass produced.

[@deepthoughtswithpaul604]

No wonder you thought the octave repeated note part in La Campanella was the hardest! I was confused when you said this in your practice vlog, as I had much more trouble with the jumping parts later on, but it makes so much more sense now. For someone with larger hands, they are already in position for the repeated notes, but someone with smaller hands has to jump up in the space of a 32nd note.

[@SDA921]

Teachers harp day in and out on posture, hand position, curving your fingers, and so many other ergonomics lessons. They are all important not just for playing well, but for preserving your health and avoiding injury. I honestly am baffled that this isn't on the list! Hopefully it becomes more common knowledge that this is an option and people actively seek it out so bigger manufacturers incorporate it into their process.

[@tpike32]

As a guitarist I agree . Distance equals time. Also guitar necks come in different widths scale size and radius. You use what is easy for you. Not everyone has same hand size. And NO making keys smaller is not cheating. Music is made from the soul.

[@psychosam4736]

This honestly blew my mind. When I tried to learn piano this is partially the reason I gave up, the thought of being unable to play some of my favorite songs simply because my hands are so small killed my motivation. I hope this gets some traction, because I would love to be able to buy a small keyboard one day!

[@shbzg]

Actually I thought this problem long time ago, and I was told one reason is that the big hand pianist would find the smaller sized piano impossible to play due to the narrow width between two black keys. So for manufacturer they prefer to produce one type of piano that meets the most demand ( not everyone is going to play Rachmaninoff obviously ). But yeah we are in 2022 it is a shame the big piano manufacture do not offer different size. Great video!

[@MusicalBasics]

Yes. Back in the late 1800s this is the reason why standardization kept moving the keys wider. In a household or community where there is only 1 piano, this size made sense to allow everyone to play. But it's 2022 and everyone should have their own piano or keyboard that fits them (in my opinion :)

[@Serpenzeye]

They just need some competition and then they will change their tune because they want the money too. Then they would make them. Maybe with this video, more awareness will come and people will buy so many keyboards from David Steinbuhler, that he has to make a full time operation of it and becomes a household name, and the competition begins.

[@pubcle]

Solution: Standardize high protein consumption and make small people bigger.

[@2112jonr]

Yeah, but as we saw, even the majority of men don't have ultra large hands. And restricting your products to mostly men could easily be taken to court as a discrimination case. "Tradition" does not cut it in 2022.

[@2112jonr]

@@pubcle Yep, like we need to tell people to eat more.

[@midimike88]

I've been playing the piano for 48yrs. I spent half of this video in tears. Thank you for posting. I, too, can barely reach a 9th. Did David Steinbuhler measure your hands?

[@powluiz]

At first I was like "Oh, can't see the use in a this topic", but now I just can't believe how many people have spent their entire lives not knowing the importance of this. Thank you for doing all the research and showing us. It is truly amazing!

[@mariabaicu1460]

Professional pianist here. My hands are 8 inches or 20 centimetres, I can play octaves pretty comfortably and I can reach a ninth if both notes are black or whites keys - if one of them is white and the other one is black, I can't play it. I think other people with my hand size would have an even smaller hand span since mine are really flexible. Only good point I can find in having small hands is being able to play in between the black keys, and this can be needed in a bit more modern repertoire like Debussy or Ravel. Pianists with larger hands but thin fingers are still able to do this, though. In most cases if you reach an octave you're said you're ready to go. That's true while you're a beginner, but when you try to play more difficult repertoire problems start to show. I'm not talking about Rachmaninov or Liszt, who wrote for their own gigantic hands. It can be difficult to play a Beethoven sonata. The problem is not the extension of the chords, but the amount of movement you must do to reach the different keys, especially while playing really fast. Some milimetres make a huge difference. In my case, it would be the difference between being able to play only the first movements of Grieg piano concerto, or being able to play the complete concerto. It's so sad I can't finish it just because of my hands aren't big enough to play the accompaniment at the right tempo, even when having a great leaping and chord technique. And finally the injuries. You probably won't injure yourself if you play half an hour a day with small. You'll probably do if you have to face Chopin's etude op 25. n°10. You'd have to care for yourself a lot for not getting injured, have a great technique, take rests, and still would be suffering to play it, and meanwhile a bigger handed pianist could play it with half the effort assuming they have the proper technique. Is it fair? I would definitely cry if I had a smaller sized keyboard. I just hope companies start to manufacture them, and give us small hand pianists an opportunity to play those pieces I can only dream I could play.

[@ijohnny.]

