How quickly could I adapt to a piano keyboard with narrower keys?
The experience of the majority of adult pianists who have played narrow keyboards is that they adapt to the new size remarkably quickly – generally in a matter of an…
Wouldn’t a child who wants to become a concert pianist need to learn on the ‘standard’ keyboard?
Narrow keys have significant benefits for children to help them learn sound technique and not develop bad habits caused by a keyboard that is too big for their hands. The…
Wouldn’t it be impractical and expensive for many concert venues to have additional grand pianos?
It is not necessary to have two or more pianos in a concert venue, but interchangeable keyboards for the one grand piano. The cost of an additional keyboard and action…
Are big hands really an advantage for piano playing?
There is now overwhelming evidence that having a larger hand span is a big advantage for a pianist, assuming they wish to have access to any advanced repertoire of their…
Isn’t it ‘cheating’ for some pianists to be able to play on narrower keys?
Pianists with large hands currently have an unfair advantage! Nobody suggests that adjusting stool height or installing raised pedals is unfair, or that prominent pianists who use, or have used,…
Doesn’t the current piano keyboard, which has not changed in over a century, suit most adult pianists?
The keyboard size that became the current standard dates back to the 1880s when pianos became bigger to suit large performance venues and a keyboard of this size was acceptable…
Does a piano keyboard with narrower keys have an inferior or weaker sound?
The volume and quality of sound in an acoustic piano depends on the instrument itself including the size of the soundboard, strings and other components, not on the width of…
Many small-handed pianists play very well. Surely the only requirement is to be able to reach octaves?
Just because a pianist can ‘reach’ octaves and certain chords doesn’t mean that they are playing within a healthy range of motion. Muscles and joints repeatedly operating at their extremes…
Isn’t the potential market for narrower keyboards very small?
Recent peer-reviewed research shows that around 87% of women and 24% of men have hand spans that are too small for the current ‘standard’ keyboard, assuming they want to play…
If small-handed pianists need narrower keys, surely those with ‘fat fingers’ should have access to larger keyboards?
There is no evidence that there is significant demand for keyboards larger than the conventional 6.5 inch octave keyboard, which is indeed ‘large’ by historical standards. While there are some…
