Having ‘small’ hands is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
Why not?
Because it is actually extremely common amongst pianists.
Having small hands is not something that we consider to be a weakness although it very much feels like it is when it comes to certain pieces that require stretches. Perhaps the most common ‘large’ interval that we will be required to stretch or jump between in one hand is the octave.
An octave is the distance between any note - such as C - and the same note value - C - directly above it. Using white keys alone, octaves can be counted at a distance of eight notes (inclusive of top and bottom - seven degrees otherwise). Using black and white keys, it is thirteen (inclusive of top and bottom - twelve degrees otherwise).
Yet many people struggle to stretch between them.
What follows is a set of exercises that are specially designed to gradually increase hand span and develop stretch on the piano. The exercises that follow are written for right hand, but you can easily substitute the left hand for these by switching them to a lower octave and reversing the finger numbers.
Where to Play on the Keys
In order to give yourself the best shot at reaching the octave, you should play towards the edge of the white key. If you don’t, the black key will get in the way of your hands and create a sensation of ‘clutter’ which will mar how cleanly you are able to play.
Bear in mind that the aim at this point is to not develop a stretch per say, but moreover to develop a clean sense of alternating between top and bottom notes of an octave using appropriate wrist motion.
If you need a refresher on wrist exercises, read my blog here and scroll down and get yourself used to the ‘doorknob’ method as this will be absolutely imperative for what is about to follow.
Exercises for Developing Piano Stretch: 1 - Broken Chords
I find it somewhat criminal that broken chords have been dropped from entry level piano exams in favour of arpeggios. Not, mind you, because arpeggios aren’t important (as my next section will prove!) but because broken chords are an ideal stepping stone for getting you towards them.
The arpeggio requires an up and down motion towards that top note which can be a little intimidating for the beginner, whereas broken chords give a much more staggered approach.
Broken Chord One
Before we tackle a proper broken chord, let’s just warm our fingers up using this simple exercise below. We will take the C major triad (middle C - E - G) and rise up and back down using fingers 1 (thumb), 3 and 5 respectively. Play the notes in the pattern C - E - G - E - C - E - G - E etc. as notated below and, as you do so, make sure you incorporate as much wrist flow as you can as this will help you all the more as we start to incorporate more and more stretch into your playing.
Broken Chord Two
When we play piano, we should always be mindful of how appropriate our fingering is for what we are playing. I have written the numbers below anyway, but have a look over the notes and see if you can work out why I may have changed the first three notes from 1 - 3 - 5 to 1 - 2 - 3:
Answer: We’re pre-empting the need to stretch to that top C now which we can much more easily achieve if we have the fingers to do so. 1 - 3 - 5 would mean we run out of fingers!
In order to play this as fluidly as possible, bear in mind the need to use your wrist. If you are fortunate enough to already have the stretch of an octave your wrist movement will be much less prominent, however if you can’t stretch naturally between the bottom and top C then you will have to allow your wrist to move towards the top as you approach the note and towards the bottom as you descend back down. In this particular passage, for example, as soon as your thumb has played the C your wrist can begin moving the rest of your hand towards the top C. Similarly, once it has played the top C it can begin its move back down to the bottom C.
Broken Chord Three
This exercise very nearly follows the same pattern as the one above, however you will note that the last two notes are octave Cs.
Do you remember what the dots are below the notes?
They are staccato dots, and I have deliberately put these here to allow a little bit of bounce between the notes. This is a great way to develop fluidity - start staccato before trying to join notes together.
Owing to the previous exercise, you should be much more familiar and comfortable with the distance between the two Cs now, meaning that this octave jump should come much more naturally. However, don’t rush it! Take it slow and be sure to bounce cleanly and smoothly off the two Cs at the end (don’t fall into the staccato trap of tensing up!).
Broken Chord Four
Finally, try joining those last two Cs together and creating a more legato effect. Remember to still use the doorknob approach to close the gap:
2 - Arpeggios
Now that we have learnt some broken chords, we can begin with arpeggios.
Many of my students already know arpeggios as they are a fantastic exercise regardless of where you are up to in your piano adventure. However, if you can’t reach an octave then there can be a daunting feel about them! Never fear, though! The principles are the same as you have just been practising in broken chords.
Arpeggio One
The only difference between the broken chord and this arpeggio is that the notes continue to rise to the top then continue to fall down, rather than taking a staggered approach.
Do you remember how you got used to moving your wrist after you had played the first C so that it helped close the gap between the fingers currently playing and the top C? Well this is exactly the same principle. Play each note individually but move the wrist closer to your top or bottom note as needed in a smooth movement.