The initial market to sell a smaller keyboard is not found in giant grand pianos, or any acoustic piano, but digital pianos. The keyboards are, generally, not as expensive to manufacture.

[@paskpianos]

And portability is a big advantage.

[@truthbetold8610]

I agree, that would be much easier to manufacture a narrower digital keyboard, and I bet they would sell like crazy! I'll order the first one!

[@christinaattwell7071]

Absolutely amazing, just think how much encouragement it would be for children with smaller hand span to learn to be come pianists with narrower keys.

[@herbcraven7146]

I'm not even a pianist, and I can see the importance of this issue to other musicians. I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and I would suggest reaching out to Chuck Surack of Sweetwater Sound here in town. Being the largest internet retailer of music equipment as well as having the largest music store in the United States, Chuck, (who is also a keyboardist, by the way) might be able to pull some strings and convince at least one of the manufacturers of digital pianos to get the ball rolling by introducing a smaller scale keyboard on a professional grade instrument. He's a great guy who has done a lot of good work for our community, and I believe he may be interested in hearing your thoughts on this topic.

[@GizzyDillespee]

That company got sold to a venture capital company less than a year ago. I think Chuck is still involved, though?

[@CardamomCake]

Its crazy how obvious the solution of smaller keys is, compared to blaming the size of your hands. Yet I would never had come up with it. David Steiner is a real hero.

[@danmoon8886]

I am a small man, 64 years old and a career auto mechanic. My tiny hands have served me well, navigating cramped spaces in modern cars. A new musical interest includes keyboards, and I struggled due to small hand size and a lack of flexibility. A decision to buy a "mini" size keyboard (Yamaha PSS a50) rocked my world. It looks like a toy, but has a great set of features. Velocity-sensitive keys gave me a HUGE boost in "expression". I previously purchased several entry-level electronic keyboards that did not have velocity-sensitive keys. I didn't realize what I was missing! The Yamaha PSSa50 sounds great when connected to amp and speakers. I recommend anyone with small hands to go to a music store and try a quality "mini" size keyboard.

[@hermask815]

As a synthesizer aficionado who doesn’t play any keyboard (I operate by sequencers) I’ve seen a lot of smaller sized midi-keyboards. What’s fascinating about this era is : on one side you hear about ergonomics and repetitive strain injury, and on the other side there’s the piano world which is totally oblivious to those concepts. That reminds me of Chinese foot binding of the last century.

[@NewEarthWellness]

I believe more people would learn to play if the keys were more narrow. My mother and I are two people that were discourged because the reach is too far for our hands. If more people could play sales would naturally increase. It is sad that these companies don't seem to care. Thank you for making this video.

[@ValkyRiver]

Quote by Tiffany Goff: “There is a sort of accepted culture in classical piano. And I did experience this from a very young age, asking is this person’s hand too small to play the piano? Should we be discouraging this person from pursuing music at a professional or just a very high level? And it’s absolutely the wrong question. The instrument is a tool, instrument is a synonym for tool. So the question we should be asking is, is this piano too big for this individual? And if the answer is yes, then that individual should absolutely have an instrument of a suitable size.”

[@ilikebreadsticks1880]

This has been a topic which has stopped me playing again and again. It’s so incredibly annoying and saddening when octave notes sound much better in a piece but I just can’t reach it. Drives me insane. I just want to play cool pieces at home with octaves and I wish so badly people would just make smaller pianos it’s so EASY but so… out of reach.

[@kyleethekelt]

Same here. Although it's severe spatial issues when combined with total blindness (I literaly do not know where to put my fingers once they have to lift from their currently occupied positions) which really stops me playing anytihng but the very basics, I remember how not being able to manage an arpeggio was just another thing for which my teacher mocked me. That happened some 40 years ago and is just one reason I will always feel awkward at the keyboard. I have perfect pitch, and can well understand what I'm hearing and how it should sound, but I can't reproduce it.

[@imalamboman12]

Perfect example of learned helplessness and not questioning the established consensus.

[@douglascutler1037]

'Learned helplessness', good one. I will add that to my long list of inherent cognitive bias among those who claim the piano keyboard of the late 19thC is the ONLY legitimate keyboard.

[@Viki-zo1bc]

Amazing work! Never seen a video on this untouched subject. My deepest gratitude and respect to you. I felt as if you spoke from my heart. I never thought someone would speak about it. This video made my day. I literally had tears When the girl cried. Every music lover deserves to learn piano regardless of age and hand sizes. You spoke for the majority of women and men like us. I hope this will spread the awareness against the discrimination. Let our voices be heard.

