Piano Keyboards of the Past - Standard Foundation

I have actually experienced “getting larger hands.” Although that sounds impossible, this was achieved by creating a 7/8 – size keyboard for my Steinway concert grand. I thus began the great discovery of what it feels like to play the piano with larger hands. It was like an epiphany. All the touches and techniques in piano studies – and I stress – all of them – were made easier by a factor of a hundred.

I would never have known this, however, if I had not had the 7/8 – size keyboard made for me. Getting that keyboard made became an obsession after the idea came to me while practicing the coda of the G-minor Chopin Ballade for about the thousandth time. I was staring at the keyboard and looking at my hands, realizing they did not look right in comparison to the keyboard to accomplish the task. (I cannot stretch a sixth between the index finger and little finger in the right hand.) I realized that my hands would never be larger, but the keyboard could be smaller! After I got the keyboard made and fitted to the piano, I made a multitude of discoveries.

I could finally use the correct fingerings. Broken-chord formations could be played on one hand position, instead of two. The sensation of what it feels like to play with the proper fingering is easier to remember, more reliable in terms of accuracy, less painful, and ultimately better sounding. That is because the fingers that must bring out specific pitches in concerted sounds are aligned more directly over the keys. The whole hand-shape is less stretched out, and so power can be directed down into the keys.
Wide, sweeping, left-hand arpeggiated figures so prevalent in Romantic music become possible, and I could actually get on with the business of cultivating the right sound, rather than repeatedly practicing the same passage. The larger the sweep, the greater the difference. On a 7/8-size keyboard, a two-and-a-half octave sweep is two-and-a-half normal key-widths smaller. That is about two-and-a-half inches! When the smaller-handed player attempts a sweep like this, the hand must be very loose, and it is almost flung from top to bottom to cover the distance. Landing in the right place is the great achievement. With a larger hand, landing in the right place is so easy that the force with which you land there is now an option. With the smaller keyboard, those washes of sound could now be controlled and manipulated.
There was an increase of power. A small-handed person playing on a 7/8-size keyboard will sound like a larger person. The distance to travel is now proportionate to the size of the hand. Much of piano technique is about allowing the hand to be in its natural position as much of the time as possible. If the hand has to stretch itself like a pretzel for every task, the hand tires faster. Alternatively, when the hand, in its natural relaxed position, is already in the position it needs to be, the percentage of time that the muscles are engaged is reduced significantly, and the ability to rest the muscles is increased. Therefore, power and stamina are increased.
It was easier to make large leaps, and I could do so accurately, with greater speed.
It was easier to achieve proper balance. Getting the right amount of tone out of the lead melody-line in the right hand (or any internal line) was possible and enjoyable.
I was able to “walk” (legato finger) octaves with a 3,4,5 fingering. This created more bel canto playing, but it also made achieving speed and accuracy easier when I performed the famous octave pssages in the repertoire.

I realize now, looking back, that most of the time I spent practicing was used trying to overcome difficulties because of my hand-size. My great desire is for the small-handed pianists of the world to experience, as I have, the great joy of playing the piano when the struggle of overcoming the limitations imposed by hand-size are gone.

The pain aspect of the 7/8 keyboard is quite amazing. Sight-reading probably has the most dramatic effect. When you are sight reading difficult music (especially with other chamber musicians) you do not have the time to work out the easiest way of playing a passage, you just plow through it. I am talking about pieces like Brahms Horn Trio, Saint Saens Piano Trios, Frank Trios. I have found on a regular size keyboard I can last about an hour and then my hands and entire arms start to feel tired. If I persist, within about 20 minutes I am in pain and must stop. Playing the similar pieces on the 7/8 keyboard I can sight-read for over two hours completely pain free! It simply is not an issue. I can play large chords, octave passages, leaps, huge dynamic ranges and my brain fatigues long before my fingers or arms. The 7/8 keyboard has turned an endurance session into pure pleasure. I can’t begin to describe how much fun it is to be able to access the notes so easily without fatigue.

Last year in June (2005) I had a fabulous opportunity to perform Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with orchestra. My wonderful husband moved my 7/8 grand to both concert halls for the Saturday and Sunday performance. It was fantastic! I felt so secure with the big chords and played the piece with ease. I was freed up from all technical issues and could concentrate on making music.

