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Hand span data was collected from 473 adult pianists and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods, focusing on differences according to gender, ethnicity and level of acclaim. For comparative purposes, similar data was collected from 216 non-pianist university students and 49 children and teenagers. Gender differences are cons...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... disparity between males and females is clearly illustrated in the two frequency curves shown in Figure 3, and also in the column chart ( Figure 4) which groups 1-5 spans into four size categories. The key factors to note are: ...
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Citations
... From a biomechanical perspective, anthropometry is important when learning a skill. Interestingly, with the exception of research on hand span and ergonomically modified keyboards (Booker & Boyle, 2011;Boyle et al., 2015;Chi et al., 2020;Deahl & Wristen, 2017;Farias et al., 2002;Lai et al., 2015;Wagner, 1988;Wristen et al., 2006;Yoshimura & Chesky, 2009), anthropometry has been overlooked in existing biomechanics research on piano performance and music pedagogy. Factors suggesting a need for more attention to anthropometry include these: (a) the keyboard is immobile and of fixed dimensions, (b) pianists must play notes according to directives in the musical score, and (c) anthropometry is largely a fixed variable for each pianist who must individualize positioning and repositioning the body to facilitate how fingers address the keyboard during performance. ...
Piano performance motor learning research requires more “artful” methodologies if it is to meaningfully address music performance as a corporeal art. To date, research has been sparse and it has typically constrained multiple performance variables in order to isolate specific phenomena. This approach has denied the fundamental ethos of music performance which, for elite performers, is an act of interpretation, not mere reproduction. Piano performances are intentionally manipulated for artistic expression. We documented motor movements in the complex task of performance of the first six measures of Chopin’s “Revolutionary” Etude by two anthropometrically different elite pianists. We then discussed their motor strategy selections as influenced by anthropometry and the composer’s musical directives. To quantify the joint angles of the trunk, shoulders, elbows, and wrists, we used a VICON 3 D motion capture system and biomechanical modeling. A Kistler force plate (1 N, Swiss) quantified center of gravity (COG) shifts. Changes in COG and trunk angles had considerable influence on the distal segments of the upper limbs. The shorter pianist used an anticipatory strategy, employing larger shifts in COG and trunk angles to produce dynamic stability as compensation for a smaller stature. Both pianists took advantage of low inertial left shoulder internal rotation and adduction to accommodate large leaps in the music. For the right arm, motor strategizing was confounded by rests in the music. These two cases illustrated, in principle, that expert pianists’ individualized motor behaviors can be explained as compensatory efforts to accommodate both musical goals and anthropometric constraints. Motor learning among piano students can benefit from systematic attention to motor strategies that consider both of these factors.
Pianists with small hands can often be hampered by the range of their hands, especially in the piano repertoire from the s. XIX. This research work has studied the problem of pianists with small hands, while trying to make visible the particularities of these pianists and stimulate their piano skills.
The work was divided into three different aspects, the first focused on delving into the relationship between the size of the pianist's hands and the piano. Through a historical review, the standardization of the instrument's keyboard size was questioned and information was shared about an alternative to smaller keyboards. The second focused on bringing a healthy and optimistic approach to the performance of the pianist with small hands. They were invited to reflect on an optimistic type of mentality, to better understand the physiology of the pianist, and to consider flexibility training, body awareness, warm-up before and stretching after the study session. In addition, the validity of the technical piano exercises was discussed. The third, was aimed at offering suggestions and strategies for study and execution, for common problematic passages in pianists with small hands in the 19th century. Subsequently, the strategies were exemplified by applying them to musical extracts from works of the romantic and post-romantic period. Insights from famous pianists with relatively small hands were also provided about the condition of having small hands when playing the piano. Likewise, a survey was presented that was addressed to piano students in the national territory about the topics synthesized above.
Finally, it was concluded that pianists with small hands can benefit from resources related to increasing flexibility and injury prevention (body awareness, warm-up-stretching, and technical exercises), as well as strategies offered for common problematic passages. In this way, pianists with small hands can opt for the performance of 19th century virtuoso works, albeit with more patience and caution along the way.
Small hands, virtuosity, piano, pedagogy, strategies.
The availability of keyboards with reduced key width has been recently promoted as an ergonomic aid for small-handed pianists to overcome any potential physical disadvantages that may restrict their piano repertoire. However, a lack of biomechanical data exists to support whether reduced piano key size is effective in achieving this outcome. This research investigates the effect of playing on three different key width size pianos (5.5-inch octave, 6.0-inch octave and conventional size with 6.5-inch octave) on hand, arm and shoulder muscle activity levels according to the hand size of the pianists.
Results indicate that piano key size affects the muscle activity levels of selected muscles. Furthermore, this effect of different key sizes changed according to the players’ hand spans. Small-handed pianists may benefit from using smaller-sized keyboards to reduce muscular exertion during performance. This investigation provides preliminary EMG data supporting the use of different size keyboards to improve the ergonomic fit according to the dimensions of individual pianists.
This systematic review aimed to evaluate whether muscle activity and playing-related musculoskeletal disorders are associated with musicians’ anthropometrics and their instrument size or set-up during violin and piano performance. Studies were retrieved systematically from six databases on 1 April 2019 combined with hand searching results. The Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies (AXIS tool) was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included papers. A total of twenty articles were identified. Most included studies focussed on either the adjustment of the shoulder rest in violinists, or the hand size in pianists. However, methodological quality was inconsistent. The electromyography data reported by the included studies were not appropriately processed and interpreted. Studies generally reported the use of a shoulder rest changes muscle activity and smaller hand size is correlated to increased playing-related musculoskeletal disorders incidence. However, no conclusions can be drawn due to heterogeneity and low quality of methodology in the available literature.