[@declarkson]

How enlightening! I had never even considered the possibility! I used to have to stretch my hands for hours as a preparatory exercise so they wouldn't cramp up. Wow. That's really why I stopped my classical training. It just got too painful. Thank you!

[@jtaicello]

This is such an amazing video! For string players with small hands, we do have options to play on 7/8th or even 3/4th sized instruments (though those are a bit harder to find). Pianists just don’t have this option in general! Turns out (hand) size matters

[@trevor5929]

I'm 60 and not a pianist, but i studied it at 9 -12 years old. Then a divorce cancelled its continuation. But i remember back around 1980 i purchased a electric keyboard at Macys. What struck me odd at the time was that it had smaller keys than a standard piano. I felt it hindered my playing as it was harder for me to play. You see, i actually have the large hands you dream of. Unfortunately my skills never developed. I am in awe of your skills. I'm happy you found someone who can help the world play better piano.

[@Sylphadora]

I just got gifted an electronic keyboard. I’m learning how to play with it and sometimes I think the 20 mm wide keys are too small for me. It’s uncomfortable when I have both thumbs in the middle C and I often hit two notes by accident.

[@captcontrol]

This is perhaps one of the greatest videos ever played on KZbin. I would have never know they made pianos with smaller keyboards.

[@adammacdonald4536]

As a carpenter I would love to experiment with making some sort of a piano topper that can be mounted to the top of piano that is just a smaller set of keys. The majority of the keys in the middle of the piano would basically be right above their corresponding key so it would only be a challenge for the last 20 or so keys on each end. Of course that would be a bandaid solution but it could make it more accessible to the masses

[@julessmudge3533]

This is the video I just found yesterday as I looked for solutions to see if my old, dumb small hands on the piano could actually make a difference before I die. This is the video that made me cry. This is finally a real answer to what has stopped me going any further with my music past a certain level (medium to advanced at best, I guess). I already had the traditional handicap of not starting piano until I was 17, instead of 4, and was made to feel inferior even though I passed all my piano exams with honors , as a student. I wasn't quite solo concert level therefore, so I played for a Dutch Male choir for a while, had a few private pupils, got married, had kids, music stopped and basically resigned myself to hide away my classical box forever. And all the while I didn't realize why my hands felt cursed. I blamed my late start for being the only culprit for the constant struggles of trying to stretch my hands to a 10th. OMG my female hand is only barely 8.0 fully outstretched. Now, I'm prepared to try again maybe, if people actually are aware of this issue in the open, I might have a chance yet, maybe even be lucky enough to find a piano with smaller keys too, one day :)

[@Liia9041]

This was such an in-depth and well-researched video! As a woman with small hands, this is something that I've wondered many times and I'm really glad I'm not the only one. Thinking about it always made me quilty, because I felt like I was making excuses to why playing is hard. Now I know that's not the case, thank you for making such a great video! ❤

[@ErikB605]

10:14 seems like a good example of survivor bias. They look at piano-players asking themselves if they would profit from smaller keyboards. They say nope. All playing on regular keyboard just fine failing to see all the people that never got far into playing, chose different instruments or don't play any instruments all together because the instrument they could play was just not available.

[@douglascutler1037]

Yes, there are all kinds of cognitive bias involved in reactions to reduced-width keyboards. In addition to your insightful survivor bias I would also include: confirmation bias, rationalization of status quo, sunk cost fallacy, appeal to ancient wisdom fallacy, tradition over logic fallacy, weak messenger fallacy (i.e. if David Steinbuhler also happened to be a top level concert pianist he'd be taken more seriously). I would also include something I recall reverse Dunning Kruger effect. Regular Dunning Kruger says less educated over-estimate their expertise and more educated know better what they don't know. In reverse Dunning Kruger we see human ego adding to the bias. For example, we get musicians of considerable accomplishment who now assume they have mastery of fields in which they have no formal training like ergonomic engineering and design in this case. Indeed, one thing that is increasingly clear in recent times is that even highly intelligent minds can fall prey to various forms of cognitive bias which are usually very emotionally charged and likely inherited in our DNA from an evolutionary history where snap decisions were necessary for survival in the primeval forest.

