Measuring hand span; my method

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I am not yet at the stage of contacting concert pianists and asking them to measure their hands directly (although I am not discounting this, and may do so in the future). Since this is just a bit of fun, I needed a method that could give me a reasonably good estimate using images and videos alone. I came up with the idea of judging the degree of relaxation in the hands for various intervals based on the shape of the hand. The interval reached by the pianist is obviously critical, but the shape of the hand also needs to be considered, since there is a difference between the widest interval you can physically play, where discomfort is at its maximum and security is at its minimum, and the widest interval that is playable with some security and no pain or discomfort. Examining the image closely, I can then match my own hand shape to the same shape as in the image. I am not simply talking about adopting the same stretch, but closely examining the position and angle of all the fingers and matching these as best as I can with my own hand. I then place my hand on the same notes as in the image, using a standard 6.5-inch octave piano. Since I know my own hand span measurement (slightly under 8 inches for the right hand, and slightly over 8 inches for the left hand), I can use this as a base line and then measure the difference between the notes reached by the pianist in question compared to the position my hand reaches in the same shape. To back this up, I can also  place my hand on keyboards with different octave widths (5.5 and 6.0 inch octaves), playing the same notes, to see which one is the closest match to the image I am looking at. A 6-inch octave keyboard gives me the equivalent of a hand that can stretch half an inch wider than normal. A 5.5-inch keyboard would be the equivalent of gaining an inch of hand span. This can be augmented by other forms of evidence, such as other images of different intervals played by the same pianist, watching the hand in motion, and looking out for physical signs of tension in the hand.

 

I am admittedly only ever going to achieve a rough estimate with this approach, but I do have some confidence in my method and I believe that I can get somewhat closer to the truth than many of the sweeping statements that are often made. In fact, that is really what got me started on this project, as I was very dubious about some of the sources of information I had encountered online. You can make your own mind up as to how accurate you think I am and I would encourage you to try the hand shape method to see if you agree with me. Of course, what I think is an uncomfortable (or comfortable) hand shape, may not be for somebody else. The angles of fingers 1 and 5 in relation to the line of the forearm is often the first thing that stands out to me, as well as the more pronounced creases on the back of the hand when stretching (as far as I know I think these are called dorsal creases, but please do correct me if I'm wrong). The difference between two pianists hands playing the same intervals is often quite marked.

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*For instructions on how to build your own dummy narrow keyboard, click this link.

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Here is a list of some of the things to consider when measuring or estimating hand span:

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• Measuring hand span directly with a ruler, or using a chart, may seem like a foolproof method, but accurate measurements are not guaranteed. It depends on how well you observe and record the information, and how much the stretch is forced. This of course leads to the question of what determines a maximum stretch, but more on this later.​

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• There is a difference between the size of the outstretched hand from fingers 1 - 5, and the actual interval you can physically play. In other words, you cannot simply take a ruler to the keyboard and transfer your measured span to it in order to find out the largest interval you can reach. Reaching is one thing, playing is another! For example, on the standard 6.5 inch octave keyboard a 10th on the white keys looks playable with a span of just over 8 inches, however, you lose at least a few millimetres of stretch when the fingers press the keys (this is true especially for the white keys where the fingers have to bridge over adjacent keys. This makes a 10th interval unreachable, or barely reachable for a span that is just over 8 inches. The black keys by comparison are raised above the level of the white keys, and the gaps between them are greater so the stretch is not as great). For this reason, I have mainly used images where the pianist is physically pressing the keys, rather than images where the fingers are resting on the key surface.

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• The easiest images to work with are the aerial shots. For other camera angles from the side, or from below, matching the shape is much harder and therefore the span estimate is going to be less accurate. Unfortunately, hunting down a video with aerial shots of a specific interval stretch is like searching for a needle in a haystack!

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• There is a difference between the widest interval you can physically play, where discomfort is at its maximum and security is at its minimum, and the widest interval that is playable with some security and no pain or discomfort. The question to ask here is; which one of these do you class as  your maximum stretch?  Is it fair to say that you can stretch a 10th if you are in a lot of discomfort and hanging on to the edge of the keys? 

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• For large stretches on the white keys, a pianist will typically avoid stretching the hand more than is necessary. This often means the fingers are not centred on the keys, but positioned towards the inner edge of the key (i.e. towards the palm)

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• Large intervals toward the maximum span of the hand are typically reached with the finger tips on the edge of the keys, with the hand itself off the keyboard almost entirely. Some intervals can only be reached by first anchoring the thumb (or little finger) and then using the side or the front of the adjacent white key as something to press against. This is a useful technique that can gain you perhaps up to half an inch (in my case) on your usual maximum stretch, but be aware that this is putting your hand under a lot of stress.

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• The span and flexibility between individual fingers (not counting the 1 - 5 span) is also very important. The 2 – 5 span for example needs to be at least 6 inches in order to reach large chords and 7ths on the standard keyboard. Also bear in mind that an octave stretch consisting of two notes is very different to an octave stretch involving multiple notes within a chord. The use of additional fingers in-between the two outer notes puts far greater stress on the hand as it adjusts to the shapes and orientations required to play the chord.

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• There is often a small but important size difference between the right and left hand. It is often the case that one hand can stretch a little further than the other. This is an important factor to consider when judging hand span. 

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• If a pianist chooses to roll a 9th or a 10th (i.e. an arpeggiation that is not indicated in the score), this doesn't really say much about whether or not they can stretch a 9th or 10th. More evidence is needed, since it is frequently the case that artistic decisions govern the choice of a rolled chord. Perhaps just as frequently, rolling an interval could be used simply to avoid over-stretching the hand, not because the interval cannot be reached

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• The entire hand shape and the angles and positions of all the fingers needs to be considered. As an example, when the hand is in a relaxed shape, with hardly any stretching at all between fingers 1 and 5, a stretch between other fingers, for instance 1 and 2, or 4 and 5, will put the hand under much greater tension. 

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