Arpeggios Two - Five
Now that we have done a simple arpeggio, let’s add a couple of notes toward the end that gradually raises the interval each time so that we can get used to moving the fingers about a bit and - where necessary - stretching:
In this first example, we will use the notes C - E - G - C - G - E - C - G however - for the last note (G), we will actually move finger 5 down and play it with this finger rather than the finger that has been playing it up until this point (3).
In doing so and by repeating this pattern, we start to appreciate how it feels to have to not only close the gap from an octave stretch / pattern, but also how it feels to 'stretch' straight back into it.
Once you feel you have mastered this, try arpeggios three - five in turn and get comfortable with them as well. For each of these, we are just raising the final note by one note each time (A, B, C) but all the while playing them with finger 5:
Arpeggio Three - Full Pattern
Now we can try and work through the full pattern of what we have just played, moving finger 5 up by one note each time and then repeating the pattern.
The aim of this is to ensure that our fingers can find the octave leaps each time and it is important to develop this as cleanly as possible. Make sure that your wrist is loose and that you are playing regimentally. Once again - don’t rush! Start slow if you need to and build yourself up.
3 - Octave Jumps
In both broken chords and arpeggios, I mixed in some sneaky octave jumps at the ends of the phrases to tease you into the next exercise. Octave jumps are exactly what you think they are - when you have to play a note and then immediately follow it with that same note one octave higher. In order to help you achieve this, I have isolated them and extended them to full bar exercises.
Octave Jump One
For this first exercise, I am being kind by reverting back to what I said previously: practising things staccato makes it easier, and this is especially true of octave jumps because it puts a much clearer emphasis on the movement that your wrist has to take between the notes.
Therefore, I have not only made the notes staccato but I have made them quavers! So you can really jump off these. Using your thumb, play middle C, and then in a rhythmic pattern alternate between that note and finger 5 playing the C directly above.
Just a note to further reiterate: playing staccato often leads to tensing up! DON’T TENSE UP! You don’t need to be any more tense when ‘jumping off the keys’ than when you play legato (smoothly).
Octave Jump Two
Speaking of legato, that is the very next exercise. What we are going to do is identical to the exercise above, however we need to join up those notes. Remember that we can afford a little breathing space between the notes because if you can’t stretch the octave it would be impossible not to (without the use of pedal, which is not inkeeping with these exercises), but we need to close the gap as much as possible to create the effect of a really smooth transition.
Keeping your fingers as close to the keys as possible is the best advice here, as well as having your fingers ready stretched out as far as you can prior to moving. The less distance that needs covering, the better!
4 - Octave Stretches
And now, the final step before the actual stretching of an octave. In this section, we will build up intervals in order to get you ready for an octave stretch.
Exercise One
We will be using only fingers 1 and 5 for all stretches in this exercise and we will begin with simple crotchets so we have a steady buildup.
The aim of what we are trying to achieve here is to fully stretch - both Cs played at the same time, but in order to do so let’s work through three intervals prior to the octave.
Let’s start with the perfect fifth from C (middle C and G).
Play this a few times and learn to feel how it feels to you. Get used to where your fingers are on the keys and, when you feel ready, raise your little finger (5) from G to A (you should now be playing C - A: a major sixth).
You will feel that in order to achieve this your hand will have had to make a subtle adjustment, just to accommodate that extra little bit of stretch. It’s important that you take this into account and learn how it feels so that if you ever need to play a major sixth again then you will be able to do so not just from identification of the notes, but from instinct alone.
Try alternating between the perfect fifth and the major sixth a few times and, when you feel you have grasped how they feel and are comfortable with them, move finger 5 up to the B so that you are now playing C and B: a major seventh.
This will again put a different strain onto your hand so you may need to slightly readjust your hand position to get it comfortable. That’s okay though: take note of what you are doing and what you had to do and see if you can replicate it by working back and forth between this, the major sixth and the perfect fifth.
And now you’re ready for the big one!
Raise your fifth finger to the C and you are now playing a (perfect) octave. You will naturally feel that your right hand tends slightly more to the right hand side as you do so, so finger five will feel more confident and your thumb will feel more like it’s tagging along, but that’s okay. Adjust your fingers and hand position as you need to to identify where the comfort is and remember this position, testing yourself as you switch between this, the major seventh, the major sixth and the perfect fifth.
You should now be able to play the pattern notated above (with a few repeats!) with little issue.
So to make it a touch more challenging, we’ll just double speed it and turn those crotchets into quavers, doubling up on them!:
Exercise Two
Now that you know how an octave stretch feels, let’s ensure that they have a little stability and play just the outstretched octaves with a rhythm:
Exercise Three
Now we have worked on finding an octave, let’s try moving between octaves without losing the discipline of how our fingers are stretched out. To do this, let’s use a basic C major pentascale where every note is doubled up as a quaver (C - C - D - D - E - E - F - F - G - G - F - F - E - E - D - D).
Using only fingers 1 and 5, we will play the following:
In order to get the most confident performance of this then - aside from the usual advice of practising slowly etc. - focus on one finger alone and try and allow the other finger to naturally follow. Remember that we are trying to develop your instinct and discipline in keeping your fingers apart at a natural octave rather than always having to rethink the new position of both fingers just because both notes have changed.
If it helps, choose either finger 1 at the bottom or finger 5 at the top and try the pentascale with just this finger to get used to the motion, then add the other finger and try to keep a steady hand position and firm finger position so that both fingers play the correct thing.
5 - Filling in the Chords
It is fair to say that Rachmaninoff had incredibly large hands, yet some people argue that the reason his music is so difficult is because of the stretches required.
I, on the other hand - from the pieces I know of his - argue slightly differently: the stretches from top to bottom aren’t the challenge with Rachmaninoff. Moreover, the density between them (i.e. what notes he puts between the chords) can create very awkward chords and hand positions.
Therefore, it’s important to remember that you will not always be playing octaves exclusively on their own.
Exercise One
Playing a C major triad using fingers 1 - 2 - 3, add an A to the top (C - E - G - A) with finger 4. Play this a few times (this chord is a C6).
When this feels more comfortable, move finger 4 up to B and play this a few times (this chord is Cmaj7).
Now use finger 5 to play C so you are playing 4 notes - C - E - G - C (this takes it back to being a C major chord, however it is no longer a triad chord as it doesn’t just have three notes - even though two of them are technically the same!)
Play each of these chords four times as crotchets of a 4/4 rhythm and then repeat until you feel confident with how the stretches feel. Remember that it’s perfectly normal to feel that your hand is ‘leaning’ towards one direction a little more than another (in the right hand it will feel as though it’s slightly heavier towards the right). That’s OK, providing that all notes are being played evenly and at the same time.
The numbers on the scores below refer to the finger number for the top note.
NB If switching this exercise to the left hand, substitute fingers 5 - 3 - 2 for your C major triad, using your thumb to add each new note as you ascend through the new chords.
Exercise Two
Now we will just create a little more difficulty!
Using fingers 1 - 2 - 4, play C - D - G (this chord is called a Csus2).
To make things all the more awkward, rise finger 4 to A and play this chord (don’t worry about this chord - it can be all manner of things, we won’t give it a name at this stage!).
Now substitute finger 4 with finger 5 playing B so that you play C - D - B.
Then, raise finger 5 up to C so that you are playing C - D - C.
Play this in a similar rhythm to how you played the first exercise (four times for each chord as crotchet beats in 4/4):
NB If switching this exercise to the left hand, play C and D with fingers 5 and 4 respectively and use finger 2 on the G, then switch to finger 1 (thumb) for all notes rising.
5 - Arpeggiated Chords
Now we have developed an octave stretch, can we push you that little bit further?
Answer: yes!
Often in music, you will see chords with seemingly impossible intervals written for one hand.
When an interval is separated by an octave, we call it a compound interval.
For example, a C - D is a major second.
HOWEVER: if the interval is C followed by the D one octave above, it is referred to as a ‘compound major second’.
BUT WE’VE ONLY JUST LEARNED HOW TO DO OCTAVE STRETCHES!
Fear not, for this isn’t the part where we talk about how to stretch past an octave. If an octave is the limit that you can aspire to stretch then that’s absolutely fine because the reality is that it’s rare to find music that requires one hand to play distances greater than an octave at the same time.
What we much more commonly see is what is called an ‘arpeggiated chord’ or - as I like to call them - a ‘splayed’ chord.
These are typified in music notation by a vertical squiggle to the left of the chord, and they literally just mean you can spread the notes of the chord out from bottom to top. This is something that you would do using all the techniques you have learned previously (especially in the arpeggio bit!) - the only difference is that you may be wanting to splay them across a greater distance than what you’ve practiced.
Why not try these ones out:
Keep your C major triad consistent at the bottom by using fingers 1 - 2 - 3, but increase the stretch between finger 3 and 1 slightly to allow for the increasing distance between the notes that your thumb will play at the top (C - D - E - D). Don’t forget to move your wrist too!
NB If switching this to a left hand exercise, use fingers 5 - 3 - 2 for your C major triad and maintain the thumb at the top.
For a video recap of all of the above, see below:
In fact, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular piano updates on there as well!
Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Macclesfield, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.
Weekly blogs are posted that may help you with your musical or piano journey. Click here to sign up to the mailing list so you never miss a post!