[@mglohmeyer]

I think #4 is spot on. The makers need to know people want this stuff. But to win this one, it must happen from the low end up as well as the top end down. You need to get the makers to make smaller keybeds for the inexpensive electronic pianos often used as trainers. I don't mean the small synthesizer keyboards that are common. I mean the 5.5 and 6.0 sizes presented in this video. If people learn on a smaller piano (that fits their hands better, especially for children), then they will demand the same of a full-size piano later for those whose hands do not grow into the standard size. I know, I can hear the screams from all the instructors saying "NO, you will ruin yourself for moving to a 'real" piano later." I've done enough different motor skills activities in life to know humans can adapt quite well to such physical differences, and usually those that do will become better overall at the activity. Just as was stated in the video.

[@LesleyLai]

"Comfortably play ninth"... I can only comfortably play seventh for my entire life. Thanks for making this video! People definitely need more awareness on this issue.

[@advena996]

Same! It's kinda crazy to think what struggles advanced children have to deal with.

[@monkeymuncher2]

wow your hands are really small. though my hands aren't too much bigger, can only conformably play octaves, and left hand barely reaches 9th then are people like animenz that can play quaver 10ths

[@EmJeRo14]

Omg same 😭

[@elijaha2246]

I couldn’t imagine that, I can comfortably play a tenth and stretch a little for an 11th, almost reaching a 12th

[@airy8509]

I- I have to stretch my hands a lot to even reach an octave. It is part of the reason why I quit piano as my hands are unlikely to grow bigger already.

[@_BAND-MAID_fan]

Thank you, for putting this together/uploading, and a BIG thank you to David Steinbuhler for being an innovative part of the solution.

[@ronigbzjr]

Wow you just shattered my brain. I've been playing piano for over 20 years. To this day, the pain while playing moonlight III, revolutionary and butterfly etudes, even some of my own music which I damn well wrote for myself didn't I, was normal to me. I even kinds worn it as a sign of pride, like I can't feel like I've really practiced that day if I'm not a bit painful by the end of it. I kept telling myself I just need to work more on relaxation. You really enlightened me, sir, and now I need to do my own research, because I too feel like I'd be willing to spend a small fortune for the possibility of just being able to play octaves comfortably, let alone 9ths!

[@empirinha]

I never thought about this possibility, but as I know myself how different pianos can feel like I am 100% convinced that narrower keys could actually make all the difference when playing fast-switching octave arpeggios and practice sessions would not have to be ended simply due to hand strain. I wish this would just be a common option upon ordering a piano from the manufacturers website. Thank you so much for this insight!

[@yebinyun1738]

I've been playing for 10 years with hands of 7 inches barely comfortable with octaves and it's always been so sad to think about. I had no idea smaller pianos could even be a thing but now that I know I can't even imagine how happy I'd be if I could play on those. This would benefit so many more people than people think and I really really wish one day these would be more accessible and more people would consider making these.

[@hutchxc9188]

Fascinating. I never even took the time to consider alternate keyboard sizes as a possibility. I know that would make a world of difference to me. Mad props to David Steinbuhler for investing so much money into this problem, he is an absolute legend.

[@helenwang7884]

Words cannot express how I feel when I stumbled upon this video. Thank you! I hope I will live to see a day when mainstream piano manufacturers start manufacturing keyboards for people with smaller hands.

[@ivancao9434]

This needs to be seen by more people.

[@tedlassagne5674]

This is one of the most significant videos for musicians on KZbin. The pictures of the "bell curves" for male and female hands tell the story clearly. With the computer-aided design facilities now available, the cost argument is mitigated. As an organist, I have wished for narrower keys to be able to do justice to the works of Cesar Franck, who wrote lots of tenths and even elevenths. Both pipe and electronic organs have electrical contacts on their keyboards, so making the keys narrower is less fraught than it is for a piano.

[@Andybeano]

THANK YOU! I was just talking about this with family the other day and whilst I get the “objections” like “pianists can’t travel with their instruments very easily so they have to get used to the regular size” etc, I REFUSE to believe that A) it isn’t a good thing have available, and B) There wouldn’t be a market for it (if awareness was improved), for all the reasons you put forward so well in this video. It seems almost ridiculous to me that in an age where businesses go absolutely stark-raving bonkers looking for a USP in their products that they can use for marketing and drawing customers from their competitors that something that makes this big of a difference to the quality of life of playing a piano for so many pianists isn’t something that is commercially viable for the big piano manufacturers.

[@cbbcbb6803]

I remember reading a magazine article back around 1995 or so about this same issue. The author said that some performers had even developed carpal tunnel syndrome as a result of trying to force their hands to conform to the standard keyboard size. I think the modern-day piano keyboard should be considered a defective product for many many people.