GoldilocksFeature

A piano technician’s guild news article from Melbourne Australia
by technician Warwick Dalton

First 7/8 – DS Keyboard installation in the Southern Hemisphere


	Last year, at short notice, a workshop was quickly arranged to showcase David Steinbuhler’s 7/8 concept keyboard. What is a 7/8th keyboard you ask and who is David Steinbuhler? A 7/8th is a keyboard for a grand piano 7/8ths the size of a regular keyboard. It consists of a keyframe, keys and action. It replaces the existing action with both actions being interchangeable. David is an engineer whose family owns a textile mill in Titusville, USA. Whilst staying at a B&B in Niagara-on-the Lake in 1991, he noticed a 7/8 keyboard in a concert grand. The owner had it built in 1970 after realizing his small hand size was preventing him from mastering much of the great piano repertoire. David elaborates: “I believed this was an opportunity placed before me. I had computer programming experience and the idea of building keyboards out of a computer data base intrigued me. Never mind I knew nothing about the piano industry. With the freedom of no preconceived ideas about how to build them, I first started tinkering more or less as a hobby. One thing led to another and by the summer of 1994, on the loading dock of our textile plant, using a computer driven router, I built the first keyboard.” Building this keyboard threw up the issue of measuring the piano. In America David can travel to and measure, but for overseas orders it becomes impractical. Hence his trip to Australia was not only to measure but to find technicians competent in providing the necessary measurements. David supplies a kit of jigs and measuring tools to enable accurate measurements. He has built many 7/8th keyboards for universities in America, and now the first has arrived in Australia, for local musician Rhonda Boyle for fitting to her Bernstein SG-185R.




	I arrived a Rhonda’s residence on a Saturday morning to do the installation with I must say, some misgivings. A non piano person building a complete piano action, half the world away from the instrument looked like a recipe for a major disaster! The action was unboxed, the existing action removed, and the new 7/8ths slid into the piano. It worked! Unused to the reduced keyboard size, my octaves when playing become 9ths and there was cacophony! However, after Rhonda had practiced for 15 minutes, she had the hang of it and the smile on her face said it all! The piano is not altered in any way. The action, which quickly interchanges with the original, uses Renner action parts and Arbel hammers. It required only four hours of regulation and voicing to bring it to perfection. (Warwick Dalton)

SMU Student Testimonals

Sarah Michelini

Easier to play Chopin Prelude in C on the conventional keyboard after practicing on 7/8

- “It was actually much easier to play! It was as if practicing on the small keyboard allowed me to work out the kinks – to figure out where my hand should fit… then I could transfer that feeling and position to the larger keyboard and miraculously could play it.”

Barber Excursions

- “I amazed myself by the ease with which I was able to play many of the previously ‘impossible’ sections.”
- “My LH almost feels like it is too easily executed.”
- “It’s amazing when your hand can reach the notes w/o struggling how you really can practice it – things like rhythm, preciseness.”
- “I almost feel like I’m cheating.”
- “Some of the tighter chords are causing me to feel ‘bunched up.’”
- “My hands feel good after practicing – not stretched.”
- “Sight reading the Debussy Preludes was an immense joy…I believe this keyboard may bring me to an enlightenment concerning impressionistic music.”
- “The full-size keyboard has become ‘other.’ Mysterious pain in my right forearm. I can’t play legato! I keep expecting to play large intervals w/o any effort.”
- “Amazing how fast one can adjust back – I’ve only been practicing for 30 minutes and already I don’t feel a disadvantage for practicing all the time on the 7/8.”

7/8 Keyboard

“A whole new technique for this keyboard. I can get deep into the keys.”
“There’s so much I can actually do that I had to fake before.”

Priscilla Parrish

Jeux d’eau

“I’ve struggled learning the notes to this piece for a long time. When I started practicing on the 7/8 keyboard I finished learning it in one week! The patterns fell naturally under my hand – no more stretching and leaping or looking up and down from the music to the keyboard.”
“The higher range felt closer to my body so that I didn’t have to learn as far.”
“I experienced less fatique and strain on my hands and arms.”
“I was able to incorporate expression into my playing, where as I had not been able to before.”
“I’m noticing that dom7th arpeggios are much easier on this keyboard!”
“My overall feeling is comfort. My hands feel more secure and strong.”

