Reduced-Size Keyboards Part 1

From the 2007 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, Dr. Carol Leone demonstrates the benefits of the 7/8 Reduced Size Keyboard, including preventing injuries and allowing pianists with smaller hands the ability to play repertoire that they were incapable of doing before.

UPDATE: To get more information on David Steinbuhler's keyboards, visit: http://www.steinbuhler.com

Category:

Music

Tags:

• piano
• small
• hands
• nckp
• wellness
• steinbuhler
• 7/8
• keyboard
• classical
• music
• pedagogy
• Rachmaninov
• big

[Edi7oR]

In which year i can buy these "Reduced-Size keyboards"?

I need it unfortunately. Even chopin composed many pieces with really wide, big chords.

[mariocast]

@Edi7oR David Steinbuhler currently sells them to the public. Go to his website (follow the link in the video description or just Google "David Steinbuhler keyboards") and you can either fill out their contact form, call, or email them to inquire about purchasing a reduced size keyboard for your piano.

[h3pianist]

wait does the 7/8 keyboard have fewer keys or is the size of an individual key smaller?

[mariocast]

@h3pianist: It still has 88 keys. Each individual key is 7/8 the size of a standard-sized key.

[MasterEnglisher]

What is considered small hands?

[mariocast]

MasterEnglisher: If you go to Steinbuhler's website, he has a page dedicated to measuring hand span. It illustrates that quite a number of pianists (mainly women) have a hand span of only 8 inches or less. The 7/8 size keyboard would be a benefit for pianists with this hand span.

[seijurouhiko]

why nobody did this before???

[pookiecatblue]

Why on earth has it taken so long?

And why isn't it more readily available?

[Keonch91]

great. now people who reach 12th on conventional can make chords reaching 14th or so on 7/8 lol

[TheCinemaization]

I wonder why it STILL isn't more readily available.

[TheCinemaization]

I want this type of piano. 

[darx117]

i want to buy one of these...how much would one cost...i imagine it wouldn't be very cheap:(

[gieelsto]

Hurray, now huge-handed composers can write pieces with even bigger chords! ;-)

[pianofan]

This is such an obvious solution for those of us who don't have hands the size of rump roasts. I can't wait until the 7/8 and 15/16 keyboards are readily available and accepted, but classical musicians can be a particularly hidebound group of people. What matters is the sound, not how large the individual keys are on the piano. Think of all the performance injuries that will be avoided when smaller keyboards are common! Wish I learned on one when I was young.

[innerpig]

There IS a reason this change has taken so long. And it comes with a bit of conspiracy. The original piano keys were built to that size because of the demands of the early mechanics of building a piano. As the manufacturing bettered over the years, there was an option to make the keys smaller (at least back to the 1930's!). But Steinway and other big companies were too interested in cornering the market--even to the point of organized strangling of small piano companies (therefore, conspiracy.)

[yiki7]

My hand is small. A lot of people with a small hand are in Japan. But, Such a company is not in Japan.

Please sell it in Japan.

I hope for it. Some time...