[@RachelaNarozna-uc2ok]

Cried, Cried loudly seeing that ! Feels like Tiffany in that movie, lack of awareness! Play piano since 1986 never heard about alternative keyboard My life would have been TOTALLY DIFFERENT if I could use it Im just speechless..... Pianist shall we start a revolution about it,please Thank u for sharing, feel kind of relief thinking im not the rubbish and worse just because my hand span is just a none

[@paskpianos]

We are trying to create this revolution!

[@jonalex_io]

you deserve an award for this video🙌🙌 its still shocking to me how many teachers i know believe pianos should remain standardized, i mean if bowed string instruments come smaller sizes, why not pianos???

[@itskarl7575]

The availability of smaller-sized keyboards would also expand the future repertoire of piano compositions, as composers naturally write within the limits of possibility. As it stands, it looks like roughly 50% of the adult population would be able to benefit - that ought to mean roughly 50% of people composing keyboard music as well.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

Excellent point -- especially considering harmonic density and voicing within chords/octaves --

[@jeremycalnan4180]

But I need to know what a woman not trying to recruit me feals because of Buddy I'll never know because why....oh hello I don't have strings that tuff....

[@jeremycalnan4180]

Same thing with ....I see what's missing ...coop

[@jeremycalnan4180]

Go over cold cases for me ...Rita...please

[@jeremycalnan4180]

Your computer needs me...

[@Blue_Magi]

Astounding. Thank you for making this. I can remember my grandmother having a piano, and always wanted to learn to play it, play music on it. However, as a guy with small hands (8.0 Inches from thumb to pinky range based on what you showed in the video) which means I had even smaller hands as a child, I could never reach the keys like she could… which in turn would lead to anger and frustration as I wasn’t able to follow her direction. How I would have loved to have known about this years ago. I wish I could go back to my childhood and have had a keyboard like this made. Pianos are beautiful instruments and I’ve always wanted to learn to play, but that memory of “your hands are too small!” still echoes in my mind when I think about learning how to play. While I doubt that I ever will learn to play unless circumstances change, it is incredibly encouraging to hear of something like this. It is enough to give me home that some day I might learn how to play. Once again, thank you for making this video. Hopefully it will help in the future to show and remind piano companies that not all people are the same. Maybe they will realize that they could, in theory, help the next Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart find their passion in life.

[@nemobard]

Such an amazing video. I felt tears spring up the moment you mentioned smaller keyboards. Always thought it was only my hands that's were defective. They are pretty small, 7 inch octave span and 6.1 inch from wrist to middle finger tip, and I'm 30 years old! I hope this amazing piano maker can someday deliver to India, because going to the states or Canada to purchase a keyboard is simply not possible for me. What a beautiful man and what a beautiful passion! Thank you for this video. 🌻❣️

[@JadeCordova]

Actually, I've found many "smaller" pianos (narrower keys) available closer to you, albeit in the South East Asia region. I have a similar hand span (just over 7") - never changed/grew when I first started playing as a kid more than 30 years ago and it took many painful years of stretching exercises and learning techniques to play octaves comfortably and barely-there 9ths. The pianos are normally marketed for children but I did find a few baby grands that have narrower keys. Unfortunately, almost all of these piano stores don't advertise the custom pianos online, though.

[@nemobard]

@@JadeCordova This information does help, thanks so much. I will try to find the ones you're talking about. This whole subject is so new to me, almost blew my mind to hear of narrower keys in the video, and now from you about them closer to home. Thanks again. 🌻✨

[@AS-le5hr]

@@nemobard these pianos are way too expensive for me(a middle class indian) between r u professional pianist( I m little more than beginner)

[@nemobard]

@@AS-le5hr Not at all, I've just learned to play the instrument as a child and as an adult, continue to do so in the privacy of my home. Good luck on your learning journey, I hope you do well. 🌻

[@prinzcharls8454]

My limit is a ninth too. I can barly reach a tenth. I can do it, but it doesn't feel comfortable at all 🙈 I take piano lessons for one year now and i start to play pieces, where i need to stretch my hand wider. I am always so tense and playing the piano doesn't feel enjoyable sometimes. So i get the problem. Sorry to all pianist with even smaller hands than mine. Stay strong!