Artina Hunter

“It’s easier to have power because I don’t have to struggle while stretching my hand.”

Carmela Casipit

“My hands immediately adjusted to the keyboard in about 30 minutes.”
“Legato octaves, on 7/8 my hand feels directly over each octave.”
“It didn’t sound correct rolled. On 7/8 keyboard, I finally understood the harmony.”
“Sight read La Campanella – if SR on Conventional, my RH would have been extremely tired. On 7/8 I was able to SR better in terms of accuracy.”
“If I want a strong octave with a ringing bass, I could place fingers 3-4-5 on the lower note of the octave and still felt comfortable.”
“I could do many repetitions w/o tiring.”
“I could feel closer and more connected to the keys.”
“Eliminated excess movement.”

Nicole Halton – Recital Testimony

“The greatest difference that I noticed while performing on the reduced size keyboard was the level of comfort I felt at the piano. On the regular piano, I sometimes feel uncomfortable and consequently not in control of the performance. On the reduced size keyboard I was able to carefully place each chord and note so that I was more easily able to shape my performance. I felt that for the first time I was in command of the instrument instead of feeling limited by the physical difficulty of playing the piano. “In preparation for my recital, I discovered that I could memorize music more quickly on the reduced size keyboard because the patterns were easier to feel and I could create better pathways for my hands and fingers. “Also, my practice time was not limited by physical issues. On the regular piano there are some passages and some pieces that I could not practice as much as I would have liked because of the amount of physical discomfort they caused. This virtually disappeared on the reduced size keyboard.”

Lindsay Nieves

“I could not practice Butterfly etude for long periods of time on the Conventional because my hands would become extremely stiff and would hurt.”
“7/8 much more comfortable.”
“I am able to play the right notes!!”
“I am less tense throughout the arms and shoulders.”
“Wow – I can actually do it!”

Sun Mi Goodwin

“I feel comfortable playing on the 7/8”
“It’s easier to play legato.”
“I don’t have to stretch my fingers as much.”

Quynh Nguyen

Chopin Revolutionary Etude

“On the conventional keyboard, the [RH chords] hurt my hand and I can’t play them quickly. On the 7/8 keyboard, my hand is allowed to be in a comfortable position, making it possible for an accurate and SAFE landing. I am not as afraid to go for the chords.”
“The LH is smoother and more in control.”

Yvonne Michalski

Initial reactions

- “Unusual feel at first.”
- “Tests the eyes and senses.”
- “Visually difficult to get used to.”
- “Hand position is extremely natural.”
- “WOW an amazing feeling!”

Chopin G Minor Ballade

- “In the mirror, my hand looks so natural – high, strong bridge.”
- “More opportunity for legato.”
- “Stamina – not so easily tired in coda.”
- “Can focus on musicianship; musical line rather than struggling in a non-legato manner.”

Chopin Etude Op.25,No.9

- “I can play fingerings which I could not do on conventional.”
- “Conventional looks gigantic – shock to the eyes.”

Touch

- “More opportunity to think about different gradations of touch and sound quality.”
- “Sound is not as choppy.”
- “Ability to use less pedal. On conventional, we overuse pedal to cover technical deficiencies.”

Power

- “Much more power.”
- “Bridge is extremely strong.”

Stamina

- “Less tired in technical passages – can concentrate on music line more.”

Relaxation

- “WOW it’s a great feeling!”

Balance in chord

- “Goal of one overall linear motion is clear.”

Sight reading

- “Took only 20 minutes to adjust.”

Leaps

“Most are avoided.”

Jennifer Stark

“I only taught first year students on the 7/8 piano. I noticed some interesting phenomena in the young students. Most did not notice the difference in size and I never addressed it, but I could see that their small hands fit the keys better and there was a lack of visible tension as they learned to keep a proper hand position.”

Josef Hofmann

He was not only a highly acclaimed pianist, respected by the likes of Rachmaninov, but also a keen inventor. He had powerful but small hands and in this video he is playing the smaller keyboard with which he concertized in the 1930s and 1940s.

What Size Keyboard?

In the overhead views of this video the bass filler block, which takes up the extra space in the piano, can be seen. The size of the keyboard's octave is 6.25 inches. To understand what this means see: