Claire Huangci on Playing Big Chords and Jumps with Small Hands 

My hands are even smaller than Claire’s hands!! And I really like how her breaks down passages and her approach to honoring chords! Thanks for this wonderful video!!

Me thought someone finally share my struggle, then 10 seconds in , she said she can reach 9th…… me cries in 8th😢

Watching (and hearing) Claire is a joy. Thanks for posting!

This channel needs more views and subscribers!!!! The quality of contents are just toooooo good and sooooooo helpful!!!!!

Thank you so much for this video. I have Claire playing Scarlatti on CD - beautifully! - but welcome her very helpful comments on hand size relative to works by romantic composers. As someone whose hands appear identical in size to Claire's, I find all too often that articles and videos on hand size are frequently produced by pianists who can span a tenth and therefore who can't truly experience the uneasiness felt by those with smaller hands. One of the chief irritations for me is that I frequently find people repeatedly quoting how marvellous Alicia de Larrocha was - and she was - and how she used 'tricks of the trade' to reach the large chords! They never explain what those tricks are, but we pianists with smaller hands know that the 'tricks' as they call them, are either rolling the chord, disposing notes differently between hands where possible, or rearranging chords.

Thank you for this!

Thank you! I think my teaching style is similar to yours, and that gave me a confident smile. Enjoyed this a lot! 😍

Thanks! That was helpful!

First time watching Claire. Wow!

Thank you. Super helpful! :)

This is great. Almost no one tells you where to look. 👏👏👏

She's a fabulous pianist. Excellent insight!

my hands are even smaller ! Some people think Rachmaninoff had Marfan's syndrome which would account for his enormous hands . This is a very helpful video . [Difficult to hear the words though as the voice-volume is really low ]

The real problem is that the modern keyboard should never have been standardized. Chopin's keyboard was 7/8 the size of the modern keyboard.

Thank you for the great lessons. However, I think the video editing needs a bit of correction of the voice sound. The volume of her voice is rather too low than the sound of the piano.

Thank you for Your comments about the positivity of Having small hands I’m still trying to play The Turkish March by Mozart Could you elaborate a tip to help me with the bar # 27-35

Okay, as a guy, my hand size is literally same as her. That's how I define real small hands(uncomfortable 9th and impossible 10th, and octaves are often insecure, inavoidable create bit more tension than others). Many people saying example of small hand pianists with 9th reach, which I don't really consider, because at the correct position, they can play octave quite comfortable. Octave is essential in playing piano.

I can reach an 11th and can play the opening chords to Rachmaninoff's second concerto. When I began playing piano at 15 I could barely reach an octave, 3 years later, puberty had it's fun. Searched up chords, and then some how ended up here.

Any tips on fast repeated octaves (Erlkönig?) ALSO what tablet, stand and software are you using ?

Your piano is so beautiful. Lol

i have the same range as claire, but i can barely play a ninth, a tenth is completely out of the question

Does anyone know what that étude is around 2:22?

THIS IS ME.

I struggle with an octave. (And I believe my piano has smaller keys than standard) Repertoire and difficulty should be based on hand size for fairness in examinations. Using a hand measurement chart. Some of us can't reach the notes within the octave for smooth progressions in JS Bach. Arpeggiation like in Chopin Etude #1 is much more difficult when you have to move your hand to the right keys where someone with a large hand has the keys under their fingers. Scarlatti was a master of composition without the need for large stretches to make beautiful music. There are only a handful of his sonatas that I can't play the chords as chords. Rachmaninov (Concerto) ?? Why just why ?? the start of the first movement and then the single line in the second movement. Stretch and relax?? It's a form of torture to write beautiful music that is physically not possible to play (for many pianists) Rolling the chords is just not the same. I have the same issues with the violin - I need another inch of length on my fingers to do some of Paganini's double stops. We have 1/2 size violins why not 1/2 size pianos?

In case you don't know guys: There is an option: A narrower keyboard. I've got one and it is fantastic. Can easily reach an 11th. Why struggle on an oversized keyboard if there are alternatives?

At the age of 49, my hands comfortably land a ninth, and anything beyond an eleventh is uncomfortable. I suppose that puts me in the average sized hands category, but I very much enjoyed and appreciated the content and her views on solving physical keyboard problems. Thank You.

Are bigger hands better though?

She has big hands... Having small hands in my case... that is difficult...

I think history has lost a vast number of would-be great concert pianists bc the piano was standardized. Horowitz was smart enough to realize his talent and his life’s’ musical path, and he had his piano built with keys that were narrower than the standardized keys on todays piano. I studied as a child and I could remember wishing and praying that I could find a piano that could accommodate my small hands. Not fully understanding what I really needed was a piano whose keys were closer together. My teacher took me seriously up to the day when he pulled out a Chopin piece and realized my impediment, from that day forward I was simply a person with a hobby. Horowitz should have helped and encouraged the idea of piano makers considering and making a line of none standardized pianos. His influence would have changed the instrument forever.

How about a chord with a low C#, A and then C ? That's 10 degrees apart, in the 17th measure in the Flight of the Bumble Bee. That's one chord , not appregio. Thank you.

You guys need to invest in microphones, esp if it's a music channel. Her voice is so soft, it's either I can't hear her and listen to the piano, or hear her talk and destroy my eardrums when she plays

Small voice more gain

she does not have small hands

...la pianista che sta spiegando non ha una mano piccola.

Oh boo hoo. I can t even reach an octave. I call discrimination against the small handed