[@thenotsogoodpianist4706]

Mate I can feel ur pain 😢

[@thenotsogoodpianist4706]

Mate I feel ur pain 😞

[@nocturnalvisionmusic]

@@thenotsogoodpianist4706 me too I can't even do a true full octave without it being uncomfortable 😣 Try to work around it though 🙂

[@Sin_Alder]

If it makes you feel any better, I have huge hands, including particularly long fingers, and because of it I have to curl them pretty far inward as though I'm grasping something just for them to fit. If I don't, then having my thumbs and pinkies on keys means my index and ring fingers are nearly off the back of the keys, and my middle fingers are entirely off of them. Doesn't help that my fingers are pretty much the exact same width as keys as well, meaning it's hard to press a key without pressing one next to it. I think that both big and small handed people have their own problems with things like this, just different sorts of problems, and then there are those lucky people with a perfect hand size. Similar thing with a lot of technical card shuffling and cutting techniques. People with small hands don't have the reach to do a one-handed flip around cut, where as people like me that have muscular hands struggle because if your hand is too bulky there isn't enough room for one half-deck to maneuver around the other, even though their fingers and palms may be long enough for them to manipulate the cards easily.

[@thenotsogoodpianist4706]

@@nocturnalvisionmusic I can reach an octave comfortably But 10th , omg it hurts

[@patrickhauser631]

The lack of awareness issue is spot on. I had no idea there was even an option for other sizes. I'm an adult amateur male (not amateur at being male, amateur at playing piano), and I can barely reach a 9th, and a 10th is impossible. This just makes sooooo much sense. Think about all the sizes of violin' that kids can learn on until they reach a full size model. Yet these same kids would have to learn on an adult sized piano, because that's the only option. And if you go to buy a pare of gloves, you generally at least have the choice of small, medium, and large. Thanks for all of your effort to make this video and I hope it helps to improve awareness, and to someday change the industry!

[@Quickened1]

Fantastic video Lionel. I've always just been under the impression that if you had smaller hands, you simply didn't play piano, and you chose a different instrument. I never really considered why, a piano was the size it was, other than I thought it must be due to the mechanics. When I saw Tiffany start to cry, it really hit home, how debilitating this issue can be. Now that you have 1,000,000+ subscribers (woot!, woot!), I predict Mr. David Steinbuhler's sales are going to skyrocket, and all those years he's been losing money, are going to end up a "net positive" now! You're awesome for bringing this to light, and I really hope we get some extraordinary demonstrations, of just how much more freedom you have, by having a scaled down keyboard... Thanks!

[@davilho]

Man, this video has some of the most importants thoughts about piano playing! You had the courage to say the most inconvenient truth that nobody would dare to. This video must be seen by every pianist and piano teacher in this planet. In my opinion your research must be continued all over the piano world. Thank you so much!

[@cherwynambuter7873]

Although I am blessed with unusually large hands for a female pianist, I'm convicted after viewing this video that I need to speak up to the piano manufacturers and do my part to help those who are currently risking or future pianists who will be risking injury to themselves because of the stubbornness of the manufacturers. I will also seek to spread awareness of the availability of pianos with smaller key widths so more people will also be requesting them of the manufacturers. This is an idea whose time has come! It's ridiculous that Liszt, Rachmaninov, and Anton Rubinstein were the pattern after which piano makers standardized the piano key width! How very short-sighted. Although, profit motive - they probably all wanted to be known as "the piano Liszt played on" or future Liszts-to-come. I never thought of a misogynist stigma being one of the causes, but it does make sense. Just awful! With smaller key widths, we would have more Argeriches, more Wangs, more Turecks, more Grimauds and Uchidas. Thank you for pointing out this sad potential reason. The last thing I wish to say is, good for you for valuing yourself and your musicianship enough to invest in these more suitable pianos! Your playing is spectacular! Your gift very much deserves to have these adapted instruments available to it so the world can hear what your music sounds like when you're comfortable at the instrument. I have the Kawai MP11SE, as well, what already a wonderful digital piano if one needs a digital for various reasons. I am in love with it! I purchased it to provide pandemic-safe lessons for my students under a canopy out on our deck. It has proven a terrific instrument for them on which to learn during the pandemic. Wishing you all the best and hoping to find more of your music online to listen to and enjoy! Let's start a movement here for smaller pianos!

[@paskpianos]

Do connect with PASK on facebook - there is a closed group there.

[@picdoran]

And the guitar strings are sooo hard, and I have to blow hard to make a horn sound decent, and, and the basketball hoops are too high, and my hands just barely reach a full octave but are easily twice the size of some little 10 year girls who play pianos or violins, wonderfully..much better than do I! Give me a break!

