Mind the Gap: Strategies for the Small-Handed Pianist

Abstract

The aim of this research is not only to investigate strategies to enhance playability for small-handed pianists in virtuoso nineteenth-century repertoire but also to review the gap in piano pedagogical literature in discussing those pianistic skills. Two qualitative performance-based methods for collecting data were used in this study: practice-led and action research. The combination of these methods gave this study the possibility to gather and validate information from sections of piano practice and reflection of these sections of piano practice to understand underlying causes enabling virtuoso nineteenth-century repertoire to be played by a pianist with small hands. The findings of this research fill a gap in the piano literature and demonstrate that improving and discussing playability helps to prevent from many musculoskeletal playingassociated disorders with simple strategies such as redistribution of notes, closing the hand between octaves, special fingering, omitting notes, and rearranging notes.