Claire Huangci on Playing Big Chords and Jumps with Small Hands
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 เม.ย. 2021
- One of this generation's brightest young virtuosos and teachers, Claire Huangci answers viewer questions about how she approaches passages requiring wide spans, including big chords and leaps. Featuring examples from Rachmaninoff and Liszt.
Part of a 90-minute open livestream session covering a wide range of pianistic topics: [app.tonebase.co/piano/live/pl...](app.tonebase.co/piano/live/pl...)
For more from Claire Huangci on tonebase: app.tonebase.co/piano/artists...
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Me thought someone finally share my struggle, then 10 seconds in , she said she can reach 9th…… me cries in 8th😢
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!!
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.
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.
Really?
@@OO-ek4vpThis is what Seymore Bernstein says in this video on the Tonebase Piano channel :
th-cam.com/video/0O1gyGY7ioI/w-d-xo.html
Whether he is authoratative about this or not I do not know but I assume that he is. You can watch it and judge for yourself.
I left a comment there about it similar to what I left for you and received several replies but no one seemed to question it.
I have read that the modern keyboard became standardized around the turn of the 20th century because that was what touring Russian virtuosos preferred.
There is at least one manufacturer now that makes a 7/8 keyboard as well as an intermediate size between that and the standard size.
@@OO-ek4vpHere is a video on the topic., "Piano's Darkest Secret". This pianist says after practicing on a smaller keyboard he could actually play better on the standard size
th-cam.com/video/ZXlknI-Jc48/w-d-xo.html
fr dude
ah yes i don't see problems coming when playing on different pianos at different times
Watching (and hearing) Claire is a joy. Thanks for posting!
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.
She has big hands
I'm an adult male and octaves hurt my hands I can barely reach
This channel needs more views and subscribers!!!! The quality of contents are just toooooo good and sooooooo helpful!!!!!
Thank you for this!
First time watching Claire. Wow!
Thanks! That was helpful!
Thank you! I think my teaching style is similar to yours, and that gave me a confident smile. Enjoyed this a lot! 😍
This is great. Almost no one tells you where to look. 👏👏👏
I love her playing
Thank you. Super helpful! :)
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 ]
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.
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.
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
Does anyone know what that étude is around 2:22?
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?
I can totally see where you’re coming from but I also don’t wish for composers to have their creativity handcuffed by trying to be inclusive to absolutely everyone. I think that should fall more on the piano makers not the musicians
@@lt_johnmcclane I was mainly referring to fairness in the education system. There are enough pieces out there to play but when all the choices for examination require you to reach an octave and notes in between when you physically can't reach them is just wrong. Talent, ability, education should not be limited to physical characteristics. A deaf person should be allowed to learn piano, a blind person should be allowed to do art, someone with small hands should have appropriate examination repertoire.
@@lt_johnmcclane Do you think composers should not be limited by the human hearing range (which changes as we age)? Just wondering.
i have the same range as claire, but i can barely play a ninth, a tenth is completely out of the question
Your piano is so beautiful. Lol
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.
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.
reaching an 11th is NOT average...
I did not just see you say "anything beyond an 11th is uncomfortable" and then proceed to say youre average sized
THIS IS ME.
She has big hands...
Having small hands in my case...
that is difficult...
Her hands reach a 9th. Quite small.
@@fink7968 for many of us that’s already big. Hehehe
@@KB1.1 Then you are either quite young, or have incredibly small hands. It's still possible that you play the piano quite well, but you should know that it makes injury much more likely
@@fink7968 That’s why the piano should never have been standardized.
Horowitz knew it and had a piano built with narrower keys. That’s why he looks like he is hovering over the keyboard when he plays. He doesn’t have to go far to reach each key.
Chopin also used a piano that had narrower keys.
Today, small handed people are discarded like a bad seed bc the first consideration to their talent is based on anatomy!!! Oof
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?
Where did you get it? Is it an actual piano?
you can’t say that and not tell us where you got it :/ lol
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
Me too.....
You should invest in a good speaker it appears....
yeahh you should invest in a good speaker :D
You are right about the low volume. These guys need to learn how to mix...that's all. Mikes are ok.
Are bigger hands better though?
Yes
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.
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