[@cherwynambuter7873]

@@picdoran Those little 10yo. girls, if they attempted to play some pieces by Rachmaninov, Liszt, or Anton Rubinstein with their small hands, would definitely injure themselves. They are limited. With a smaller keyboard, these little girls would be far less limited. In order to feel empathy for someone, we need imagination to be able to put ourselves into the shoes of another person. Empathy is developed in childhood. It is helped by a mother expressing personal warmth and by the child having a secure attachment to the parents characterized by both parent and child having a mutually-responsive orientation to one another . If it is not done during childhood, it is usually not managed in adulthood. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/viewer.html?pdfurl=http%3A%2F%2Flocal.psy.miami.edu%2Ffaculty%2Fdmessinger%2Fc_c%2Frsrcs%2Frdgs%2Femot%2FMcDonald-Messinger_Empathy%2520Development.pdf&clen=162790&chunk=true I'm sorry that you can't find empathy in your heart for talented musicians who need an instrument for their own body dimensions. Do you also disagree with adults having shoes that are geared towards their foot size? Should all adults wear the same size shoes and clothes? Or is it right and good for shoemakers and clothing manufacturers to spend the extra money to design the footwear and clothing to be proportional to various sizes, which takes time, money, and effort on their part?

[@freewheeler1728]

@@picdoran finger tips can get hardened over time, lung capacity will increase after training, jumping height also increases with muscle build-up by training, and that 10 year girl will grow up n reach adulthood soon - BUT SMALL HANDS WILL NEVER GET BIGGER NO MATTER HOW HARD U PRACTICE OR HOW LONG U WAIT OR WHATEVER U DO what a pea-brain bozo - u r just comparing apples to oranges

[@tulelazule6914]

thanks sister. the more i think of it the more i really wonder if the keyboard size is why my neck hurts all the time.

[@ldmharpist]

I was just discussing with one of my piano students the dilemma of having small hands. I can barely reach a ninth, but my piano teacher showed me how to use my thumb to play two notes, which allowed me to play pieces such as Clair de Lune. Small hands are not such a problem on the harp, and I ended up being a professional harpist rather than a professional pianist, but my true love is the piano, which is why I teach piano instead of harp. I am now in my 60s and have mild arthritis in my hands, which makes it even more difficult to play pieces that I mastered when I was young. How wonderful it would be to have smaller keyboards available to everyone!

[@familiarsting4108]

As a guitarist(15 years) who is finally learning to tickle the ivories, it baffles me there aren’t more diverse options as far as octave width/key size. There’s all sorts of scales available for guitar.

[@Andy251153]

As a 4'11" musician, learning about different sized pianos have given me a lot of inspiration and hopefully i could have one in the future

[@christopherfleming7505]

As a piano teacher at the conservatory, I see children and young adults, mainly females, struggling every day to play octaves and large chords with small hands. I sincerely hope that in the not too distant future the big manufacturers will start to sell pianos with smaller sized keys. As an organist, I know what most pianists have never guessed; namely that the standardisation of the keyboard size is a relatively new phenomenon. I have played on many historic organs from the 17th and 18th centuries. The keys are TINY, and it takes quite some getting used to. Even the 1850 grand organ of the cathedral where I often play, has significantly smaller keys. Organ keyboards will never become standardised in the same way pianos have, because there are still so many historical instruments in constant use. Appart from the fact that organs are not mass produced in the way pianos are.

[@cbmetalgod88]

I've been playing guitar for like 17 years and recently bought a piano, despite years of stretching exercises in order to play things that most people would consider 'insane', I still have to stretch a bit to play the first and 8th note (octave). After warming up, it's not so bad, but I can't imagine what it's like for someone with smaller hands or someone who hasn't played finger style instruments much or at all. Even though these big companies might consider people with smaller hands a 'lesser' group of customers, imagine how many people out there don't even start playing because they know, just by looking at the piano that they can't stretch their fingers far enough to play their favorite music. I've learned so much about music playing the piano, and I truly hope one day, they change their mind so everyone can try it out.

[@RawwkinGrimmie64]

As an aspiring pianist, it only took me a matter of days to realize that my hands are much too small to play a standard keyboard. In order to play one note just an octave apart from each other on the same hand, I have to strain my entire hand stretching out my thumb and pinky finger just to barely reach both notes.

[@DavidBoycePiano]

A very interesting and rational discussion. Alfred H Howe in his book "Scientific Piano Tuning and Servicing", first published in 1941, has a chapter entitled "New Possibilities of the Keyboard" (Chapter 20), in which he discusses this very issue. Page 95 has a diagram of a possible keyboard with an octave stretch of 6 1/4" (from left edge of bottom C to right edge of top C).

[@thedoc-eh7yj]

Years ago I read a library book in which the author printed a diagram such as you mention and invited us readers to try our own hands on it. Had completely forgotten about it until this video showed up and reminded me. I'll bet that's the same book. I'd certainly never have remembered any more about it than what I just wrote. Thanks for the identification.

[@icequeen2778]

It’s so weird that you can’t learn or play on smaller sized pianos especially considering this isn’t the case with many other instruments. With the violin, you can play on smaller sized violins like 1/4, 1/2 sized etc and this is so important when you’re learning as a kid

[@Benice12]

This would be amazing for children to have the option to learn on. It would make their life so much easier. I didn't even know such an option existed. This idea is amazing. I hope more people find out abour it.

[@Skeife]

My brother has an upright piano, built around 1890, that has much narrower keys than a regular piano. I never thought much of it, since I play on a standard keyboard and have for years. I always found it a struggle to play at first since it was so far from what I'm used to, but over time I actually found myself preferring to play and learn on the narrower keys. I miss playing on that piano now. My girlfriend's hands are absolutely tiny. She would like to learn to play, but feels like it's impossible for her since she can't reach. Narrower keys would be a massive help to people like her.

[@defense9989]

Wow... This video really raised my attention towards this issue. I happen to study at that very university in Stuttgart that you visited in order to try out the piano with smaller keys. I made some efforts to finally play on it yesterday and, oh boy, does it make a difference. I do not struggle with hand size myself since I can reach a 12th on a standard piano when I really try, but this piano still made it so much better because even I can do so much more on it. And I really rely on being able to play big intervals. It would be horrible to not be able to reach a 10th for me, and I know people who can barely reach to an octave who really struggle and who are happy when they can play on this piano. I really think there should be another standard piano size that could allow smaller handed people to still reach a 10th.

[@douglascutler1037]

Nice, thoughtful comment. Usually those with large hand spans merely boast and say too bad to the rest of us. But yeah, the great equalizer is coming.

[@garypippenger202]

Wow. Just "WOW!" Since lack of awareness is the most important reason you found, then you have made an important contribution to this issue. It is inspiring to witness someone truly "making a difference" in this world. In this, you are an Olympian. Congratulations, and Thank You.

[@marcol.126]

As a teen with hands of 7.25 (octave) and 7.5 (9th) inches right and left hands respectively, it really pains me to see that no one wants to manufacture these smaller pianos. I have been learning liebstraum No.3 for bit now, and even though it is one of liszts easiest pieces, it is very difficult for me to play it. What I have been doing with learning pieces is finding easier pieces or pieces with arpeggios instead of big chords, so it really limits the things I can play.

[@IbrahimIceCold]

Same problem here

[@Quickened1]

Pay a visit to David Steinbuhler's piano shop!

[@savrtuthd]

the last section is full of tenths yikes that must be hard for smaller hands

[@ronan1686]

@@savrtuthd I can't reach the tenths without a stretch that would damage my hands, I just have to roll them sadly

[@aimilize3518]

Fortunately I dont have to worry about my hands when playing but it's still important to make the piano something accessible to all regardless of any factors like physical size not only will it make more pianists able to stand out but also shed the stigma around smaller hands

[@jermProbably]

Holy crap, I'm part of that logistic. I never thought these existed, and specifically avoided learning some pieces because they strained my hands. This is the video that got me subbed!

[@toshibasony9222]

Even though my hands are perfectly suited for the standard size keyboards, I would really really love to see more options available for those who struggle with this problem every time they sit behind the piano. Thank you for bringing awareness to the problem!

[@consume_arsenic]

@@YLLLOW-LLC ...there was no new point...

[@thetruewiz7147]

I just started playing piano three months ago and am so glad I stumbled upon this instead of years into their paino playing career like the other comments above. I would love if any piano enthusiasts from India would reply to my comment about where to buy this in my country. Thank you in advance 🙏. Btw awesome job on this documentary we didn't know we needed.

[@rushunnhfernandes]

Well I did some research, I don't think such products are available in India. Indians in general are not as interested in the piano as they should be. If you really need it, you may have to get it custom made.

[@thetruewiz7147]

@@rushunnhfernandes Thanks for the information 😄

[@susanwu5814]

Amazing video. You are the first to address this problem I have. I am not a pianist but love to play, and suffer because of small hands. Thank you for your research there is solutions.